Academy Invitations to AlumNest Filmmakers
Chicken & Egg Pictures is extremely proud to share some big news: Five AlumNest filmmakers have been invited to become members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The new members include Project: Hatched 2020 grantee Erika Cohn (Belly of the Beast), 2022 Critical Issues Fund grantee Katja Esson (Razing Liberty Square), 2020 (Egg)celerator Lab grantee Violet Du Feng (Hidden Letters), 2023 Chicken & Egg Award recipient Sonia Kennebeck, and Nest-supported filmmaker Nancy Schwartzman (Roll Red Roll, One Shot One Kill).
We also want to congratulate Lindsey Dryden (producer of Nest-supported Unrest) and Melanie Miller (producer of Project: Hatched 2021 grantee On The Divide) for their invitations!
Of the 2023 Class, 40% identify as women, 34% belong to underrepresented ethnic/racial communities, and 52% are from 50 countries and territories outside the United States.
Congratulations to the Class of 2023!
Laura Nix and Julia Reichert Nominated for 92nd Academy Awards
Egg-citing news! Announced today, filmmakers Laura Nix and Julia Reichert received Oscar nominations for their nonfiction films Walk Run Cha-Cha and American Factory, respectively.
Walk Run Cha-Cha
Directed by Laura Nix (2018 Chicken & Egg Award);
Produced by Colette Sandstedt
Nominated for Documentary Short
American Factory
Directed by Julia Reichert (2016 Chicken & Egg Award) and Steve Bognar; Produced by Julia Reichert, Steve Bognar, Jeff Reichert, and Chicken & Egg Pictures Co-Founder Julie Parker Benello
Nominated for Documentary Feature
We are so proud to have supported Laura and Julia through our Chicken & Egg Award program and wish them the best of luck! You can stream American Factory on Netflix and Walk Run Cha-Cha on New York Times Op-Docs.
The 92nd Academy Awards will take place on Sunday, February 9, 2020. A full list the full list of nominees can be seen here.
Dark Money and On Her Shoulders on the 91st Oscars® Documentary Shortlist
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences recently announced their shortlist for documentary features in consideration for the 91st Oscars® and two Nest-supported films are on the list: Dark Money, directed by Kimberly Reed and On Her Shoulders, directed by Alexandria Bombach. We were egg-static to see these projects included, and that eight out of the fifteen films listed are women-directed docs.
A century ago, corrupt money swamped Montana’s legislature, but Montanans rose up to prohibit corporate campaign contributions. Today, in the wake of the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision —which allows unlimited, anonymous money to pour into elections nationwide—Montana is once again fighting to preserve open and honest elections. Following an investigative reporter through a political thriller, Dark Money exposes one of the greatest threats to American democracy.
Dark Money screened at the AFI Docs Film Festival last summer, had its broadcast premiere on POV on PBS, and was also featured on the International Documentary Association’s shortlist for top feature of 2018 as well.
This empowering documentary presents 23-year-old Nadia Murad, a Yazidi genocide survivor determined to tell the world her story. Determined advocate and reluctant celebrity, she becomes the voice of her people and their best hope to spur the world to action.
On Her Shoulders is the 2018 SXSW LUNA/Chicken & Egg Pictures Award recipient. On Her Shoulders was also listed as a top award contender for the documentary feature category on the DOC NYC shortlist and received the 2018 Harrell Award for Best Documentary Feature at the 2018 Camden International Film Festival (CIFF).
In addition to being included with the top documentaries of the year, Dark Money and On Her Shoulders will be featured in the OSCARS Spotlight: Documentary Feature Shortlist theatrical release, an opportunity to see all the Academy’s nominations shortlist.
The films will screen theatrically in 13 cities across the United States through Monday, January 21. See here to find a screening.
Nominations for the 91st Academy Awards will be announced Tuesday, January 22, and the Oscars will be held Sunday, February 24 at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, televised live by ABC.
Chicken & Egg Pictures on the 90th Academy Awards® shortlist!
The Oscars® shortlist is here, and we are ecstatic to announce that two Chicken & Egg Pictures-supported films have advanced to the next stage of the voting process for the 90th Academy Awards® in the Documentary Features category!
Congratulations to first-time filmmakers Jennifer Brea (Unrest) and Yance Ford (Strong Island), whose films have made it to the top 15 out of 170 submitted documentaries!
Unrest, directed by Jennifer Brea
Jennifer, a Harvard PhD student, was signing a check at a restaurant when she found she could not write her own name. Months before her wedding, she became progressively more ill, losing the ability even to sit in a wheelchair. When doctors insisted that her condition was psychosomatic, she picked up her camera to document her own story and the stories of four other patients struggling with the world’s most prevalent orphaned disease.
Strong Island, directed by Yance Ford
Set in the suburbs of the black middle class, Strong Island seeks to uncover how—in the year of the Rodney King trial and the Los Angeles riots—the murder of the filmmaker’s older brother went unpunished. The film is an unflinching look at homicide, racial injustice, and the corrosive impact of grief over time.
Check out the rest of the documentary features that have advanced in the voting process here.
Nominations for the 90th Academy Awards® will be announced on Tuesday, January 23, 2018. Best of luck to Jen and Yance!
The Lion’s Mouth Opens getting awards season buzz
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences released the shortlist of contenders for the Academy Award® for Best Documentary Short Subject. On the list was I Believe in You grant recipient Lucy Walker and her film The Lion’s Mouth Opens.
Eight films out of 58 eligible entries were named to the shortlist. Three to five will receive nominations. The full list can be found here.
Chicken & Egg Pictures congratulates Lucy and her team. We are thrilled and proud to be supporters of this film and to have Lucy in our nest. For more information on the film, visit our film page for The Lion’s Mouth Opens.