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Half a Dozen Nest-supported Films at the 2023 SFFILM Festival

Chicken & Egg Pictures is proud to see six Nest-supported and two AlumNest films screening at the 66th San Francisco International Film Festival. The festival will take place from Thursday, April 13 to Sunday, April 23 across theaters in San Francisco, Oakland and Berkeley.  

We are sending special congratulations to the 2022 Critical Issues Fund grantee Sol in the Garden for their World Premiere. 

Against the Tide

dir. Sarvnik Kaur 

prod. Koval Bhatia, Quentin Laurent

Still of Against the Tide. Two men go through the content of their fishing net, there are a fish and plastic trash.
Still from Against the Tide

Against the Tide is a 2021 (Egg)celerator Lab grantee having its California Premiere as a part of the Documentaries: International section. 

Get your tickets here.

graphic of a film reel

How to Carry Water

dir. Sasha Wortzel

prod. Jess Devaney, Anya Rous, Colleen Cassingham

Still from How to Carry Water

How to Carry Water was supported in partnership with Multitude Films as a part of the QUEER FUTURES series and will take part in the “Shorts 3: The Body” section of the festival.

Get your tickets here.

graphic of a film reel

Hummingbirds

dirs. Silvia Del Carmen Castaños, Estefanía “Beba” Contreras

co-dirs. & prods. Jillian Schlesinger, Miguel Drake-McLaughlin, Diane Ng, Ana Rodriguez-Falco

prods. Leslie Benavides, Rivkah Beth Medow

Silvia and Beba smile as they point their middle finger at the fire-work lit sky. There is a red light on Beba's middle finger, and a green light on Silvia's.
Still from Hummingbirds

Hummingbirds is a 2022 (Egg)celerator Lab finalist having its California premiere in the Documentaries: USA and GGA Documentary Competition sections.

Get your tickets here.

graphic of a film reel

Milisuthando

dir. Milisuthando Bongela

prod. Marion Isaacs  

Still from Milisuthando. Aerial shot of a person braiding their hair.
Still from Milisuthando

Milisuthando is a 2019 (Egg)celerator Lab grantee having its California premiere in the Documentaries: International and GGA Documentary Competition sections.

Get your tickets here.

graphic of a film reel

Sol in the Garden

dirs. & prods. Emily Cohen Ibañez and Débora Souza Silva

Still from Sol in the Garden. A woman in profile to the camera is inside a greenhouse, touching the leaves of a guava tree.
Still from Sol in the Garden

Sol in the Garden is a 2022 Critical Issues Fund grantee having its World Premiere as a part of the Bay Area Short Film category as well as a three-part shorts program.

Get your tickets here.

graphic of a film reel

The Tuba Thieves

dir. & prod. Alison O’Daniel

Still from The Tuba Thieves. A person looking up with their hand beside their face holding two fingers. Below them is a text that reads the first evening's stars begin to appear. Black and White photograph.
Still from The Tuba Thieves

The Tuba Thieves is a 2021 (Egg)celerator Lab grantee having its California Premiere as a part of the Documentaries: USA section. 

Get your tickets here.


From the AlumNest


Post written by Spring intern Tess Caldwell

A Dozen Films Screening at CPH:DOX!

The 20th anniversary of CPH:DOX will take place from Wednesday, March 15 to Sunday, March 26 in Copenhagen, Denmark. We are proud to announce that 12 Nest-supported films are part of the lineup and that our AlumNest is also participating in the CPH:CONFERENCE and CPH:FORUM. If you are attending the festival, please say hi to our team who will participate in person to support our filmmakers. See below for more details. 

  • 2022 (Egg)celerator Lab Finalist Eat Bitter | World Premiere | Dox:Award section | dirs. Ningyi Sun, Pascale Appora-Gnekindy | prod. Mathieu Faure 
  • 2020 Chicken & Egg Award Recipient Tonje Hessen Schei’s Praying for Armageddon | F:act Award section | dir. Tonje Hessen Schei | co-dir. Michael Rowley
  • 2022 Chicken & Egg Award Recipient Margreth Olin’s Songs of Earth | World Premiere | Dox:Award section | dir. & prod. Margreth Olin
  • 2020 Chicken & Egg Award Recipient Maite Alberdi’s The Eternal Memory | Highlights section | dir. & prod. Maite Alberdi | prods. Juan de Dios Larraín, Pablo Larraín, Rocío Jadue
  • 2021 Chicken & Egg Award Recipient Elwira Niewira’s The Hamlet Syndrome | Highlights section | dirs. Elwira Niewiera, Piotr Rosolowski | prod. Magdalena Kaminska
  • 2021 (Egg)celerator Lab grantee The Tuba Thieves | Next:Wave section | dir. & prod. Alison O’Daniel
  • 2021 Chicken & Egg Award Recipient Jialing Zhang’s Total Trust | World Premiere | Dox: Award and Rewriting the Future sections | dir. & prod. Jialing Zhang | prods. Knut Jager, Michael Grotenhoff, Saskia Kress

