Blog
Meet our 2024 Spring Interns!
Chicken & Egg Pictures welcomes two new Spring Interns: Natalia Weaver and Tasnuva Shehrin. Each of them brings a passion for nonfiction filmmaking, which permeates through their work. We are very excited to have them on our team!
Natalia Weaver
Communications Intern
As Communications Intern, Natalia supports the Communications team on various projects and tasks, including assisting the dissemination of promotional materials for our community of filmmakers and executing social media campaigns. Natalia is currently a student at The New School pursuing a Bachelor’s Degree in Culture and Media and is beyond excited to be joining the Chicken & Egg Pictures team. Prior to studying at The New School, Natalia earned her Associates Degree in Communications. When she was 19, Natalia moved to New York from Orange County, California to pursue her passion in Film and Media. Since then, Natalia has worked on several creative projects ranging from short films, TV sets, to co-writing and starring in a stage play which premiered at the Black Box Theatre. Natalia seeks to challenge current perceptions of Mexico in Western media while also highlighting and bringing awareness to cultural issues through film.
“I am ecstatic to be joining an organization whose vision and mission (to provide a global community of women and gender expansive documentary filmmakers with creative and financial support while striving for a gender-inclusive media industry) align with my own personal goals.”
Tasnuva Shehrin
Program Intern
As Program Intern, Tasnuva provides logistical support for programming and grant applications. With a Bachelor’s degree in Media Studies and a minor in Anthropology from Brooklyn College, she brings a comprehensive understanding of media and cultural dynamics to the role. Following her graduation, Tasnuva embarked on a solo month-long journey to Italy, where she filmed a documentary about migrant workers. With past roles as a Festival Coordinator and Public Health Educator, as well as an internship at American Documentary, Tasnuva is well-versed in various aspects of the industry. Outside of her role, Tasnuva pursues her interests as an independent filmmaker and an amateur gluten free baker.
“I’m thrilled to be part of a company that champions inclusivity for women and gender-expansive filmmakers, providing the support and resources needed to bring their visions to life. It’s wonderful to be involved in bridging the gap and fostering a more diverse and equitable creative landscape.”
Post by Communications Assistant Tess Caldwell.
Welcome Deepa Donde to our Board!
Chicken & Egg Pictures is proud to announce our newest Board Member, Deepa Donde. Deepa is an independent film, television, and radio producer based in Austin, Texas. Her work has appeared on the following outlets: NPR, Huffington Post, PBS, BBC, CBS, and NBC. In addition to her work with the Futuro Media Group, Deepa also serves on the board of The Austin Film Festival. She has in the past served on the advisory boards of Fusebox: Contemporary Multi-Disciplinary Art Festival, Youth Radio (NPR’s premier provider for youth-oriented content), Girls Impact The World Film Festival, as well as on the board of Ballet Austin.
Deepa received her Bachelor of Arts degree with Honors in Medieval History from Brown University. She is close to completing her first independent narrative feature film, PERIPHERY, and developing a documentary feature.
Deepa says of joining our Board, “Documentary filmmaking is one of the most powerful forms of truth-telling. Chicken and Egg Pictures transforms our world with creativity, freedom, and the unique expression of storytelling. I love how this incredible organization champions both emerging and veteran filmmakers from all over the world. I am honored and delighted to join this Board, which so strongly supports women and now gender-expansive voices to be global catalysts for change. Let’s celebrate the next generation of storytellers like Maite Alberdi whose film, The Eternal Memory, a beautiful love story, captures the power of optimism, courage, and hope.”
Welcome to the Chicken & Egg Pictures Board, Deepa!
Supported films at the SXSW Film Festival
We are extremely grateful to have three (Egg)celerator Lab grantees premieres and an Alumni film at this year’s South By Southwest (SXSW) Film Festival! The festival will take place between March 8-16, 2024. Congratulations all!
7 Beats Per Minute
dir. Yuqi Kang
prods. Ina Fichman, Anita Lee
7 Beats Per Minute is a participant of the 2022 (Egg)celerator Lab and will have its World Premiere in the Documentary Spotlight.
The In Between
dir. Robie Flores
prod. Alejandro J. Flores, Kellen Quinn
The In Between is a participant of the 2021 (Egg)celerator Lab, took part in the 2018 Diversity Fellows Initiative (past program), and will have its premiere in the Documentary Competition.
Songs from the Hole
dir. & prod. Contessa Gayles
prods. Richie Reseda, David Felix Sutcliffe
Songs from the Hole is a participant of the 2022 (Egg)celerator Lab and will premiere in the Visions Program.
