Search Results for: belly of the beast

Belly of the Beast wins an Emmy®!

The ceremony for the 42nd News & Documentary Emmys® Awards was held on Wednesday, September 29. 

At Chicken & Egg Pictures we are egg-static to congratulate Project: Hatched 2020 grantee Belly of the Beast, dir. Erika Cohn, prods. Nicole Docta, Christen Marquez & Angela Tucker on their Outstanding Current Affairs Documentary Emmy®. 

Huge congratulations to their team!  🎉🐣 

Belly of the Beast (Project: Hatched 2020)

dir. Erika Cohn

prods. Nicole Docta, Christen Marquez & Angela Tucker


Still from Belly of the Beast
Still from Belly of the Beast

Special Congratulations


A special congratulations to our Co-Founder & Board President Julie Parker Benello, producer of Athlete A (dirs. Bonni Cohen & Jon Shenk, prods. Serin Marshall, Julie Parker Benello & Jennifer Say) for receiving an Outstanding Investigative Documentary Emmy®. 

Take a look at our 2021 Project: Hatched grantees here and read the full Award winners list here.

Post by 2021 Intern Mariana Sanson. 

Belly of the Beast Receives Four News and Documentary Emmy® Noms!

Nominations for the 42nd Annual News and Documentary Emmy® Awards were announced today by The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS): Project: Hatched 2020 grantee Belly of the Beast received FOUR nominations! Also nominated were two films by Chicken & Egg Award recipients and one produced by our Co-founder & Board President Julie Parker Benello.  

Belly of the Beast (Project: Hatched 2020)

dir. Erika Cohn

prods. Nicole Docta, Christen Marquez & Angela Tucker


Nominated for Outstanding Direction: Documentary, Outstanding Current Affairs Documentary, Best Documentary, Outstanding Editing: Documentary

AlumNest Films


The Sit-In: Harry Belafonte Hosts The Tonight Show

Nominated for Outstanding Arts and Culture Documentary
dir. Yoruba Richen (2016 Chicken & Egg Award Recipient)
prods. Valerie Thomas & Joan Walsh

Tutwiler

Nominated for Outstanding Short Documentary
dir. Elaine McMillion Sheldon (2016 Chicken & Egg Award Recipient)
prod. Alysia Santo

John Lewis: Good Trouble

Nominated by Outstanding Research: Documentary, Outstanding Historical Documentary, Outstanding Lighting Direction and Scenic Design
dir. Dawn Porter (2017 Chicken & Egg Award recipient)
prods. Erika Alexander & Ben Arnon

Special Congratulations


A special congratulations to our Co-Founder & Board President Julie Parker Benello, producer of Athlete A (dirs. Bonni Cohen & Jon Shenk, prods. Serin Marshall, Julie Parker Benello & Jen Say). The film was nominated for Best Documentary and Outstanding Investigative Documentary. 

Check out the full nomination list here. The awards for Documentary Categories will be presented on Wednesday, September 29, 2021. Post by 2021 Summer Communications Intern Mariana Sanson. 

Belly of the Beast

SYNOPSIS

When a courageous young woman and a radical lawyer discover a pattern of illegal sterilizations in California’s women’s prisons, they wage a near-impossible battle against the Department of Corrections. With a growing team of investigators inside prison working with colleagues on the outside, they uncover a series of statewide crimes—from inadequate health care to sexual assault to coercive sterilization—primarily targeting women of color. This shocking legal drama captured over seven years features extraordinary access and intimate accounts from currently and formerly incarcerated women, demanding attention to a shameful and ongoing legacy of eugenics and reproductive injustice in the United States.

Belly of the Beast is a participant of Project: Hatched 2020.

ABOUT THE DIRECTOR

Erika Cohn looks directly at the camera. She has long earrings and medium-length wavy hair. Portrait in black and white.Erika Cohn is a Peabody- and Emmy-winning director and producer who Variety recognized as one of 2017’s “10 Documakers to Watch in 2017” and was featured in DOC NYC’s 2019 “40 Under 40.” Most recently, Erika directed and produced The Judge (TIFF 2017) and co-directed and produced In Football We Trust (Sundance 2015). Her third feature documentary, Belly of the Beast, was the opening night film at the Human Rights Watch Film Festival in June 2020, and will be broadcast on Independent Lens later this year.

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!