QUEER FUTURES

In partnership with Multitude Films, three short documentaries of the QUEER FUTURES series, directed by Brit Fryer & Noah Schamus, Twiggy Pucci Garçon, and Sasha Wortzel that radically imagine future visions of queer life, will have their world premiere. These films expand the boundaries of nonfiction to explore gender affirming care, fat beauty and liberation, and nonbinary ballroom culture. Transcending the rigidity and oppressions of the current moment, these directors locate, build, and inhabit worlds that offer us new ways of being–in the present and the future. 

  • How to Carry Water
    dir. Sasha Wortzel
    prods. Jess Devaney, Anya Rous, Colleen Cassingham
  • The Script
    dirs. Brit Fryer, Noah Schamus 
    prods. Jessica Devaney, Colleen Cassingham 
  • MnM
    dir. Twiggy Pucci Garçon
    prods. Colleen Cassingham, Jessica Devaney

From the AlumNest

  • Merkel
    dir. & prod. Eva Weber
    prods. Lizzie Gillett, Sigrid Jonsson Dyekjær, Sonja Henrici

CPH: FORUM

At CPH:FORUM, top producers and highly acknowledged directors from all over the world take the stage to pitch 30 carefully selected projects of documentary features and series in the intersection of nonfiction, fiction, visual art, journalism, and science. Eight Nest-supported filmmakers will present their new projects: Brett Story, Iryna Tsilyk, Jessica Kingdon, Meena Nanji and Zippy Kimundu, Mila Turajlić, Oksana Karpovych, and Vaishali Sinha


CPH: CONFERENCE

A 5-day industry event offering a range of inspiring talks with visionary thinkers, investigating current themes in documentary filmmaking, and creating an interactive and hands-on platform for exchange with other professionals of our documentary community. Our Nest is well represented across the different activities from Monday, March 20 to Friday, March 24. 

A DIALOGUE ON CRAFT WITH MAITE ALBERDI AND ANNA HINTS
Monday, March 20
With 2020 Chicken & Egg Award recipient Maite Alberdi

THE TRUST POLICY 
Tuesday, March 21
With Chicken & Egg Pictures CEO Jenni Wolfson, Shanida Scotland (Doc Society), Jess Kwan (Concordia Fellowship), and Sean Flynn (Points North Institute).

A DIALOGUE ON CRAFT WITH ALISON O’DANIEL, AXEL DANIELSON & MAXIMILIEN VAN AERTRYCK
Tuesday, March 21
With 2021 (Egg)celerator Lab recipient Alison O’Daniel

A DIALOGUE ON CRAFT WITH JIALING ZHANG, PUK DAMSGÅRD AND SØREN KLOVBORG
Wednesday, March 22
With 2021 Chicken & Egg Award recipient Jialing Zhang

A DISCUSSION WITH JESSICA KINGDON
Thursday, March 23
With 2019 (Egg)celerator Lab grantee Jessica Kingdon

CITIZEN FILMMAKERS 
Friday, March 24
With 2021 Chicken & Egg Award recipient Elwira Niewira, 2018 Chicken & Egg Award recipient Nanfu Wang, 2022 (Egg)celerator Lab grantee Volia Chajkouskaya, and 2023 Critical Issues Fund recipient Alisa Kovalenko

SONGS OF EARTH – LISTENING TO CARE
Friday, March 24
With 2022 Chicken & Egg Award recipient Margreth Olin, Diego Galafassi, Cara Mertes, Bo Øksnebjerg, and Danielle Turkov Wilson

RISE OF INSTITUTIONS
Friday, March 24
With our Senior Creative Consultant Yvonne Welbon, 2022 (Egg)celerator Lab grantee Volia Chajkouskaya, and Anne Marie Borsboom.


