All posts by Mariana Sanson

Still from Mama Bears. A woman in sun glasses holds a sign with hearts in rainbow colors that reads, "Mama Bear Free Hugs. You are Loved". There is a crowd of people around and behind her.

We are proud to see two Nest-supported and two AlumNest films at the 25th Annual Full Frame Documentary Film Festival, which will be held online from Thursday, April 7 through Sunday, April 10.

Full Frame’s lineup includes 19 films, out of 37, directed or co-directed by women or nonbinary filmmakers.

Mama Bears

dir. & prod. Daresha Kyi

prod. Laura Tatham

MAMA BEARS DARESHA KYI 2019 Eggcelerator Lab — Still from *Mama Bears*

Mama Bears is an intimate exploration of two “mama bears”—conservative, Christian mothers who have become fierce advocates for LGBTQ+ people—and a young lesbian whose struggle for self-acceptance exemplifies why the mama bears are so important.

Mama Bears is a 2019 (Egg)celerator Lab grantee.
We are egg-cited to announce that the tickets for this film are sold out!

This film is only available to viewers in the United States.

Mija

dir. & prod. Isabel Castro

prod. Tabs Breese, Yesenia Tlahuel

With Doris’ voice as our guide, Mija uses VHS archive, verité footage, and camcorder vlogging to tell the story of two young women’s coming-of-age journeys as they look for success and belonging. The film is an immensely emotional and intimate portrait honoring the resilience of immigrants and their children.

Mija is a 2021 (Egg)celerator Lab grantee.
Get your tickets with this link.

This film is only available to viewers in the United States.

AlumNest Films

Video Visit

dir. & prod. Malika Zouhali-Worrall (2019 Chicken & Egg Award recipient)

The Martha Mitchell Effect

prods. Beth Levison (2021 Project: Hatched grantee for the film Storm Lake) and Judith Mizrachy, dirs. Anne Alvergue, Debra McClutchy

Check out Full Frame’s full line up with this link.

(Egg)celerator Lab, Awards, Film Festivals, News

The Last Nomads Wins Best Pitch at CPH:DOX!

April 4, 2022 Mariana Sanson Leave a comment

Chicken & Egg Pictures is proud to see 2021 (Egg)celerator Lab grantee The Last Nomads receive the €20,000 Eurimages Co-Production Development Award for the best pitch of this year’s CPH:FORUM, announced on Friday, April 1.

“We were impressed by this project which brings us to a place we didn’t know existed, a place of striking beauty and importance to humanity. A story of the human being in a David against Goliath battle, urgently reminding us not to lose our way in the fog of war.”

–Jury Statement

Through the story of a a mother and daughter defending their land against becoming a military polygon, the film illustrates how violence against women echoes in violence against nature.

This project is currently in development and looking for €624,000 ($659,428 USD) in funding.

The Last Nomads

dir.co-dirs. Biljana Tutorov & Petar Glomazić

prods. Biljana Tutorov & Veliša Popović

Check out the full list of winners with this link.

*Photo courtesy of CPH:DOX

Still from Ascension. Aerial shot of a waterpark, where people are floating in circled water floats.

AlumNest, Awards, News

Ascension Soars at Cinema Eye Honors!

March 25, 2022 Mariana Sanson Leave a comment

Huge congratulations to the Ascension team for picking up three awards at the 15th Annual Cinema Eye Honors: Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography, Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Score, and Outstanding Achievement in a Debut Feature Film.

Plus a special shoutout to AlumNest filmmakers Nanfu Wang, Jialing Zhang, and the In the Same Breath team for their win in the award for Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Film For Broadcast.

Ascension

dir. & prod. Jessica Kingdon

prods. Kira Simon-Kennedy, Nathan Truesdell

Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography
Jessica Kingdon and Nathan Truesdell

Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Score
Dan Deacon

Outstanding Achievement in a Debut Feature Film
Jessica Kingdon

Ascension examines the contemporary “Chinese Dream” through staggering observations of labor, consumerism and wealth. In cinematically exploring the aspiration that drives today’s People’s Republic of China, the film plunges into universal paradoxes of economic progress.

Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Film For Broadcast
In the Same Breath
dir. Nanfu Wang
prods. Jialing Zhang, Carolyn Hepburn, Sara Rodriguez, Julie Goldman, and Christopher Clements

Take a look at the complete list of award winners by visiting this link.

AlumNest, Grants, News

Six Nest-supported filmmakers receive The Spark Fund!

March 25, 2022 Mariana Sanson Leave a comment

We are egg-tremely proud to see six Nest-supported filmmakers among Firelight Media Spark Fund’s 36 recipients. This one-time opportunity offers a $50,000 stipend to established, independent documentary filmmakers who self-identify as Black, Indigenous, and/or people of color (BIPOC) and whose work on humanities-themed projects was disrupted by the COVID-19 public health emergency.
Congratulations to all the recipients!

2016 (Egg)celerator Lab grantee Assia Boundaoui (The Feeling of Being Watched)

2020 (Egg)celerator Lab grantee Débora Souza Silva (Black Mothers)

Nest-supported filmmaker Farihah Zaman (Remote Area Medical)

2017 Chicken & Egg Award recipient Grace Lee (American Revolutionary: The Evolution of Grace Lee Boggs)

2016 Chicken & Egg Award recipient Michèle Stephenson

Nest-supported filmmaker Vaishali Sinha (Made in India)

We are sending an extra special congratulations to our Senior Creative Consultant Yvonne Welbon, who was also selected as one of the recipients.

Check out the full list of recipients and learn more about them with this link.

Electric Malady Marie Lidén 2018 Accelerator Lab

Film Festivals, News

Nest-supported filmmakers at CPH:DOX 2022!

March 24, 2022 Mariana Sanson Leave a comment

We are proud to see three Nest-supported, and two AlumNest films at CPH:DOX 2022! After two years, the festival is returning in-person to the big screen with 200 new films, 76 world premieres, and 59 competition titles across six international categories.

The festival will run in Copenhagen cinemas from Wednesday, March 23 through Sunday, April 3, and stream throughout Denmark from Friday, April 1 to Sunday, April 10.

Electric Malady

dir. Marie Lidén

prod. Aimara Reques, Lorna Jane Ferguson

Allergic to electronics and isolated in the Swedish wilderness in a homemade turtle shell of thick blankets. Meet 40-year-old William, whose mysterious condition is not recognised by the world.

Electric Malady is a 2018 (Egg)celerator Lab grantee. As well as having its world premiere at the festival, the film will also be participating in the Nordic:Dox Award Competition.

Get your tickets with this link.

Midwives

dir. & prod. Snow Hnin Ei Hlaing

prods. Bob Moore, Ulla Lehmann, Mila Aung-Thwin

A tale of the complicated relationship between Rohingya and Buddhists in Myanmar, told over five years through the eyes of two midwives from either side of the divide.

Midwives is a 2020 (Egg)celerator Lab grantee, and its first screening at the festival will mark its European premiere. It is participating in the Dox:Award Competition.

Get your tickets with this link.

Mija

dir. & prod. Isabel Castro

prods. Tabitha Breese, Yesenia Tlahuel

A tale of the complicated relationship between Rohingya and Buddhists in Myanmar, told over five years through the eyes of two midwives from either side of the divide.

Mija is a 2021 (Egg)celerator Lab grantee, and its screenings at the Sound & Vision section will mark its international premiere.

Get your tickets with this link.

AlumNest Films

TikTok, Boom.

dir. & prod. Shalini Kantayya (Coded Bias)
prods. Ross M. Dinerstein, Danni Mynard

To the End

dir. Rachel Lears (The Hand That Feeds)
prod. Sabrina Schmidt Gordon

Meet Our Team at CPH:DOX 2022

Filmmaker Engagement Manager Jaad Asante will be attending CPH:FORUM from Thursday, March 28 through Friday, April 1. If you are visiting CPH:DOX and would like to meet Jaad, please feel free to contact her to hatch a plan.

📧 Jaad Asante
jaad@chickeneggpics.org

Take a look at the full line-up with this link.

AlumNest, Film Festivals, News

Chicken & Egg Pictures at SXSW 2022!