The Inquisitor

SYNOPSIS

Barbara Jordan fought for her place in history, and her allegiance to the American experiment steered her along the way. Through rich archive, personal recordings, and current-day interviews, The Inquisitor examines key moments in Jordan’s career, including her pivotal roles in the 1964 Reynolds v. Sims Supreme Court case, the 1973 Watergate commission hearings, the extension and revision of the Voting Rights Act in 1975, and the nomination hearings of Robert Bork to the Supreme Court in 1987. This isn’t a straight-forward biography, but rather a meditation on her legacy that also draws connections to contemporary politics and culture.

The Inquisitor is supported through Angela Tucker’s 2023 Chicken & Egg Award.

 

ABOUT THE DIRECTOR

Angela Tucker looking directly at the camera and smiling. She is wearing a denim jacket, a turquoise shirt, and purple and brown crocheted dreads. Black and white portraitAngela Tucker (she/her) is an Emmy® and Webby Award-winning filmmaker working in scripted and unscripted film and television, highlighting underrepresented communities in unconventional ways. Her recent work includes NYT Critic’s Pick Belly of the Beast (dir. Erika Cohn) and A New Orleans Noel, a Lifetime holiday film starring Patti LaBelle. Her documentaries in production are The Inquisitor, about political icon Barbara Jordan, and Steam (working title), about ancient and alternative health treatments spanning the globe.

 

Hollywood Does Abortion (working title)

SYNOPSIS

Hollywood Does Abortion is a deep dive into the depiction of abortion in film and television, revealing how flawed portrayals–that it is unsafe, rare, or easy to access–contributed to persistent misperceptions that impact attitudes and public policy. Extensive archival imagery spans a plethora of television and film, ranging from Maude and Dirty Dancing to Jane the Virgin and Juno, and creates a historical timeline to support the “story” of the film. Leading directors, writers, showrunners, and cultural critics share their personal and political reactions to these seminal depictions through the lens of today’s post-Roe world.

Hollywood Does Abortion(working title) is a 2022 Critical Issues Fund grantee.

ABOUT THE DIRECTORS

Barbara Attie looking directly at camera. She is wearing eyeglasses and a gold necklace. The background of bookcases is out of focus. Black and white portrait.

Barbara Attie (she/her) is an Emmy® nominated filmmaker who has collaborated with Janet Goldwater for more than 30 years. Barbara and Janet joined with Mike Attie to produce and direct Abortion Helpline, This is Lisa, a short documentary that screened at Sundance, won the Grand Jury Prize for Best Short Doc at AFI DOCS, and was short-listed for an Academy Award® in 2021. Their work has been supported by the Sundance Institute, the NEA, the NEH, and ITVS and they were awarded a prestigious Pew Fellowship. Among their documentaries are BaddDDD Sonia Sanchez, Mrs. Goundo’s Daughter, Rosita, Maggie Growls, and Motherless.

 

Janet Goldwater looking directly at camera. She is wearing eyeglasses and earrings. The background of bookcases is out of focus. Black and white portrait.

Janet Goldwater (she/her) is an Emmy® nominated independent filmmaker who has collaborated with Barbara Attie for 30 years. Janet co-produced and directed Abortion Helpline, This is Lisa, winner of the Grand Jury Prize for Short Films at AFI DOCS 2020. Abortion Helpline was also an IDA Documentary Awards nominee, on the DOC NYC Shortlist 2020, and short-listed for an Academy Award® in 2021. Their first film together, Motherless, A Legacy of Loss from Illegal Abortion, highlighted the dangers of pre-Roe v. Wade abortions and has become a fixture of US law, medical, and nursing school curricula.

 

Mike Attie looking directly at camera. He is wearing eyeglasses and has a festival lanyard around his neck. Black and white portrait.

Mike Attie (he/him) is a Philadelphia-based filmmaker and a professor at the University of the Arts. His films have been screened at the Sundance Film Festival, Hot Docs, DOC NYC, Big Sky, CPH:DOX, and SFFILM. Previously, he co-produced/directed and was director of photography for Abortion Helpline, This is Lisa, which premiered at Sundance, won the Special Jury Prize at AFI Docs, was shortlisted for an Academy Award®, and is available on Topic. Attie’s films have been supported by the Sundance Documentary Film Program, the Knight Foundation, and the Catapult Film Fund.

 

Eliza Licht looking directly at camera. She is wearing earrings and is in front of an out focus background. Black and white portrait.

Eliza Licht (she/her) has worked in the documentary field for 20 years as an impact strategist, producer, and television executive. Her most recent producing credits include consulting producer of Battleground (2022) and co-producer of the 2020 documentary Disclosure. In 2020, she founded the impact and production firm Red Owl. Before that, Eliza spent 17 years leading impact campaigns for the PBS documentary series POV; relevant campaigns include Abortion Helpline, This is Lisa (2020), Battleground, Belly of the Beast (2020), Disclosure, and After Tiller (2014).