Meet our Team at CPH:DOX

Three black and white headshots. Left to right: Jenni Wolfson, Tereza Simikova, Sabine Fayoux Cantillo

Our CEO Jenni Wolfson is participating in the CPH: CONFERENCE, and our Associate Director of Program Sabine Fayoux Cantillo will be taking 1:1 meetings with filmmakers.

We are sending huge congratulations to our International Program Consultant Tereza Simikova, CPH:DOX Head of Industry & Training, and to her team, for putting together this fantastic edition. 

Welcome to the Nest, Ames Stevens!

Meet the newest member of our team: Production Assistant Ames Stevens 

 

Ames looks directly at the camera and smiles. There are flowers behind them.

As Production Assistant, Ames provides cross-departmental logistic support for Doc Nest 2023 (formerly Next Gen Egg), a large-scale event for filmmakers to receive industry opportunities.

Prior to joining Chicken & Egg Pictures, Ames worked with DiverseToons, a nonprofit devoted to uplifting animators of color, and film festivals such as RIIFF and DOC NYC. Additionally, they have been a PA for a variety of content from HBO, Netflix, and Universal NBC. They are also a filmmaker and a founding member of the queer film collective, SetRise Studios. Ames holds a BA in Film from Vassar College. In their free time, they can be found at any local theater or gallivanting in Inwood Hill Park.

“Chicken & Egg Pictures is that rare organization that gears every aspect of its existence towards a love for artists and filmmakers. It is constantly heartening to work with an organization that deeply cares about women and non-binary artists behind the camera. As a community member and filmmaker, I am thrilled to be working with Chicken & Egg Pictures!”

We are excited to welcome an egg-stra special new team member in our Nest. To learn more about them, visit our team page.

Meet our Spring 2023 Communications Intern, Tess Caldwell!

Chicken & Egg Pictures welcomes an eggs-tra special Spring Intern: Tess Caldwell. She brings a passion for social justice and social media savviness, which permeates through her work. We greatly appreciate everything she brings to our team.

 

Tess Caldwell looks directly at the camera and smiles. Portrait in color.

As a Communications Intern, Tess supports the communications team with social media and website promotion, graphics creation, and administrative support.

Currently, Tess is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Media and Screen Studies at Northeastern University, and is excited to join the team as a part of her co-op curriculum. Prior to joining Chicken & Egg Pictures, Tess had a keen interest in providing individuals and organizations with the tools and resources to run successful media campaigns. She launched her career by dedicating herself to providing support to over a dozen nonprofits, organizations, and campaigns on a consultancy basis. With social justice at the core of her work, she strives to deepen the intersection of arts and social justice. Ultimately, she hopes to take these learnings and apply them to work on criminal justice reform as well as to create engaging documentary films surrounding human rights and environmental injustices.

I am enthusiastic about joining an innovative social impact-oriented organization that is committed to elevating marginalized voices and stories while cultivating such a diverse, talented community.” 

We are excited to welcome an egg-stra special new team member in our Nest. To learn more about her, visit our team page.

Three Nest-supported Filmmakers at TiDF25

Chicken & Egg Pictures is egg-static to see three Nest-supported films in the 25th Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival lineup. The festival takes place from Thursday, March 2 to Sunday, March 12. 

Blue Id

dirs. & prods. Burcu Melekoglu, Vuslat Karan

Blue ID Vuslat Karan & Burcu Melekoglu
Still from Blue Id

Blue Id is a Nest-supported film having its Greek Premiere. 

Available in person and online. Get your tickets here.

graphic of a film reel

Is There Anybody Out There?

dir. Ella Glendining

prod. Janine Marmot

Still from Is There Anybody Out There? Ella Glendining is on a a medical bend with her belly uncovered
Still from Is There Anybody Out There?

2021 (Egg)celerator Lab grantee Is There Anybody Out There? is having its European premiere.

Available in person and online. Get your tickets here.

graphic of a film reel

It’s Only Life After All

dir. & prod. Alexandria Bombach

prods. Kathlyn Horan, Jess Devaney, Anya Rous

Still from It's Only Life After All
Still from It’s Only Life After All

It’s Only Life After All was supported through Alexandria Bombach’s 2019 Chicken & Egg Award and is having its international premiere.

