Announcing New Docs by the Dozen, in Partnership with LUNA®!

Today we are announcing three new short films produced as part of Docs by the Dozen, in partnership with LUNA®. 

These three short films by AlumNest filmmakers explore a variety of perspectives on women’s equality and self empowerment—sharing new perspectives and lighting a fire in the industry. Watch the films as part of LUNAFEST®’s 2021 season


The Scientists Versus Dartmouth by Sharon Shattuck

A group of young women scientists at Dartmouth speak up about sexual harassment and become advocates for women in science everywhere.


Overexposed: Filmming an Arctic Odyssey by Holly Morris

A behind-the-scenes look at the film team that captured the daring story of the Women’s Euro-Arabian North Pole Expedition.


Until She is Free by Maria Finitzo

Until She is Free documents mixed-media artist Sophia Wallace as she imagines a culturally cliterate world, where all people are equal and able to live with rich possibility and purpose.


In 2001, LUNA® started LUNAFEST®—a traveling film festival celebrating, showcasing and championing women in film. Since then, LUNAFEST® has been flipping the script, creating opportunities for women in film. Learn more here

Docs by the Dozen in partnership with Mother Jones: “Sanctuary”

Directed by Brett Story,Sanctuary is produced by Chicken & Egg Pictures in partnership with Mother Jones.

Extreme Risk Protection Orders, otherwise known as “red flag” laws, give state authorities the ability to temporarily seize guns from someone deemed to be an immediate threat to themselves or others. On January 1, 2020, Colorado became the 17th state in the US to pass a ‘red flag’ law, provoking a number of county sheriffs opposed to the law to declare their counties “2nd Amendment sanctuaries.” “Sanctuary” follows a handful of Coloradans on multiple sides of this controversial issue as the bill comes into law, including a state legislator and domestic abuse survivor, a member of a local militia, and a Colorado county sheriff. As these individuals address the threats, real and imagined, that the law responds to or poses, “Sanctuary” offers a timely meditation on the meaning of safety in America today.

Directed by Brett Story (New Nest filmmaker), “Sanctuary” is produced by Chicken & Egg Pictures in partnership with Mother Jones.


About Docs by the Dozen: This shorts and series program was designed to engage with the 320+ members of our AlumNest, build meaningful partnerships with like-minded organizations and media companies, and generate artistic and innovative projects that can increase a filmmaker’s financial stability. The program provides talented filmmakers with the opportunity to expand their portfolios, reach broader audiences, and respond to critical social justice issues in a timely way.

About the director: Brett Story is a filmmaker and writer based in Toronto. Her films have screened internationally at festivals such as CPH-DOX, the Viennale, SXSW, True/False, and Sheffield Doc/Fest. Her 2016 feature documentary, The Prison in Twelve Landscapes, was nominated for a Canadian Screen Award, and her most recent feature documentary, The Hottest August, continues to screen around the world. She is an assistant professor in the School of Image Arts at Ryerson University. 

Docs by the Dozen in partnership with Mother Jones: “One Shot One Kill”

Directed by Nancy Schwartzman, One Shot One Kill is produced by Chicken & Egg Pictures in partnership with Mother Jones.

One Shot One Kill” is an immersive verite documentary that follows a father and his two sons as they embark on their annual deer hunting trip in rural Tennessee. This family tradition connects the Neal family to the beauty of the land, the tradition of hunting, and what it means to be both a hunter and gun owner in the United States today.

Directed by Nancy Schwartzman (Nest-supported Roll Red Roll), “One Shot One Kill” is produced by Chicken & Egg Pictures in partnership with Mother Jones.


About Docs by the Dozen: This shorts and series program was designed to engage with the 320+ members of our AlumNest, build meaningful partnerships with like-minded organizations and media companies, and generate artistic and innovative projects that can increase a filmmaker’s financial stability. The program provides talented filmmakers with the opportunity to expand their portfolios, reach broader audiences, and respond to critical social justice issues in a timely way.

About the director: Nancy Schwartzman is a Peabody-nominated filmmaker who uses storytelling and technology to create safer communities for women and girls. Her debut feature, Roll Red Roll, premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival, and screened at over 40 film festivals worldwide, garnering seven best documentary awards. The film was a New York Times Critics’ Pick, with 100% on Rotten Tomatoes; played on POV and BBC; and is streaming in 190 countries on Netflix. She is currently directing an investigative documentary with  The Center for Investigative Reporting, developing nonfiction series with XTR and Blumhouse Productions, and publishing a book with Hachette Book Group.

Docs by the Dozen in partnership with Mother Jones: “I am not going to change 400 years in four.”

Directed by Angela Tucker and Kristi Jacobson, I am not going to change 400 years in four. is produced by Chicken & Egg Pictures in partnership with Mother Jones.

When Satana Deberry took the oath of office as district attorney of Durham County, North Carolina on January 1, 2019, it was a momentous occasion—for the city of Durham and for her, as a Black woman elected to an office historically held by white men whose “tough on crime” policies have devastated communities of color for decades. Now, she faces the complicated realities of seeking to reform a deeply flawed criminal justice system, and a community ravaged by gun violence. Her story is at once inspiring and empowering—and also a call to action, for voters across the nation.

Directed by Angela Tucker and 2016 Chicken & Egg Award Recipient Kristi Jacobson, I am not going to change 400 years in four. was produced by Chicken & Egg Pictures through Docs by the Dozen, in partnership with Mother Jones.


About Docs by the Dozen: This shorts and series program was designed to engage with the 320+ members of our AlumNest, build meaningful partnerships with like-minded organizations and media companies, and generate artistic and innovative projects that can increase a filmmaker’s financial stability. The program provides talented filmmakers with the opportunity to expand their portfolios, reach broader audiences, and respond to critical social justice issues in a timely way.

About the directors: Angela Tucker and Kristi Jacobson teamed up to co-direct this powerful short documentary, a natural evolution of each of their bodies of work. Angela Tucker is a New Orleans-based writer, director and Emmy nominated producer. Her latest films include Belly of the Beast, which will broadcast on PBS’ Independent Lens in fall 2020, and All Skinfolk, Ain’t Kinfolk (2020, PBS), a short about a mayoral election in New Orleans. Earlier films include narrative feature All Styles (2018, Amazon); Black Folk Don’t, a doc web series that was featured in Time Magazine’s “10 Ideas That Are Changing Your Life”; and (A)sexual (2012, Netflix/Hulu). Kristi Jacobson is an Emmy Award-winning filmmaker, working as a director and producer of features, series and short-form content. Some of her films include Solitary (2017, HBO), which takes an unprecedented look at life inside a supermax prison and is winner of an Emmy Award for Outstanding Investigative Documentary and Independent Spirit Truer Than Fiction Award nominee; Take Back the Harbor (2018, Discovery); A Place at the Table (2012, Magnolia Pictures/ Participant Media); and Cartel Bank, an episode of the hit Netflix Original series Dirty Money (2018).