Inevitable Foundation Announces $55K Fellowship for Disabled Filmmakers
The Visionary Fellowship, supported entirely by Netflix’s Fund for Creative Equity, is a yearlong program that will provide creatives everything they need to complete a short film and begin turning it into a first feature.
Filmmaker Ashley Eakin, a member of the Inevitable Foundation community, on set.
ASHLEY EAKIN
Inevitable Foundation is continuing its high-impact work for disabled creatives. The nonprofit, which since its founding in 2020 has launched a number of initiatives to support screenwriters with disabilities, announced its Visionary Fellowship today. The yearlong program will provide disabled filmmakers with everything they need to complete a short film on the way to making their first feature.
Each fellow will receive up to $55,000, itemized with intention into the following categories: $25,000 to produce their short film, $2,500 to market it, up to $7,000 for health insurance, up to $3,000 for travel to Los Angeles, up to $2,500 to meet accessibility needs and a $15,000 unrestricted grant. The Fellowship is entirely supported by Netflix’s Fund for Creative Equity, which also underwrites Inevitable Foundation’s Accelerate Fellowship for mid-level writers with disabilities. Visionary Fellows will also receive mentorship and attend workshops, work and shadow on each other’s sets, and have their shorts screened at a showcase attended by creative executives and representatives next year.
“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,” Inevitable Foundation co-founders Richie Siegel and Marisa Torelli-Pedevska said in a statement. “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.”
Applications for the Visionary Fellowship are open from now through July 31.