March 10, 2022 Mariana Sanson Leave a comment

We are egg-stremely excited to see two Nest-supported films and four AlumNest films in the SXSW 2022 line-up! For the first time in two years, films will have in-person screenings (most will also have online screenings afterwards).

The festival will take place in Austin, Texas, from Friday, March 11 through Sunday, March 20. Take a look at the films from the Nest below:

Mama Bears

dir. & prod. Daresha Kyi

prod. Laura Tatham

Mama Bears is a 2019 (Egg)celerator Lab grantee, and is participating in SXSW World Premiere – Documentary Feature Competition.

Get your tickets with this link.

Boycott

dir & prod. Julia Bacha

prod. Suhad Babaa, Daniel J. Chalfen

When a news publisher in Arkansas, an attorney in Arizona and a speech therapist in Texas are told to choose between their jobs and their political beliefs, they launch legal battles that expose an attack on freedom of speech in 33 states in America.

Boycott was supported through Julia Bacha’s 2019 Chicken & Egg Award, and is a SXSW Texas Premiere–Festival Favorites (Acclaimed standouts from festivals around the world).

Get your tickets with this link.

AlumNest films

Look At Me
dir. Sabaah Folayan (Whose Streets?)
prods. Darcy McKinnon, Chloe Campion

Video Visit
dir. & prod. Malika Zouhali-Worrall (2019 Chicken & Egg Award recipient)

Descendant
dir. & prod. Margaret Brown (The Great Invisible)
prods. Kyle Martin, Essie Chambers

TikTok, Boom.
dir. & prod. Shalini Kantayya (Coded Bias)
prods. Ross M. Dinerstein, Danni Mynard

A special shout out to our Co-Founder & Board President Julie Parker Benello, producer of Sell/Buy/Date (dir. & prod. Sarah Jones, prods. David Goldblum, Julie Parker Benello), screening in SXSW World Premiere – Visions.

Check out the full line-up by visiting this link.

Two women, one young and the other one older, are standing in a forest. They smile.

AlumNest, Film Festivals, Grantees, News

Nest-supported Films at Big Sky Film Festival

February 15, 2022 Mariana Sanson Leave a comment

We are happy to see Project: Hatched 2021 grantee Daughter of a Lost Bird, Nest-supported film Boycott, and AlumNest film A Decent Home in the Big Sky Documentary Film Festival line-up. The 19th edition of the festival will take place in Missoula, Montana, with in-person screenings from Friday, Feb. 18 through Sunday, Feb. 27, and access to the virtual program from Monday, Feb. 21 through Thursday, Mar. 3.

Daughter of a Lost Bird

dir. & prod. Brooke Pepion Swaney

prods. Kendra Mylnechuk Potter, Jeri Rafter

A Native adoptee reconnects with her birth family and her Lummi heritage—confronting her identity. Her singular story represents many affected by the Indian Child Welfare Act and Indian Adoption Project in the US.

Get your tickets to watch in-person or online with this link.

Boycott

dir & prod. Julia Bacha

prod. Suhad Babaa, Daniel J. Chalfen

Boycotts have long been a tool used by Americans rallying for social and political change, from civil rights leaders to anti-apartheid activists. But in recent years, 33 US states have introduced anti-boycott legislation or executive orders designed to penalize individuals and companies who choose to boycott Israel due to its human rights record. Boycott looks at the cases of a news publisher in Arkansas, an attorney in Arizona, and a speech therapist in Texas whose careers are threatened by the harsh measures of these new laws. A legal thriller with “accidental plaintiffs” at the center, the film is a bracing look at the far-reaching implications of anti-boycott legislation and an inspiring tale of everyday Americans standing up to protect our rights in an age of shifting politics and threats to freedom of speech.

Boycott was supported through Julia Bacha’s Chicken & Egg Award.

Get your tickets to watch in-person or online with this link.

From the AlumNest

A Decent Home
dir. & prod. Sara Terry
prods. Alysa Nahmias, Sara Archambault, Gretchen Landau

A Decent Home addresses urgent issues of class and economic (im)mobility through the lives of mobile home park residents who can’t afford housing anywhere else.

Get your tickets to watch in-person or online with this link.

