Filmmakers Waad Al-Kateab and Kelley Kali are the recipients of the 2021 Academy Gold Fellowship for Women. According to Screen Daily, the respective “For Sama” and “I’m Fine (Thanks For Asking)” directors will each receive a year of “financial support, mentorship, and access to networking opportunities” to advance their filmmaking careers. Al-Kateab was selected as the international recipient, and will receive $35,000; Kali is the U.S. recipient and will be awarded $20,000.
Both Kateab and Kali “will also benefit from lifelong career advancement support through the Gold Alumni Program,” the source adds. It provides “ongoing access, opportunity, professional development, and education for alumni of Academy Gold programs.”
Previous Academy Gold Fellowship for Women recipients include Aislinn Clarke (“Devil’s Doorway”).
Al-Kateab received an Oscar nomination for “For Sama,” a look inside life in Aleppo through five years of the Syrian revolution, which she directed with Edward Watts. She took home a BAFTA for the doc, as well as three British Independent Film Awards, and the IDA Courage Under Fire Award. She won an International Emmy for her reporting on the Syrian conflict for the U.K.’s Channel 4 News. Al-Kateab also created the Action for Sama campaign, which calls for an end to the bombing of healthcare facilities in Syria.
Kali’s feature directorial debut, “I’m Fine (Thanks for Asking),” won a Special Jury Award for Narrative Feature at SXSW this year. The story of an unhoused mother working to convince her daughter they are camping also aired on BET Her. Kali has been selected to develop her web series pilot “The Discovery of Dit Dodson” as part of the New Form Digital program. She received a Student Academy Award, a DGA Student Film Award, and the Diversity in Cannes Short Film Showcase’s Jury Choice Award for “Lalo’s House,” her short about two sisters trying to escape a sex trafficking ring.
Source: Women And Hollywood