Blog
Meet our 2021 Summer Interns!
Chicken & Egg Pictures welcomes two eggs-tra special Summer Interns: Lindsay Allen and Mariana Sanson. Each of them brings a passion for nonfiction filmmaking, which permeates through their work. We greatly appreciate everything they bring to our team.
Lindsay Allen
Program Intern
As Program Intern, Lindsay assists our Program Team on various projects, including the (Egg)celerator Lab and Project: Hatched program. She also works closely with our Filmmaker Engagement Manager Jaad Asante and Program Assistant Iva Dimitrova to coordinate with AlumNest filmmakers and provide logistical support for virtual programming. Lindsay graduated from Temple University in 2020 with a BFA in Film Directing and is a writer, director, and producer with experience in short-form narratives. As a filmmaker, she is specifically interested in creating opportunities on screen for individuals living with disabilities in accurate and positive portrayals.
Mariana Sanson
Communications Intern
As Communications Intern, Mariana assists our Communications Coordinator and External Relations Director by writing, copy editing, proofreading, fact checking, and designing communications materials. She joined Chicken & Egg Pictures after finishing an MA in Media Studies at The New School, where she also collaborated with the Documentary Studies program and focused her studies on nonfiction media. She worked at Ambulante Documentary Film Festival for six years, as well as at Morelia International Film Festival. Mariana is a firm believer in the power of documentary as a tool for social change and the creation of collectivity.
Post by 2021 Summer Communications 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
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 Marshal, 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.
Chicken & Egg Award Filmmakers receive Emmy® Nominations
The nomination list for the 73rd Primetime Emmy® Awards, was announced on Tuesday, July 13 and includes projects by three Chicken & Egg Award recipients. At Chicken & Egg Pictures, we are celebrating this egg-cellent news and wishing them the best!
Dick Johnson is Dead
dir. Kirsten Johnson
prods. Katy Chevigny & Marilyn Ness
Nominated for Outstanding Cinematography For a Nonfiction Program, Outstanding Directing For A Documentary/Nonfiction Program, and Exceptional Merit In Documentary Filmmaking
8:46 – Dave Chappelle
dirs. and prods. Julia Reichert, Steve Bognar & Dave Chappelle*
Nominated for Outstanding Directing For A Variety Special.
American Masters
A special congratulations to 2016 Chicken & Egg Award Recipient Yoruba Richen for her direction of How It Feels To Be Free. The film participated in the 35th season of the American Masters series, which was nominated for Outstanding Documentary Or Nonfiction Series. American Masters is produced by Julie Sacks.
Check out the full nomination list here. The 73rd annual Emmy® Awards will take place next September 19, 2021.
*Chicken & Egg Pictures supported Julia Reichert through the 2016 Chicken & Egg Award but did not directly support her new project, Dave Chappelle.
Post by 2021 Summer Communications Intern Mariana Sanson.
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.
Announcing Five New Project: Hatched 2021 grantees!
Announced via Women & Hollywood today, Chicken & Egg Pictures is proud to support five new grantees of the 2021 Project: Hatched program for feature-length documentary impact. Each film receives a $10,000 grant and tailored mentorship towards their impact campaigns.
“Each of these films tells a story about racial, economic, or workers justice in the United States and marks a critical moment in our social history,” said Program Director Lucila Moctezuma. “Their directors are uniquely positioned to create change and propel us toward a more equitable future, and Chicken & Egg Pictures is excited to support them with funding and programmatic support to further the impact of these important films.”
Please click the granted film’s titles for more information on each project and give these visionary women directors a warm welcome to the Nest!
Dope is Death
Director: Mia Donovan
Producer: Bob Moore
Dope Is Death tells the story of how radical politics and direct community action birthed the first acupuncture drug detoxification program in America.
Down a Dark Stairwell
Director: Ursula Liang
Producer: Rajal Pitroda
A Chinese-American police officer kills an unarmed Black man in a dark stairwell of a NYC housing project, igniting a complicated fight for accountability and justice.
Since I Been Down
Director: Gilda Sheppard
Producers: Saman Maydani, June Nho Ivers
Producer and Lead Impact Strategist: Bonnie Benjamin-Phariss
Impact Team: YEA! Impact
In America’s backyard, a community held captive by policies targeting gangs and drugs sacrifices their youth for a false sense of justice and safety. Nearly forty years later, a true path to justice and healing is led from inside their prison walls.