From the AlumNest
- She Looks Like Me
dir. & prod. Torquil Jones
prods. Lindsey Dryden, Ian Davies
Post written by Communications Assistant Tess Caldwell
Welcome to the Nest, Elliot Zayas!
Meet the newest member of our team: Operations Assistant Elliot Zayas
As Operations Assistant, Elliot supports the Chicken & Egg Pictures team with various financial, operational, and human resources activities, while fostering a positive, supportive environment for all team members. Elliot has prior experience in a variety of roles, including excavation at an archaeological World Heritage Site and working as a research assistant on a groundbreaking gender archaeology project. While earning his Bachelor’s Degree in Art History from Columbia University, Elliot was an active participant in the undergraduate arts community. He continues to pursue his creative interests in the experimental music scene.
“I’m so excited to be joining Chicken & Egg Pictures at such a critical moment in the organization’s history as they expand their program eligibility to include trans men like myself. It’s an honor to provide support to my team and the filmmakers creating such inspiring work!”
Supported Filmmakers Win Awards at Cinema Eye Honors
We are extremely proud to have three supported films, and three supported filmmakers, take home wins at the 17th edition of the Cinema Eye Honors Awards. The awards ceremony took place on Friday, January 12 at the New York Academy of Medicine in East Harlem. Congratulations!
The Eternal Memory
dir. & prod. Maite Alberdi
prod. Juan de Dios Larraín, Pablo Larraín, Rocío Jadue
The Eternal Memory was supported through Maite Alberdi’s 2020 Chicken & Egg Award and won awards for Outstanding Achievement in Direction and in the 2024 Unforgettables Honorees section.
Twice Colonized
dir. Lin Alluna
prods. Emile Hertling Péronard, Alethea Arnaquq-Baril, Stacey Aglok, Bob Moore
Twice Colonized is a Project: Hatched 2023 grantee and was named a 2024 Unforgettables Honoree.
Q
dir. & prod. Jude Chehab
Q is a 2021 (Egg)celerator Lab Grantee that won the Spotlight Award.
From the AlumNest
- Black Girls Play: The Story of Hand Games | Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Short Filmmaking
dirs. & prods. Michèle Stephenson, Joe Brewster
- Confessions of a Good Samaritan | 2024 Unforgettables Honorees
dir. Penny Lane
prod. Gabriel Sedgwick
- Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project | Outstanding Achievement in Visual Design, 2024 Unforgettable Honorees
dirs. & prods. Michèle Stephenson, Joe Brewster
- Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields | Outstanding Achievement in Broadcast Editing
dir. Lana Wilson
prods. Jack Turner, Christine O’Malley
Post written by Communications Assistant Tess Caldwell
Maite Alberdi’s The Eternal Memory Receives Academy Award Nomination for Best Documentary Feature
We extend our heartfelt congratulations to the 2020 Chicken & Egg Award recipient, Maite Alberdi, and her team, whose film The Eternal Memory (La memoria infinita) has received an Academy® Award nomination for Best Documentary Feature. This follows the nomination of her previous film, The Mole Agent (El agente topo), for the same category.
The Eternal Memory debuted at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival, where it received the World Cinema Documentary Award. It has since garnered critical acclaim and numerous award nominations, including Berlinale’s Audience Award, Cinema Eye Honors for Outstanding Direction and The Unforgettables Honor, and Maite’s third Goya Award nomination for Best Documentary. This is the second time she has been nominated for both a Goya and an Oscar® Award simultaneously.
Earlier this year, Maite was honored with the Sundance Film Festival Vanguard Award for Non-fiction. She is the founder and director of Micromundo, which has produced her signature films such as The Lifeguard (El salvavidas) and Tea Time (La once).
Maite Alberdi is the first Chilean woman to receive an Oscar® nomination, and the first Latin American woman to earn this nomination twice.
We are proud to support Maite’s groundbreaking career.
Best of the Nest 2023
It’s been an amazing year of remarkable growth here at Chicken & Egg Pictures as we put our 2023–2025 Strategic Plan into action. We are excited to share with you our Best of the Nest, a showcase of the incredible work we were able to accomplish in 2023, thanks to the hard work and dedication of our amazing team, the guidance of our supportive Board Members, and the generous backing from our supporters.
This year’s Best of the Nest features a summary of our year with impressive numbers, a celebration of our filmmakers and the remarkable stories they tell, an update and spotlight on all of our programs, and, of course, a heartfelt thank you to all of those who make our work possible.
Thank you for being a valued member of our community.
Announcing Nekisa Cooper as our Board President!