Get your tickets here.

graphic of a film reel

From the AlumNest

  • Divorce Iranian Style
    dir. & prod. Kim Longinotto
    dir. Ziba Mir-Hosseini

  • Kim’s Video
    dirs. & prods. David Redmon, Ashley Sabin
    prods. Deborah Smith, Dale Smith, Francesco Galavotti, Rebecca Tabasky

  • Gumbo Coalition
    dir. & prod. Barbara Kopple
    prods. David Cassidy, Williams Cole, Ray Nowosielski

  • My ne zgasnemo / We Will Not Fade Away
    dir. Alisa Kovalenko
    prods. Valery Kalmykov, Oleksiy Kobelev

  • The Dazzling Light of Sunset
    dir. & prod. Salomé Jashi

 

Meet our Team at Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival

Representing Chicken & Egg Pictures, our Program Manager Iva Dimitrova will be in attendance at TiDF25. She will be participating on the panel for the Thessaloniki Pitching Forum on March 6, taking 1:1 meetings through Agora Film Market, and participating as an expert in Doc Counseling providing consultancy sessions to attending filmmakers. 


Post written by Spring intern Tess Caldwell

Four Nest-supported films at True/False Film Fest 2023 

Chicken & Egg Pictures is egg-cited to see four Nest-supported and two AlumNest films in the lineup of the 20th edition of True/False Film Fest, which takes place from Thursday, March 2 to Sunday, March 5 in Columbia, Missouri. 

Hummingbirds 

dirs. Silvia Del Carmen Castaños, Estefanía “Beba” Contreras

co-dirs. & prods. Jillian Schlesinger, Miguel Drake-McLaughlin, Diane Ng, Ana Rodriguez-Falco

prods. Leslie Benavides, Rivkah Beth Medow

Silvia and Beba smile as they point their middle finger at the fire-work lit sky. There is a red light on Beba's middle finger, and a green light on Silvia's.
Still from Hummingbirds

Hummingbirds is a 2022 (Egg)celerator Lab finalist.
Get your tickets here.

graphic of a film reel

How to Have an American Baby

dir. and prod. Leslie Tai

prod. Jillian Schultz

How to Have an American Baby Leslie Tai 2017 Diversity Fellows Initiative
Still from How to Have an American Baby

How to Have an American Baby was supported through the 2017 Diversity Fellows Initiative (past program).
Get your tickets here.

graphic of a film reel

Joonam

dir. Sierra Urich

prod. Keith Wilson

A mother and daughter stand under opposite ends of a grape arbor together, harvesting grape leaves. A grandmother is seen sitting in the background with a walker in front of her. Each woman appears to be separately lost in thought.
Still from Joonam

Joonam is a 2022 (Egg)celerator Lab grantee.
Get your tickets here.

graphic of a film reel

Milisuthando

dir. Milisuthando Bongela

prod. Marion Isaacs

Still from Milisuthando. Aerial shot of a person braiding their hair.
Still from Milisuthando

Milisuthando is a 2019 (Egg)celerator Lab grantee.
Get your tickets here.


From the AlumNest

  • Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project
    dirs. & prods. Michèle Stephenson, Joe Brewster
    U.S. Documentary Competition
  • The Feeling of Being Close to You
    dir. & prod. Ash Goh Hua
    Part of the Short Films program

Check out the full lineup with this link

The Nest at Big Sky Documentary Film Fest

The 20th annual Big Sky Documentary Film Festival took place from February 17 through February 26 in Montana. We were proud to see four Nest-supported films and seven AlumNest films in the line-up, as well as a retrospective dedicated to 2017 Chicken & Egg Award recipient Penny Lane. 

Black Mothers Love & Resist

dir. & prod. Débora Souza Silva

prod. David Felix Sutcliffe, Adina Luo

Still from Black Mothers Love & Resist

Black Mothers Love & Resist is a 2020 (Egg)celerator Lab grantee.

graphic of a film reel

The Hamlet Syndrome

dirs. Elwira Niewiera, Piotr Rosolowski

prod. Magdalena Kaminska

Still from The Hamlet Syndrome
Still from The Hamlet Syndrome

The Hamlet Syndrome was supported through Elwira Niewira’s 2021 Chicken & Egg Award.

graphic of a film reel

From the AlumNest

Penny Lane 2017 Breakthrough Filmmaker Award

Nest-supported filmmaker Penny Lane was selected as the 2023 Retrospective artist. The retrospective includes six films directed by Lane from 2010 to today, including Nest-supported Hail Satan?, The Pain of Others; and Nuts!, Our Nixon, and The Voyagers. 