Unapologetic
Director: Ashley O’Shay
Producers: Ashley O’Shay, Morgan Elise Johnson
Impact Producer: Naeema Jamilah Torres
Meet Janaé and Bella, two fierce abolitionists whose upbringing and experiences shape their activism and views on Black liberation.
Fruits of Labor
Director: Emily Cohen Ibañez
Producer: Emily Cohen Ibañez
A teenage farmworker dreams of graduating high school, when ICE raids in her community threaten to separate her family and force her to become her family’s breadwinner.
*Down a Dark Stairwell was previously supported through out Diversity Fellows Iniative (past program).
Congratulations to Jessica Kingdon on her two Tribeca Film Festival Awards!
The 2021 Tribeca Film Festival awards were announced last Thursday, June 17, and Chicken & Egg Pictures is proud to celebrate 2019 (Egg)celerator Lab grantee Jessica Kingdon’s two Awards! Her film Ascension received the Award for Best Documentary Feature, and Jessica received the 2021 Albert Maysles Award for Best New Documentary Director. Congratulations Jessica!
Ascension
Dir. Jessica Kingdon
Prod. Kira Simon-Kennedy, Jessica Kingdon, Nathan Truesdell
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.
Post by 2021 Summer Communications Intern Mariana Sanson.
Congratulations to Executive Director Jenni Wolfson on her Sabbatical!
We are proud to announce that our Executive Director Jenni Wolfson will be going on a well-deserved sabbatical this summer. After eight years as Executive Director of Chicken & Egg Pictures, Jenni is our longest serving staff member, and she will be out on sabbatical from June 24 to September 24, 2021!
Jenni’s short-term absence will be a time for her to rest and re-collect after leading our organization during the many crises of 2020 and 2021, to connect with family and friends…. and to take a break from chicken and egg puns!🐤
Her absence will also offer us the chance to strengthen our leadership across the organization. In her place, leadership will be in the hands of our new Senior Management Team: Program Director Lucila Moctezuma, Director of Operations and Innovation Sarah Anderson, and Director of External Relations Cindy Choung.
Additionally, the Senior Management Team will be supported by our Co-Founder & Board President Julie Parker Benello; our Board Executive Committee, consisting of Julie, Marjan Safinia, and Susan Margolin; and the rest of our Board of Directors.
Special Shoutout to Cindy Choung for her Promotion!
Congratulations to Chicken & Egg Pictures team member Cindy Choung on her new role as Director of External Relations. Cindy will oversee development and communications strategies and activities across the organization, building long-term sustainability and growth, as well as elevating the profile of the organization externally.
Cindy came to Chicken & Egg Pictures from the world of oral history storytelling, arts, and social justice. As an oral historian and storytelling consultant, she has worked with numerous organizations to strengthen their institutional narrative and identity, including the Brooklyn Museum; Columbia University’s Center for Democracy, Toleration, and Religion; the US Campaign for Burma; and the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.
In 2020, she led the Chicken & Egg Pictures team to win the Nonprofit New York Excellence Award special recognitions in the areas of Fundraising and Communications. Cindy is a member of A-DOC: Asian American Documentary Network and Brown Girls Doc Mafia. She is a graduate of Columbia University with a BA in Anthropology with a focus on East Asian mass culture and cinema, and an MA in Oral History.
Thanks for all you do for the Nest, Cindy!
We’re Back to the Cinemas at the 2021 Tribeca Film Festival!
The Tribeca Film Festival is celebrating its 20th anniversary with a return to the cinemas in 2021. The festival runs from Wednesday, June 9 to Sunday, June 20 with programming that can be accessed in person and virtually.
At Chicken & Egg Pictures, we are looking forward to the shared experience of film, as New Yorkers head back to the movies again. Viewers within the US can access Tribeca’s virtual programming through $15 online stream tickets.
