HONOLULU, HAWAI’I (Oct. 8, 2025) — Sundance Institute and Islamic Scholarship Fund are pleased to announce the selection of the third cohort of the Building Bridges Fellowship, which amplifies U.S. Muslim storytelling by providing financial and creative resources, mentorship, and support to emerging filmmakers, with a focus on uplifting U.S. Muslim narratives and fostering dialogue around themes of identity, belonging, and diversity.

Funded by the Doris Duke Foundation, the Building Bridges Fellowship aims to reduce barriers for filmmakers working on U.S. Muslim stories to hone their craft, receive mentorship from industry professionals, and access valuable resources to realize their creative vision and connect with wider audiences.  In addition to an unrestricted artist grant of $10,000, fellows benefit from a customized slate of services tailored to their creative, career, and project goals; a year-long mentorship; a tailored Sundance Film Festival experience, a Sundance Collab Community Package; other select professional development tools; and access to Sundance Institute’s ELEVATE program for year-round professional and project development. 

“We are honored to welcome this third cohort of Building Bridges Fellows into the Sundance Institute community,” said Hajnal Molnar-Szakacs, Sundance Institute Director, Artist Accelerator. “Through the year-long fellowship and the Artist Retreat at Shangri La, these filmmakers are not only advancing their projects but also strengthening the collective landscape of authentic U.S. Muslim storytelling. We are grateful for the partnership with ISF and the visionary leadership of the Doris Duke Foundation to create meaningful pathways for the next generation of storytellers.”

“In just two years, we have witnessed the transformation of filmmakers whose voices now resonate far beyond this fellowship, advancing the reach of Muslim American storytelling,” said Iman Zawahry, Film Programs Director at the Islamic Scholarship Fund. “With the support of the Doris Duke Foundation and  our historical partnership with the Sundance Institute, we remain committed to nurturing emerging creators and ensuring Muslim American stories are seen, heard, and celebrated. When these stories flourish, they don’t just reflect our communities, they enrich the fabric of American storytelling as a whole.”

“Muslim stories are American stories, and each of these talented fellows has demonstrated their ability to craft narratives that resonate with people from across different backgrounds and walks of life. We are thrilled to welcome these incredible filmmakers into our growing community of Building Bridges fellows and help their projects reach audiences around the country,” said Maurine Knighton, Chief Program Officer at the Doris Duke Foundation. 

This October, the third cohort of fellows will convene at Shangri La Museum in Honolulu for a retreat, bringing filmmakers together to foster community, inspire creativity, and support the artistic growth of both the fellows and their projects. Built in 1937 by Doris Duke as a home and showcase for her collection of Islamic art and cultural treasures, Shangri La is the Doris Duke Foundation’s center for exploring the global cultures of Islamic art. Since opening to the public in 2002, the museum’s collection has continued to grow, enriching understanding of Islamic art and design through exhibitions, digital and educational initiatives, public programs, guided tours, and community partnerships.

Selected by a panel including representatives from Sundance Institute and the Islamic Scholarship Fund, the third cohort of 2025 fellows and their projects include:

• Yusuf Ahmed, Love Belt – Yusuf Ahmed is an Ethiopian-American documentary filmmaker, photographer, and communications strategist based in New York City. His first feature film, Love Belt is a multigenerational story of the filmmaker’s mother as she embarks on a spiritual journey from the American Midwest to the highlands of Ethiopia in search of answers regarding her husband’s death after 23 years in exile. Ahmed has directed, produced and documented projects across Africa and the Middle East tackling diverse issues including migration, heritage conservation, agriculture and disease elimination.

• Tarek Albaba, 1948: A Nakba Story – Tarek Albaba’s project is a political drama following a Palestinian resistance leader and his pregnant wife as they face the impossible choice to defend their homeland or flee during the 1948 Nakba. Albaba was named one of DOC NYC’s 2023 40 Under 40 following his feature documentary debut, 36 Seconds: Portrait of a Hate Crime, at DOC NYC in 2023. In 2025, he was selected as a Wyncote Fellow for the annual PBS conference. Albaba’s work has appeared on Apple TV+, Disney+, National Geographic, PBS, TRT World, Discovery, History and more. 

• Omar Aldakheel, The Washroom – Omar Al Dakheel is a Kuwaiti-born filmmaker based in Los Angeles whose work explores identity, faith and the intersections of culture in a rapidly evolving world. His first fiction feature, The Washroom, is set in small-town Texas where a closeted imam fights for his community’s right to bury their dead — while hiding a forbidden love that could cost him everything. Aldakheel’s short films have screened at dozens of international festivals . He also served as Associate Producer on Season 1 and Co-Producer on Season 3 of Netflix’s American Manhunt.