  • For the Record
    dir. & prod. Heather Courtney
    prod. Paul Stekler

  • Sealed in Blood
    dir. Sofian Khan
    prod. J. Motts

  • Lily Gladstone: Far Out There
    dir. & prod. Brooke Pepion Swaney
    prod. Jeri Rafter

Lily Gladstone: Far Out There will being having its World Premiere


Post written by Spring intern Tess Caldwell

Four Nest-supported Films at Berlinale 2023

Chicken & Egg Pictures is proud to see three Nest-supported films in Berlinale 2023 lineup. El eco/The Echo and Hummingbirds will have their world premiere, and the recent Sundance winner of the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Documentary The Eternal Memory will have its European premiere. The festival takes place from Wednesday, February 16 to Sunday, February 26.

El eco / The Echo

dir. & prod. Tatiana Huezo

prod. Dalia Reyes

Still from El Eco. Two young kids sit on a large rock jutting out from the side of a grassy hill. They are facing away from the camera. In front of them is a grassy valley with sheep grazing in it.
Still from El eco/The Echo

El eco / The Echo will have its world premiere in the Encounters section and was supported through Tatiana Huezo’s 2021 Chicken & Egg Award.  
Get your tickets here.

graphic of a film reel

The Eternal Memory

dir. & prod. Maite Alberdi

prods. Juan de Dios Larraín, Pablo Larraín, Rocío Jadue

Still from The Eternal Memory. Augusto and Paulina reading from a magazine on a sofa.
Still from The Eternal Memory

The Eternal Memory will have its European Premiere in the Panorama Section and was supported through Maite Alberdi’s 2020 Chicken & Egg Award
Get your tickets here.

graphic of a film reel

Hummingbirds

dirs. Silvia Del Carmen Castaños, Estefanía “Beba” Contreras

co-dirs. & prods. Jillian Schlesinger, Miguel Drake-McLaughlin, Diane Ng, Ana Rodriguez-Falco

prods. Leslie Benavides, Rivkah Beth Medow

Silvia and Beba smile as they point their middle finger at the fire-work lit sky. There is a red light on Beba's middle finger, and a green light on Silvia's.
Still from Hummingbirds

Hummingbirds will have its world premiere in the Generation 14plus section and is a 2022 (Egg)celerator Lab finalist.   
Get your tickets here.


From the AlumNest

Welcome to the Nest, Will Tamura! 

Meet the newest member of our team: Program Assistant Will Tamura

 

Will Tamura looks directly at the camera and smiles. Portrait in color.

As Program Assistant, Will supports the Program team’s growing efforts.

Prior to Chicken & Egg Pictures, Will resided in the San Francisco Bay Area, working as a Civil Rights Legal Assistant and Assistant Manager of an independent bookstore. They have also held Marketing and Distribution intern positions at Cinetic Media and A24 in New York City. Will holds a BA in Film and a BA in Political Science from UC Berkeley, and an MA in Film and Media Studies from Columbia University. Outside of Chicken & Egg, Will can be found at any repertory cinema or perusing the shelves of a used bookstore.

I’m delighted to join an organization that imbues social responsibility and equity in its films. The sheer talent and commitment to our mission within our team, as well as our supported filmmakers, is truly inspiring!”

We are excited to welcome an egg-stra special new team member in our Nest. To learn more about them, visit our team page.

Two Nest-supported Films Win Awards at Sundance World Cinema Documentary Competition!

Chicken & Egg Pictures is egg-static to see 2021 (Egg)celerator Lab grantee Against the Tide, 2020 Chicken & Egg Award recipient Maite Alberdi, and Nest-supported filmmaker Michèle Stephenson receive Jury awards. We were also proud to see AlumNest filmmaker Jess Devaney be the recipient of the 2023 Amazon Studios Nonfiction Producers Award.

Congratulations to all awardees and their teams!

Winner of the World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award: Verite Filmmaking

Against the Tide

dir. & prod. Sarvnik Kaur

prod. Koval Bhatia

Still of Against the Tide. Two men go through the content of their fishing net, there are a fish and plastic trash.
Still from Against the Tide

Against the Tide is a 2021 (Egg)celerator Lab grantee.

Graphic of a film reel in pink.

Winner of the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Documentary

The Eternal Memory

dir. & prod. Maite Alberdi

prods. Juan de Dios Larraín, Pablo Larraín, Rocío Jadue

Still from The Eternal Memory. Augusto and Paulina reading from a magazine on a sofa.
Still from The Eternal Memory

The Eternal Memory was supported through Maite Alberdi’s 2020 Chicken & Egg Award.


From the AlumNest