The Academy has selected US-based Tatti Ribeiro and Australia-based Noora Niasari as recipients of the 2026 year’s Academy Gold Fellowship For Women.
The one-year programme comes under the aegis of the organisation’s global talent development and education work and combines support, mentorship, and networking opportunities to further the careers of emerging women filmmakers.
The annual fellowships, which Academy governor and president of the Academy Foundation Board Kim Taylor-Coleman described as “a priority” for the organisation, focus on one US-based and one international-based filmmaker. Fellows receive ongoing career advancement support through the Academy Gold Alumni Network And Mentorship Program.
Ribeiro is a journalist and filmmaker raised in the San Francisco Bay Area whose first feature film Valentina won the Someone to Watch Award at the 2026 Independent Spirit Awards, among other recognition.
Tehran-born writer/director Niasari was raised in Australia and her debut feature Shayda won the 2023 Sundance World Cinema Dramatic Competition Audience Award and best film at the 2023 Australian Directors’ Guild Awards. Sony Pictures Classics acquired Shayda and it became Australia’s Oscar submission for the 96th Academy Awards.
The 2026 fellows were selected from a group of 10 finalists. US contenders were Jalena Keane-Lee, Karina Lomelin Ripper, Oanh-Nhi Nguyen, and Samantha Smart, and non-US finalists were Maura Delpero, Rena Effendi, Suzannah Mirghani, and Zamo Mkhwanazi.
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