2023 Chicken & Egg Award Recipient

ANGELA TUCKER: 2023 CHICKEN & EGG AWARD RECIPIENT

Angela Tucker looking directly at the camera and smiling. She is wearing a denim jacket, a turquoise shirt, and purple and brown crocheted dreads. Black and white portrait Angela Tucker (she/her) is an Emmy® and Webby-winning filmmaker working in scripted and unscripted film and television. Her recent work includes NYT Critic’s Pick Belly of the Beast (dir. Erika Cohn); Webby winning branded series in collaboration with REI Co-Op Studios The Trees Remember and A New Orleans Noel’, a Lifetime holiday film starring Patti LaBelle. Past directorial work includes All Skinfolk, Ain’t Kinfolk, a documentary short that aired on PBS’ Reel South; Black Folk Don’t, a documentary web series featured in Time Magazine’s “10 Ideas That Are Changing Your Life”, and (A)sexual, a feature-length documentary about people who experience no sexual attraction that streamed on Netflix and Hulu. Her documentaries in production are The Inquisitor, about political icon Barbara Jordan and Steam (working title), about ancient and alternative health treatments spanning the globe. 

She was a Sundance Institute Women Filmmakers Initiative Fellow, and a recipient of Firelight Media’s inaugural William Greaves Fund. Angela is the Founder of TuckerGurl Inc, a boutique production company, and holds an MFA in Film from Columbia University. She is passionate about stories that highlight underrepresented communities in unconventional ways and is a member of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences.

CURRENT PROJECT
The Inquisitor

As the US was reeling from the potential impeachment of Richard Nixon, Barbara Jordan–the first Black woman elected to Congress from the South—emerged to ask What does it mean to be Black and patriotic in a divided America?

We Stand with Reproductive Rights

The Supreme Court recently heard arguments in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, one of the most significant United States abortion cases in decades. This case has the potential to undo Roe v. Wade and is a threat to the constitutional rights of people who can become pregnant in the United States, where our organization is based. At Chicken & Egg Pictures we are deeply concerned about the possible outcomes of this case— such as preventing access to safe and legal abortions—and stand in support of reproductive rights

We are living a defining moment for present and future generations, and we fiercely believe in the transformative power of documentary, especially in a call to action moment like this. Over the past sixteen years, Chicken & Egg Pictures has supported filmmakers who skillfully weave deeply humane storytelling to showcase the impact of reproductive restrictions. We encourage you to revisit some of the Nest-supported films that have increased visibility for reproductive rights:


A Quiet Inquisition, dirs. & prods. Alessandra Zeka and Holen Sabrina Kahn

A Quiet Inquisition Alessandra Zeka Holen Sabrina Kahn

Set in Nicaragua, A Quiet Inquisition portrays the reality of abortion prohibition where doctors have to navigate between the potential of prosecution and medical protocols that save lives.
Rent on Youtube


On The Divide, dirs. Maya Cueva & Leah Galant, prods. Melanie Miller, Diane Becker, Amanda Spain, Elizabeth Woodward

On The Divide Still

On The Divide is a film about the last abortion clinic on the US-Mexico border, where three Latinx people are connected despite their different views. As threats to the clinic and their personal safety mount, these three are forced to make decisions they never could have imagined.
Watch on POV in 2022 


Vessel, dir. & prod. Diana Whitten, prod. Mitchell Block

Vessel Diana Whitten

Vessel is the story of activist Rebecca Gomperts, founder of Women on Waves, a non-profit organization dedicated to bringing reproductive health services to women in countries with restrictive abortion laws. When her ship is faced with governmental, religious, and military blockade, she decides to use new technologies to train women to give themselves abortions using WHO-researched pills. This work builds an underground network of emboldened pro-choice activists who trust women to handle abortion. 
Rent on Amazon Prime


The Chosen Life, dir. Dawn Porter, prod. Marilyn Ness

The Chosen Life follows the story of Dr. Yashica Robinson as she offers reproductive options for women in Huntsville, Alabama, where abortion providers face harassment, ostracism, and state-sanctioned obstacles.
Watch via The New York Times


Motherland, dir. & prod. Ramona S. Díaz, prod. Rey Cuerdo

Motherland Ramona Diaz

Motherland takes us into the world’s busiest maternity hospital, which is located in one of its poorest countries: the Philippines. There, women face devastating consequences as their country struggles with reproductive health policy and the politics of conservative ideologies.
Watch on Tubi, Vudu & Peacock