Meet Our Team at Big Sky Film Festival

Filmmaker Engagement Manager Jaad Asante will be attending the festival from Wednesday, February 23 to Saturday, February 26. If you are there, catch up with her!

Take a look at the full line-up with this link.

AlumNest, Awards, News

Ascension and Writing With Fire Nominated for the 94th Academy Awards!

February 8, 2022 Mariana Sanson Leave a comment

Two stills of Ascension and Writing With Fire facing each other

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences revealed their 2022 Oscar® nominations list on Tuesday, February 8. We are egg-static and sending massive congratulations to the two (Egg)celerator Lab grantees nominated for Best Documentary Feature: Ascension and Writing With Fire.

The in-person ceremony will take place on Sunday, March 27 at Hollywood’s Dolby Theatre, and will be televised on ABC. Please join us and celebrate these films and filmmakers!

Ascension

dir. & prod. Jessica Kingdon

prods. Kira Simon-Kennedy, Nathan Truesdell

Ascension participated in the 2019 (Egg)celerator Lab.

Writing With Fire

dirs. & prods. Rintu Thomas & Sushmit Ghosh

In a cluttered news landscape dominated by men, emerges India’s only newspaper run by Dalit women. Armed with smartphones, Chief Reporter Meera and her journalists break traditions, be it on the frontlines of India’s biggest issues or within the confines of their homes, redefining what it means to be powerful.

Writing With Fire participated in the 2018 (Egg)celerator Lab.

Check out a video of the filmmakers receiving the news with this link.

Read the full nomination list visiting this link.

Yoruba Richen 2016 Breakthrough Award Recipient

AlumNest, Awards, Chicken & Egg Award

AlumNest filmmakers nominated for the NAACP Image Awards!

February 3, 2022 Mariana Sanson Leave a comment

We were honored to see three Chicken & Egg Award filmmakers on the nominations list for the 53rd annual NAACP Image Awards, recognizing achievements by Black artists across film, TV, literature, music, and more.

Congratulations to all the nominees! Tune in to the live ceremony on Saturday, February 26 at 8 pm ET on BET.

Rise Again: Tulsa and the Red Summer

dir. and prod. Dawn Porter

2017 Chicken and Egg Award recipient Dawn Porter was nominated for Outstanding Directing in a Documentary (Television or Motion Picture).

Black and Missing

dirs. Samantha Knowles, Yoruba Richen, Geeta Gandbhir, Nadia Hallgren

prods. Samantha Knowles, Nimco Sheikhaden

Two Chicken & Egg Award recipients Yoruba Richen and Geeta Gandbhir were nominated for Outstanding Directing in a Documentary (Television or Motion Picture). Both were directors on the four-part HBO documentary.

Yoruba Richen was also honored with nominations for Outstanding Documentary for her films American Masters: How It Feels To Be Free*, prod. Julie Sacks, and High on the Hog: How African American Cuisine Transformed America**, prods. Jonathan Clasberry, Christina Lenis, Lauren Vance.

Check the full nomination list with this link.

*Film developed during Yoruba Richen’s Chicken & Egg Award year

**Yoruba directed the episode: Freedom.

Still from Midwives. A young boy sleeps on the shoulder of a woman wearing a headscarf.

AlumNest, Film Festivals, Nest News, News

Midwives Wins Special Jury Award at Sundance 2022!

January 31, 2022 Mariana Sanson Leave a comment

The 2022 Sundance Film Festival Awards were announced on Friday, January 28. Chicken & Egg Pictures was egg-static to see 2020 (Egg)celerator Lab grantee Midwives and Nest-supported filmmaker Margaret Brown receive Special Jury awards from the festival, which was held online from Thursday, January 20 to Sunday, January 30.

Congratulations!

Winner of the World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award: Excellence In Vérité Filmmaking

Midwives

dir. & prod. Snow Hnin Ei Hlaing

prods. Bob Moore, Ulla Lehmann, Mila Aung-Thwin

Check out 2017 Chicken and Egg Award recipient Dawn Porter presenting the Award with this link.

A special congratulations to AlumNest filmmaker Margaret Brown (The Great Invisible) on receiving the U.S. Documentary Competition Special Jury Award: Creative Vision for Descendant!

Check out the full winners’ list with this link.