Inevitable Foundation Unveils Visionary Fellowship For Disabled Filmmakers; New Initiative Supported By Netflix

By Valerie Complex

Picture of four people on a film set in a diner: a masked director kneels and gestures, discussing with two men seated at a table, while another person holding a menu leans over. Ryle Yazzie.

Inevitable Foundation, a non-profit organization that invests in disabled writers and filmmakers, launches their newest program, the Visionary Fellowship for disabled filmmakers. The program is supported exclusively by Netflix‘s Fund for Creative Equity.

Inevitable Foundation’s Visionary Fellowship is a year-long program that invests in disabled filmmakers with the funding, mentorship and the community they need to make a short film, and in turn, leverage the short into their debut feature, and the program is designed to cover the transition between the two.

The Fellowship includes $55,000 in funding for each fellow, including a production grant to produce their short film with an experienced crew, an unrestricted grant to support the fellow over the course of the program, as well as access to health insurance, marketing support, and funds for travel and access needs. The fellowship also includes mentorship and workshops from industry leaders, opportunities to collaborate with other filmmakers on-set, community building within the fellowship cohort, and an industry-focused short film showcase that will include creative executives, agents, and managers.

Disabled filmmakers have historically been undervalued by the entertainment industry, and this program aims to reverse that trend by providing significant resources to emerging and resourceful disabled writer/directors.

“We are thrilled to launch the Visionary Fellowship for disabled filmmakers,” said Inevitable Foundation co-founders Richie Siegel and Marisa Torelli-Pedevska. “This investment in disabled writer-directors represents a powerful expansion in our pipeline of support for disabled creatives, and speaks to the core of our mission: helping disabled creatives reach positions of industry power. Netflix’s commitment across our programming—the largest from any studio to date—is a resounding endorsement of our barrier-breaking approach to fostering the next generation of disabled creators.”

The Visionary Fellowship is supported by Netflix’s Fund for Creative Equity, in a dedicated effort to help train creatives for job opportunities on Netflix productions and set talent up for success in entertainment. Since its launch in 2021, Netflix has partnered with over 80 organizations in more than 35 countries.

Applications for the program are open now and will close on July 31st. Fellows will be selected in Fall 2024 and the program will conclude with an industry showcase of Fellows’ short films in 2025. Prospective applicants for the Fellowship are encouraged to learn more and apply at inevitable.foundation/visionary.