Blog
Celebrating Kirsten Johnson’s Primetime Emmy® Award!
The ceremony for the 73rd Primetime Emmy® Awards was held on Sunday, September 12.
Here at Chicken & Egg Pictures, we are egg-cited to send massive congratulations to 2017 Chicken & Egg Award recipient Kirsten Johnson on her Outstanding Directing For A Documentary/Nonfiction Program win for Dick Johnson Is Dead, prods. Katy Chevigny & Marilyn Ness.
Congratulations Kirsten! 🥳
Read the full award winners list here, and check out the list of Nest-supported nominees here.
Post by 2021 Communications Intern Mariana Sanson.
Welcome to the Nest, Sarah Lee!
Meet the newest member of our team: Operations Coordinator Sarah Lee.
As Operations Coordinator, Sarah Lee manages Chicken & Egg Pictures’ financial, office, operational, and human resource functions. She researches innovations for operational effectiveness, seeking out insightful approaches, solutions, and tools to strengthen internal systems.
Before joining the Chicken & Egg Pictures Operations team, Sarah worked as an actuary seeking to examine and improve the current healthcare landscape. Her interest in housing and food insecurity, led her to organize with Hotels Not Hospitals, a community based housing model rising out of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the Emeryville Citizens Assistance Program, a local food bank serving the Emeryville and surrounding Bay Area communities.
We are excited to welcome an egg-stra special new team member in our Nest. To learn more about her, visit our team page.
Post by 2021 Summer Communications Intern Mariana Sanson.
2021 Chicken & Egg Award recipient Tatiana Huezo receives Special Mention at Cannes
2021 Chicken & Egg Award recipient Tatiana Huezo, premiered her film Noche de Fuego/Prayers for the Stolen at the 74th edition of the Cannes Film Festival in July, where it received a Special Mention in the Un Certain Regard competition.
The film is Huezo’s fiction debut, based on the novel Prayers for the Stolen by Jennifer Clement and set in a small town in the mountains of Mexico. Noche de Fuego/Prayers for the Stolen tells the story of what it is like to be a young woman growing up in a rural town marked by violence, where three girls forge their friendship learning how to hide to survive.
The film will be available at San Sebastian Film Festival, Festival de Cine de Lima, and New York Film Festival.
Congratulations Tatiana!
Post by 2021 Summer Communications Intern Mariana Sanson.
2 (Egg)celerator Lab Films to Watch at BlackStar Film Festival
BlackStar Film Festival is an annual celebration of the visual and storytelling traditions of the African diaspora and of global communities of color, showcasing films by Black, Brown and Indigenous artists from around the world.
— BlackStar Film Festival
BlackStar Film Festival takes place Wednesday, August 4 to Sunday, August 8 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and online. (Egg)celerator Lab grantee films Between Fire and Water and Writing With Fire are available to stream and to see in-person. Plus Nest-supported filmmakers such as Michèle Stephenson and Lyric R. Cabral are participating in online sessions at the fest. 🖤 ⭐
Between Fire and Water (Entre Fuego y Agua)
dir. Viviana Gómez Echeverry & Anton Wenzel
prod. Sonia Barrera Gutiérrez
Watch the trailer here, and stream the full film here here (available August 8 – 9).
Writing With Fire
dir. Rintu Thomas & Sushmit Ghosh
prod. Rintu Thomas & Sushmit Ghosh
Watch the trailer here, and stream the full film here here (available August 7 – 8).
AlumNest Films
A special shoutout to Chicken & Egg Award recipients Malika Zouhali-Worrall and Michèle Stephenson on their new short films screening in the same Shorts: Antumbra program. Watch here on Saturday, August 7 at 4:00 pm ET (virtual screening).
Elena
dir. Michèle Stephenson
prod. Joe Brewster
Video Visit
dir. Malika Zouhali-Worrall
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
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.
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.