Belly of the Beast, dir. Erika Cohn, prods. Nicole Docta, Christen Marquez & Angela Tucker

Still from Belly of the Beast

Belly of the Beast is a shocking story about the ongoing legacy of eugenics and reproductive injustice in the United States. When a courageous young woman and a radical lawyer discover a pattern of illegal sterilizations in California’s women’s prisons—primarily targeting women of color, they wage a near-impossible battle against the Department of Corrections. 
Host a screening


After Tiller, dirs. & prods. Martha Shane and Lana Wilson

After Tiller Martha Shane Lana Wilson

After Tiller is a compassionate portrait of the remaining four American doctors who openly provide third-trimester abortions and have become the new number-one targets of the anti-abortion movement. They continue to risk their lives every day to do work that many believe is murder, but which they believe is profoundly important for their patients’ lives. 
Watch on Tubi & Apple TV


Celebrating Program Director Lucila Moctezuma’s Academy Invitation!

Today at Chicken & Egg Pictures we are egg-cited and proud to share some big news: our dearest Program Director Lucila Moctezuma has been invited to become a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Lucila oversees the planning and implementation of our organization’s programs in support of women nonfiction filmmakers and has constructed a solid career supporting and producing documentary filmmaking across borders. 

We also want to congratulate our Board members Susan Margolin and Brenda Robinson, and Nest-supported filmmaker Angela Tucker (co-director of I am not going to change 400 years in four and producer of Belly of the Beast) for their invitation too! 

The Class of 2021 is 46% women, 39% percent underrepresented ethnic/racial communities, and 53% international from 49 countries outside of the United States. Documentary is among the seven branches that invited more women than men, along with Casting Directors, Costume Designers, Executives, Marketing and Public Relations, Music, and Producers.

Congratulations to the Class of 2021! 

Post by 2021 Summer Communications Intern Mariana Sanson. 

Docs by the Dozen in partnership with Mother Jones: “I am not going to change 400 years in four.”

Directed by Angela Tucker and Kristi Jacobson, I am not going to change 400 years in four. is produced by Chicken & Egg Pictures in partnership with Mother Jones.

When Satana Deberry took the oath of office as district attorney of Durham County, North Carolina on January 1, 2019, it was a momentous occasion—for the city of Durham and for her, as a Black woman elected to an office historically held by white men whose “tough on crime” policies have devastated communities of color for decades. Now, she faces the complicated realities of seeking to reform a deeply flawed criminal justice system, and a community ravaged by gun violence. Her story is at once inspiring and empowering—and also a call to action, for voters across the nation.

Directed by Angela Tucker and 2016 Chicken & Egg Award Recipient Kristi Jacobson, I am not going to change 400 years in four. was produced by Chicken & Egg Pictures through Docs by the Dozen, in partnership with Mother Jones.


About Docs by the Dozen: This shorts and series program was designed to engage with the 320+ members of our AlumNest, build meaningful partnerships with like-minded organizations and media companies, and generate artistic and innovative projects that can increase a filmmaker’s financial stability. The program provides talented filmmakers with the opportunity to expand their portfolios, reach broader audiences, and respond to critical social justice issues in a timely way.

About the directors: Angela Tucker and Kristi Jacobson teamed up to co-direct this powerful short documentary, a natural evolution of each of their bodies of work. Angela Tucker is a New Orleans-based writer, director and Emmy nominated producer. Her latest films include Belly of the Beast, which will broadcast on PBS’ Independent Lens in fall 2020, and All Skinfolk, Ain’t Kinfolk (2020, PBS), a short about a mayoral election in New Orleans. Earlier films include narrative feature All Styles (2018, Amazon); Black Folk Don’t, a doc web series that was featured in Time Magazine’s “10 Ideas That Are Changing Your Life”; and (A)sexual (2012, Netflix/Hulu). Kristi Jacobson is an Emmy Award-winning filmmaker, working as a director and producer of features, series and short-form content. Some of her films include Solitary (2017, HBO), which takes an unprecedented look at life inside a supermax prison and is winner of an Emmy Award for Outstanding Investigative Documentary and Independent Spirit Truer Than Fiction Award nominee; Take Back the Harbor (2018, Discovery); A Place at the Table (2012, Magnolia Pictures/ Participant Media); and Cartel Bank, an episode of the hit Netflix Original series Dirty Money (2018).

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