DETROIT — Lebanese American filmmaker Rola Nashef’s popular romantic dramedy, “Detroit Unleaded”, has earned her the 2014 Kresge Artist Fellowship.

Seventeen metropolitan Detroit artists and one collective were awarded Kresge Artist Fellowships this year. 

Each of the 18 fellowships, for artists working in dance/music and a new theater/film category, includes an unrestricted prize of $25,000 to reward an artist’s creative vision and commitment to excellence. 

The fellowships program represents the foundation’s desire to advance the artistic careers of Detroit artists living and working their hometown, as well as to elevate the profile of the area’s artistic community. The work of the 2014 fellows encompasses creative practices that push boundaries and blur lines between established disciplines, advocate for social justice and embody Detroit’s complex, evolving narrative. 

The fellowships were announced June 26 and more than 400 applications were received through a competitive process. Nashef, 41, is the recipient of several awards for her work in the arts. In May, she received the Arab American Chamber of Commerce’s American Arab of the Year Award in Creative Arts. “Detroit Unleaded” made its Detroit premiere on the big screen at the Detroit Film Theatre in November.