• Mustafa Toby Eck, All At Once – Mustafa Toby Eck’s upcoming project, All At Once, is a dramedy following an intercultural-interfaith couple confronting hidden family secrets that threaten their wedding when the groom’s Palestinian father is taken by ICE. After moving to a new city every year for the first decade of his life, Eck came of age in a small town in northern Arizona. He is the Senior Video Producer at the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles where he produces and directs short films, documentaries and interactive content.

• Sahar Jahani, With Your Permission – Sahar Jahani is a first-generation Iranian-American writer and director born and raised in Los Angeles. She began her career in scripted development at YouTube Originals before joining the writers’ room on Ramy, where she wrote her first episode of television and earned a Peabody Award. Her work across television, film and literature work often explores identity, faith, and the complexities of first- generation experiences. Jahani’s upcoming project, With Your Permission, is a dark comedy about three Iranian-American Muslim sisters navigating their relationship to intimacy when they discover their widowed mother is in a new relationship.

This grantee cohort will also receive mentorship and advising from: Oualid Mouaness (Director/Writer/Producer), Tahirah Gooden (Creative Executive) and Kirsten Romer (Executive Coach). Previous recipients of the Building Bridges Fellowship have continued to make significant strides in their careers, garnering recognition across the industry: 

• Aqsa Altaf was accepted into the 1497 Feature Film Lab.

• Fatimah Asghar participated in the 1497 Lab and received the Asian Cultural Council Individual Fellowship.

• Habib Yazdi released a five-part documentary series on PBS titled United States of Comedy.

• Kausar Mohammed was accepted into the CAPE New Writers Fellowship.

• Khaula Malik received Sundance’s Chase Sapphire Filmmaker Grant and was selected for the Film Independent Producing Lab.

• Mithra Alavi’s feature film Arranged was included on The Women’s List.

• Samina Saifee received the Sundance Institute Ignite x Adobe Fellowship and was accepted into the Brooklyn Filmmakers Collective.

The Building Bridges Fellowship is one of several initiatives of the Doris Duke Foundation Building Bridges Program, which launched in 2007 to counter hate directed at U.S. Muslim communities in the United States in the aftermath of 9/11 and to promote mutual understanding. Through this program, which is the largest U.S. funding program of its kind, the foundation has allocated approximately $50 million in grants to date aimed at creating understanding about and forming connections with U.S. Muslim communities. 

The Building Bridges Fellowship, alongside the Building Bridges Completion Fund, is a part of Sundance Institute’s Artist Accelerator Program, which works with artists and industry to create a more transparent, equitable and sustainable independent film and television ecosystem. For more information about Sundance Institute and its artists programs, visit www.sundance.org.

About Doris Duke Foundation

The mission of the Doris Duke Foundation is to build a more creative, equitable and sustainable future. We work across three areas: Arts & Culture; Nature; and Health & Well-being. Visit www.dorisduke.org to learn more.

About Sundance Institute

As a champion and curator of independent stories, the nonprofit Sundance Institute provides and preserves the space for artists across storytelling media to create and thrive. Founded in 1981 by Robert Redford, the Institute’s signature labs, granting, and mentorship programs, dedicated to developing new work, take place throughout the year in the U.S. and internationally. Sundance Institute Collab, a digital community platform, brings a global cohort of working artists together to learn from Sundance Institute advisors and connect with each other in a creative space, developing and sharing works in progress. The Sundance Film Festival and other public programs connect audiences and artists to ignite new ideas, discover original voices, and build a community dedicated to independent storytelling. Support Sundance Institute in our commitment to uplifting bold artists and powerful storytelling globally by making a donation at sundance.org/donate. 

About Islamic Scholarship Fund

Islamic Scholarship Fund (ISF) increases U.S. Muslim representation in media and government to improve public policy and public opinion. We believe that the interests of our community can only be protected if we are part of the policy-making process. ISF scholars and alumni across the country and world are ensuring our voices are heard. To date, ISF has given away over $3 million to programs that support aspiring filmmakers, journalists, public interest attorneys and policymakers. 

Contact:

Sunshine Sachs Morgan & Lylis PR Team: dorisduke@ssmandl.com  

Sundance Institute: press@sundance.org

Islamic Scholarship Fund: film@islamicscholarshipfund.org 

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