Chicken & Egg Pictures announced today via Realscreen that Nekisa Cooper will succeed Julie Parker Benello as President of its Board of Directors. Nekisa, who joined the Board of Directors in 2021 and has served as Vice President since January 2023, will assume the new role as of January 1, 2024.
Julie co-founded Chicken & Egg Pictures with Wendy Ettinger and Judith Helfand in 2005. She served as the first Board President, a role she has held since the Board of Directors was established in 2016, and will continue as a member of the Board.
Nekisa is a creative producer and content executive who has dedicated her career to elevating under-recognized voices. Her producing credits include two Chicken & Egg Pictures supported films, the feature film Pariah, which is part of the Criterion Collection and the American National Film Registry, and the Sundance Channel documentary Eventual Salvation. She was most recently Vice President of Content at MasterClass, the number one e-learning brand. Under her leadership, the industry-disrupting library was built from a concept to over 175 MasterClasses featuring diverse figures as Hillary Clinton, Mira Nair, Spike Lee, Roxane Gay, Massimo Bottura, Stephen Curry, and Shonda Rhimes.
In addition to co-founding Chicken & Egg Pictures, Julie is the founder of Secret Sauce Media. She produced Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert’s Academy Award® winning feature documentary American Factory and Bonni Cohen and Jon Shenk’s Emmy® Award winning Athlete A. Most recently, she produced longtime collaborator Judith Helfand’s Love & Stuff as well as Sarah Jones’ feature debut Sell Buy Date.
Jenni Wolfson, CEO of Chicken & Egg Pictures said:
“We are thrilled to welcome Nekisa Cooper as the new President of the Chicken & Egg Pictures’ Board of Directors. And we are immensely grateful to Julie Parker Benello–a force in the documentary field and a champion of women and non-binary filmmakers–for her exemplary leadership serving as Board President. Julie’s generosity and commitment to the organization is evidenced by her continuing role as Board Director.”
She continued:
“Nekisa has a long relationship with the organization. First as a grantee, then, the first-ever recipient of the Chicken & Egg Pictures Creative Producing Award in 2012, and as a board member over the past two years. Her expertise in storytelling, producing, documentary film, management, and strategic thinking will be tremendously valuable to the organization. I am honored to be expanding our collaboration with Nekisa in this next chapter of the organization.”
Nekisa Cooper said:
“I’m honored to deepen my service to the Chicken & Egg Pictures mission, staff, board, and our filmmakers. Meeting Julie, Judith, and Wendy during my early career was critical because it was incredibly challenging for an outsider, particularly a lesbian woman of color, to create impactful work and build a sustainable career. Being a board member over the past two years has brought my journey full circle and given me the valuable opportunity to witness their transformational outcomes and radically thoughtful ways of working. I’m thrilled to build upon Julie’s leadership and to support Chicken & Egg in fostering a more gender-inclusive industry.”
Julie Parker Benello said:
“I’m delighted to pass the baton as Board President of Chicken & Egg Pictures to Nekisa, whom I have long admired as a creative producer with her business background and acumen, strategic mind, and depth of character. I am excited to see where the organization goes next under Nekisa’s board leadership, particularly as we broaden our work to serve greater numbers of filmmakers. Nekisa is the right person for the job at this juncture in Chicken & Egg’s history. I look forward to continuing to serve alongside her and my fellow board members of the organization I co-founded and love dearly.”
31 Oscar-eligible films from our community!
Congratulations to the 14 Chicken & Egg-supported films and 17 from our Alumni community on the list of documentary features and shorts eligible for the 96th Academy Awards®! We encourage you to catch these films in theaters and on streaming platforms. The Oscars® Shortlist will be announced on Thursday, December 21, so stay tuned.
Against the Tide
dir. Sarvnik Kaur
prod. Koval Bhatia, Quentin Laurent
Against the Tide is a 2021 (Egg)celerator Lab grantee.
Find about upcoming screenings here.
Bad Press
dirs. Rebecca Landsberry-Baker, Joe Peeler
prods. Conrad Beilharz, Garrett F. Baker, Tyler Graim
Bad Press is a participant of Project: Hatched 2023.
Find out about upcoming screenings here.
Eat Bitter
dirs. Ningyi Sun, Pascale Appora-Gnekindy
prod. Mathieu Faure
Eat Bitter is a 2022 (Egg)celerator Lab finalist.
Find out about upcoming screenings here.
El eco / The Echo
dir. & prod. Tatiana Huezo
prod. Dalia Reyes
El eco / The Echo was supported through Tatiana Huezo’s 2021 Chicken & Egg Award.
