ISF scholars and grantees regularly win awards, screen their documentaries at international film festivals, and use their films to create social and political change.
We're proud to share their accomplishments!
Film Grantee Received Sundance Doc Lab Fellowship
Jude Chehab, 2016 ISF Film Grantee, has been named among others to be participating in Sundance Institute's Documentary Edit and Story Lab. Jude is a Lebanese-American filmmaker based between New York and Beirut and has been credited in collaborations with the BBC, Refinery29, Oxfam GB, and Doctors Without Borders.
2016 Film Grantee's Documentary Leads to FBI Lawsuit
2016 ISF Film Grantee Assia Boundaoui's ISF-funded documentary "The Feeling of Being Watched" investigates FBI surveillance of her majority Muslim community outside Chicago. When Assia was unable to receive the FBI documents she requested within a reasonable time frame, she filed a lawsuit that has brought public scrutiny to the FBI's surveillance practices and issues surrounding the Freedom of Information Act.
Film Grantee Documentary Selected at PAFF
Comin' Up Short, a documentary created by ISF Film Grantees, Hakeem Khaliq and Queen Muhammad Ali, was selected for the 29th Annual Pan African Film Festival. PAFF is known as the most prestigious Black film festival in the world, and is organized by Danny Glover, the late Ja'net DuBois, and Ayuko Babu. The film was also featured at various film festivals across the globe, including the Berlin Lift Off Film Festival.
2020 Scholar Awarded Best Documentary Film
2020 ISF Scholar Nimo Omar was featured in the Best Documentary Film at the Black Muslim Girl Fly Film Festival (BMFF) entitled "Muslim Sheroes of Minnesota: Nimo Omar." Founded in 2018, BMFF is an annual one-day event of film showcases that profile stories by "Black Muslim Girl" filmmakers and creative talent in film, television, and the digital space.