Uncompromising Cinema

The Fellowship

INVESTING IN GLOBAL FILMMAKERS

Aimed at giving support, guidance, counsel and mentorship to exceptional documentary film-teams from around the globe who find themselves grappling with challenges and in vulnerable circumstances.

Ten film-teams from around the world will be awarded NO NATION FILMS’ Fellowship in 2023 and 2024.

Fellows will receive guidance, mentorship, and counsel towards completing their feature-length documentary films.

NO NATION FILMS’ Fellowship is launched in honour of our 10th anniversary.

NEW! Applications is closed.

Please check the FAQ section below to find out how you can apply for the Fellowship in 2024.

While we continue to award The Fellowship at our discretion, collaborating with certain labs and workshops, the new application process provides an additional opportunity for film teams to be considered.

Our Fellows

  • Fellowship Grantees

    Awarded @ Docs by the Sea

    September 2023

  • Nupur Agrawal and Shivajee Biswanath

    Downhill Kargil

    India | First-feature

    Two young girls from Kargil embark on a journey against all odds to play for the Indian National Women’s Ice Hockey Team.

  • Catherine Chan & Wong Siu-pong

    The Whisper of Sunlight

    Hong Kong | 5th-Feature

    Three teenage girls from Hong Kong face a rare brain cancer as they transition into adulthood. They set forth to Germany as a last hope to fight for their lives.

  • Selection October 2023

  • Mina Keshavarz

    Undisclosed Project

    Iran, France & Norway | 3rd-Feature

  • Joud Hasan

    Untitled

    Germany & Lebanon | First-Feature

    A personal narrative in development.

  • Selection January 2024

  • Hanz Rippe and Fernanda Pineda

    The Shadow of Yolüja

    Colombia | 1st-Feature

    Yolüja, the evil spirit that rides the coal train disturbs the dreams of Poo and Alfredo Pushaina, preventing them from interpreting the prophecies of their Wayuu indigenous community’s destiny. In an exhumation ritual in the ancient cemeteries, the Pushaina family will have an encounter with the souls of their elders displaced of their ancestral lands by the coal mining company, El Cerrejón.

  • Noora Said and Yousef Hammad

    Working Title: House No.11

    Palestine | 1st-Feature

    Through archival and current family accounts, a three-generational narrative delves into the family's battle to preserve their home in Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood.

  • Selection April 2024

  • Rama Abdi and Hazar Yazji

    House No. 7

    Syria | 1st-Feature

    After escaping their abusive family homes, and their conservative societies, three women, rent rooms in an old Damascene house. They manage to create a safe space isolated from the madness of the post-war era, but soon the girls start facing many threats, thus protecting their fragile space becomes a challenge.

  • Timofey Stekolshuk and Sergey Yahontov

    TAU

    Georgia, Germany | 1st-Feature

    TAU is a gonzo report from the heart of a media whirlwind of the 1990s in Russia, a story of a local independent TV agency trading its independence for a role in the service of those In power. Acting as an observer and a direct participant in the events, the agency documented the chaotic era, creating Its own heroes and mythology.

  • Selection May 2024

  • Mariia Shevchenko and Ella Shtyka

    Keepers of the Ruins

    Ukraine, Poland | 1st-Feature

    Kharkiv is a million inhabitants city on the border to Russia under constant threat of occupation and constant Russian strikes. March 2024 Russian strikes cut off electricity completely – the city is still without heating, electricity and water supply. In this reality, people of Kharkiv demonstrate absolutely heroic resistance and they literally make hopes out of ruins. Kharkiv that has been Russified for decades returns to its Ukrainian-ness.

FAQs

What is the Fellowship?

Our Fellowship comprises an all-encompassing mentorship and consultancy package that extends throughout a range of adaptable weeks, over a six-month period. It is designed to offer flexibility and convenience.

Sessions can take place either in person or online, involving activities such as creative discussions, film counsel, reviewing film-files, proposals and budgets, providing notes on preliminary edits or rough cuts and addressing an array of concerns and queries expressed by the awarded film-teams.

How many Fellows will you award?

Each Fellowship is awarded in discretion to a single director-producer team working on a documentary film project with compelling story and artistic ambition.

In total, 10 teams will be awarded in 2023 and 2024.

Are Fellows expected to commit to No Nation Films?

Fellows agree to commit to the schedule and fellowship program.

Given that No Nation Films Fellowship includes a mentorship and consultancy program, it should be cited in the film’s financial plan as an in-kind contribution, and credited among other similar contributors in the film end-roll credits as well as all the film’s communication.

Can I apply for the Fellowship in 2024?

Yes, starting in 2024, we have introduced a new application process to accommodate the high demand and consider a wider range of film teams and projects.

Interested film teams can apply for The Fellowship by filling out an application through FilmFreeway.

Please be aware that application fees
will only be refunded for successful fellows.

The deadlines are:

  • Early-bird Deadline: January 25, 2024

  • Regular Deadline: February 16, 2024

  • Late Deadline: March 8, 2024

The Fellowship is to start from April 1st onwards.

Are Fellows automatically eligible for any co-production?

The Fellowship allows us to accompany the film-teams and the development of their project closely for potential future collaboration.

Fellows are automatically eligible for the co-production program if they consider to apply. However, it doesn’t guarantee a selection. All applicants to the co-production program will be subject to a juried process.

Do you have plans to present awards on an annual basis?

The award was created for the occasion of celebrating the 10th anniversary of No Nation Films inauguration during 2024.

It will be awarded throughout 2023 and 2024. Currently no further plans are set for the future.

Do you offer a Mentorship outside the Fellowship Program?

Please check our consultancy service to see how you can get similar mentorship, counsel or consultancy.

Interested in supporting us?

If you would like to support the Fellowship program, please email us.