Joonam
dir. Sierra Urich
prod. Keith Wilson
Joonam is a 2022 (Egg)celerator Lab grantee.
Find out about upcoming screenings here.
MnM
dir. Twiggy Pucci Garçon
prods. Colleen Cassingham, Jess Devaney
MnM was supported in partnership with Multitude Films as a part of the QUEER FUTURES (2022) series and is eligible for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Film.
PAY OR DIE
dirs. & prods. Rachael Dyer, Scott Alexander Ruderman
prod. Yael Melamede
PAY OR DIE is a participant of Project: Hatched 2023.
Now streaming on Paramount +.
Plan C
dir. & prod. Tracy Droz Tragos
Plan C is a 2022 Critical Issues Fund grantee.
Find out about upcoming screenings here or watch on demand here.
Razing Liberty Square
dir. Katja Esson
prods. Ann Bennett, Corinna Sager, Ronald Baez
Razing Liberty Square is a 2022 Critical Issues Fund grantee.
The film will open theatrically in Miami on January 26 and the Broadcast Premiere will be on Independent Lens on January 29.
Reality Winner
dir. & prod. Sonia Kennebeck
prod. Ines Hofmann Kanna
Reality Winner was supported through Sonia Kennebeck’s 2023 Chicken & Egg Award.
Songs of Earth
dir. & prod. Margreth Olin
prod. Lena Faye-Lund Sandvik
Songs of Earth was supported through Margreth Olin’s 2022 Chicken & Egg Award.
The Eternal Memory
dir. & prod. Maite Alberdi
prod. Juan de Dios Larraín, Pablo Larraín, Rocío Jadue
The Eternal Memory was supported through Maite Alberdi’s 2020 Chicken & Egg Award.
Now streaming on Paramount +.
Total Trust
dir. Jialing Zhang
prod. Knut Jäger
Total Trust was supported through Jialing Zhang’s 2021 Chicken & Egg Award.
Check out their list of upcoming New York screenings here.
Twice Colonized
dir. Lin Alluna
prods. Emile Hertling Péronard, Alethea Arnaquq-Baril, Stacey Aglok, Bob Moore
Twice Colonized is a participant of Project: Hatched 2023.
Find out about upcoming screenings here.
Alumni filmmakers eligible for Best Documentary Feature
- AKA Mr. Chow
dir. Nick Hooker
prod. Diane Quon
- Anonymous Sister
dir. & prod. Jamie Boyle
prods. Marilyn Ness, Elizabeth Westrate
- Another Body
dirs. & prods. Sophie Compton, Reuben Hamlyn
prod. Elizabeth Woodward
- Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project
dirs. & prods. Michèle Stephenson, Joe Brewster
- King Coal
dir. & prod. Elaine McMillion Sheldon
prods. Shane Boris, Diane Becker, Peggy Drexler
- Mourning In Lod
dir. & prod. Hilla Medalia
- The Lady Bird Diaries
dir. & prod. Dawn Porter
prod. Kim Reynolds
- Victim/Suspect
dir. & prod. Nancy Schwartzman
prods. Julie Goldman, Christopher Clements, Alice Henty, Rachel de Leon, Amanda Pike
- Who I Am Not
dir. Tunde Skovran
prods. Andrei Zinca, Danielle Turkov, Paul Cadieux, Patrick Hamm, Amy Shepherd, Edith Weil, Daniel Szandtner, Janos Kovacs
- Your Fat Friend
dir. & prod. Jeanie Finlay
prod. Suzanne Alizart
- You Were My First Boyfriend
dirs. Cecilia Aldarondo, Sarah Enid Hagey
prod. Ines Hofmann Kanna (prod. of Reality Winner)
Alumni filmmakers eligible for Best Documentary Short Film
- A Mouthful of Petrol
dir. & prod. Jess Kohl
exec. prod. Lindsay Poulton
- Bone Black: Midwives vs the South
dir. Rebecca Richman Cohen
prod. Yoruba Richen
- Heart of an Astronaut
dir. Jennifer Rainsford
prods. Costanza Julia Bani
- How We Get Free
dirs. Geeta Gandbhir, Samantha Knowles
prods. Kathleen Lingo, Sweta Vohra, Jess Devaney
- Rest Stop
dir. Crystal Kayiza
prods. Brit Fryer, Jalena Keane-Lee
- The Recall
dir. Imani Dennison (POV Shorts Co-Production Fund Grantee)
prod. Flor Tejada
- The Feeling of Being Close to You
dir. & prod. Ash Goh Hua
Post written by Communications Intern Tess Caldwell