Blog
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.
Chicken & Egg Pictures Kicks Off Fall Mentorship with Distribution Day
When I got the call in 2011 that I was being awarded a Chicken & Egg Pictures “I Believe in You” grant for my documentary Home Again, I was thrilled. The money and the prestige were awesome rewards, but possibly the most meaningful benefit of the grant was being welcomed into the Chicken & Egg nest.
It was truly inspiring on Wednesday to gather with fellow grantees for Distribution Day, where we convened with Cynthia Kane of Al Jazeera America, Nina Chaudry, Former Executive Producer of Wide Angle, and Susan Margolin of Cinedigm. Though my film is not yet finished, it’s never too early to think about distribution, as nearly every presenter pointed out. As we discussed possible outlets for our projects and how to imagine different versions of the stories we want to tell, the wheels in my head began to turn about the many different directions my film could go in.
In our discussion of what (and what not) to cut when reversioning, one rule that went up on the easel pad was “Time spent laughing is never wasted time.” And time spent brainstorming with other fantastic women, I’ve found, is one of the most productive things a filmmaker can do.
The IDF-Chicken & Egg Pictures Fund is now accepting applications
The IDF-Chicken & Egg Pictures Fund is now accepting applications. Beginning today, October 1st, applicants can submit their proposals through the online system.
This new fund, announced in 2014 and launched in partnership with the Indian Documentary Foundation, aims to provide comprehensive support to women filmmakers based in India. First-time directors, as well as mid-career and veteran filmmakers, are welcome to apply.
The deadline for submissions is midnight IST on November 21st. To apply, or for more information on criteria, the selection process, and additional guidelines, click here.
Chicken & Egg Pictures’ Annual Independent Film Week Celebration
On Monday, September 15, Chicken & Egg Pictures will host its annual Independent Film Week Celebration to toast the passionate and intrepid grantees whose films were selected to participate in the 2014 Project Forum at IFW.
This year, two Chicken & Egg Pictures grantees will take part in the weeklong conference: The Bill, directed by Ramona Diaz, and (T)ERROR, directed by Lyric Cabral and David Felix Sutcliffe.
We will also present our 2014 Good Egg award to Lesli Klainberg and Eugene Hernandez, the leaders of the Film Society of Lincoln Center.
The Good Egg Award is given annually to distinguished leaders in the independent film and documentary community. Past recipients include Cynthia Lopez, now the Commissioner of the Mayor’s Office of Media & Entertainment; Cara Mertes, the current Director of the JustFilms initiative at the Ford Foundation; POV founder Marc Weiss; and Claire Aguilar of ITVS.
Klainberg and Hernandez both have a distinguished history of contributions to the documentary field and to the world of independent film as a whole. “We couldn’t be more delighted to present Lesli and Eugene with the 2014 Good Egg Award,” said Jenni Wolfson, Executive Director of Chicken & Egg Pictures. “They are both pillars of the film community, respected and well-loved, and together at the helm of the Film Society of Lincoln Center, they are in a position to build and expand on their already impressive accomplishments. It will be exciting to see how they continue to champion and shape the world of independent film.”
2014 Open Call
Our final deadline for this year’s Open Call for submissions closed on July 1st. This year’s number of submissions broke all of our records, with a whopping 642 applicants turning in projects for consideration.
In anticipation of our upcoming 10th anniversary, we focused our Open Call on a special priority: for this year only, we are prioritizing projects that feature women and girls on-screen as prominent characters and storytellers of their own lives and experiences. Taking inspiration from past Chicken & Egg Pictures grantees with strong female protagonists such as American Revolutionary: The Evolution of Grace Lee Boggs, Freeheld, The Forest for the Trees, Lioness, Private Violence, Sepideh- Reaching for the Stars, and Saving Face, just to name a few.
We are in the midst of our rigorous review process, and we look forward to discovering new voices that continue to address the global justice, human rights, and environmental issues of our time–with women and girls at the center. All applicants will be notified by November 15, 2014.
Welcome to our new website!
Welcome to our brand-new Chicken & Egg Pictures website! Our team has been working around the clock to get this site ready for its close-up.
ChickenEggPics.org is your one-stop shop for all things Chicken & Egg Pictures; you’ll find information about our grantees, supporters, team, partner organizations, and so much more.
Interested in supporting Chicken & Egg Pictures? Our Partnership page will give you a comprehensive overview of who we are, why our supporters love us, and how we support the field at large.
Interested in applying for funding from Chicken & Egg Pictures? Head on over to our Grants page for eligibility information, key deadlines, and any special instructions on our grant criteria and application procedures.
Interested in what’s happening at Chicken & Egg Pictures and in the documentary film community at large? Check this blog for dispatches from our grantee filmmakers, industry news updates, guest posts from field experts, and information on what we’re up to.
2013 New Grantee Announcement
Today we announced the 23 feature-length documentary films that will receive more than $220,000 in grants from our 2013 Open Call. Chicken & Egg Pictures has awarded over $3 million in grants to nearly 160 film projects and has provided over 4,500 hours of mentorship directly to filmmakers, marking a new milestone.
Grantees were selected from over 500 submissions from 33 different countries and include women filmmakers working in Afghanistan, Bolivia, Cuba, India, Indonesia, Iran and Russia.