We are also thrilled to let you know that films slated to premiere at the 2020 Tribeca Film Festival, but postponed due to COVID-19, will also screen at this year’s edition. Granted films featured in the festival include four (Egg)celerator Lab grantees from 2018 and 2019, one Project: Hatched grantee, one Chicken & Egg Award recipient film, three films from the AlumNest, and one VR project. Learn more about the films below, and get your tickets here.
Ascension, dir. 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.
World Premiere │ Tribeca Documentary Competition │ 2019 (Egg)celerator Lab
Enemies of the State, dir. Sonia Kennebeck
An American family becomes entangled in a bizarre web of secrets and lies when their hacker son is targeted by the U.S. government, making them all Enemies of the State.
US Premiere │ 2018 (Egg)celerator Lab
Pray Away, dir. Kristine Stolakis
Former leaders of the “pray away the gay” movement contend with the aftermath unleashed by their actions, while a survivor seeks healing and acceptance from more than a decade of trauma.
World Premiere │ 2019 (Egg)celerator Lab
Through the Night, dir. Loira Limbal
To make ends meet, Americans are working longer hours across multiple jobs. This modern reality of nonstop work has resulted in an unexpected phenomenon: the flourishing of 24-hour daycare centers. Through the Night is a verité documentary that explores the personal cost of our modern economy through the stories of two working mothers and a child care provider, whose lives intersect at a 24-hour daycare center in New Rochelle, NY.
New York Premiere │ 2018 (Egg)celerator Lab
Landfall, dir. Cecilia Aldarondo
Through shard-like glimpses of everyday life in post-Hurricane María Puerto Rico, Landfall examines a ruined world at the brink of transformation, spinning a cautionary tale for our times.
Project: Hatched 2020
Stateless, dir. Michèle Stephenson
Through the grassroots campaign of electoral hopeful Rosa Iris, director Michèle Stephenson’s new documentary reveals the depths of racial hatred and institutionalized oppression that divide Haiti and the Dominican Republic.
2016 Chicken & Egg Award
Simple as Water, dir. Megan Mylan
A look at war and displacement through the lens of parenthood from Megan Mylan, Academy-Award winning director of Lost Boys of Sudan and Smile Pinki. This feature documentary unfolds as a sequence of cinematic short stories revolving around Syrian families living in Turkey, Greece, the US, Germany, and Syria. Each chapter is an intimate portrait of parents—often mothers alone—as they work to rebuild their children’s lost sense of security and possibility. It is a story that is both urgent and timeless.
World Premiere │ 2018 Grant
VR Experience
The Changing Same: Episode 1, dirs. Michèle Stephenson, Joe Brewster & Yasmin Elayat
AlumNest Films
The Sit-In: Harry Belafonte Hosts The Tonight Show, dir. Yoruba Richen (2016 Chicken & Egg Award recipient)
Selected for the 2020 Tribeca Film Festival
Women In Blue, dir. Deirdre Fishel (AlumNest for Care)
Selected for the 2020 Tribeca Film Festival
Untitled Dave Chappelle Documentary, dirs. Julia Reichert (2016 Chicken & Egg Award recipient) and Steve Bognar
Egg-citing news! This world premiere will be Tribeca’s closing night film.
See you at the cinema! Post by 2021 Summer Communications Intern Mariana Sanson.
A Half Dozen Nest-supported Films at Hot Docs This Year!
Hot Docs Film Festival, the largest doc festival in North America, is on now until May 9. Get your tickets here, and watch the following Chicken & Egg Pictures-supported films at the virtual festival:
- Apart, dir. Jennifer Redfearn | International Premiere
- Bangla Surf Girls, dir. Elizabeth D. Costa | World Premiere
- Between Fire and Water, dirs. Viviana Gómez Echeverry and Anton Wenzel | North American Premiere
- Through the Night, dir. Loira Limbal
- Writing with Fire, dirs. Rintu Thomas and Sushmit Ghosh
- Users, dir. Natalia Almada
AlumNest films:
- In the Same Breath, dir. Nanfu Wang | International Premiere
- Until Further Notice, dir. Tiffany Hsiung
(Egg)celerator Lab granted films participating in the Hot Docs Forum:
- Against the Tide, dir. Sarvnik Kaur
- Black Mothers, dir. Débora Souza Silva
- The Last Nomads, dir. Biljana Tutorov and Petar Glomazić