Nest-supported and AlumNest Films in POV’s 35th Season Line-up
At Chicken & Egg Pictures, we are egg-cited to see Nest-supported and two AlumNest films in POV’s, television’s longest-running showcase for independent nonfiction films, 35th season lineup. Please mark your calendars with their television premiere dates below.
Manzanar, Diverted: When Water Becomes Dust
dir. & prod. Ann Kaneko
prod. Jin Yoo-Kim
POV premiere: Monday, July 18, 2022
Manzanar, Diverted: When Water Becomes Dust was a Project: Hatched 2021 grantee.
An Act of Worship
dir. Nausheen Dadabhoy
prods. Heba Elorbany, Kristi Jacobson, Sofian Khan
POV premiere: Monday, October 17, 2022
An Act of Worship participated in the 2018 Diversity Fellows Initiative and was a 2019 (Egg)celerator Lab grantee.
Midwives
dir. & prod. Snow Hnin Ei Hlaing
prods. Mila Aung-Thwin, Bob Moore, Ulla Lehmann
POV premiere: Monday, November 21, 2022
Midwives is a 2020 (Egg)celerator Lab grantee and won a Special Jury Award for Excellence in Vérité Filmmaking at Sundance 2022.
From the AlumNest
- The Mole Agent
dir. & prod. Maite Alberdi
prod. Marcela Santibanez
Available through July - President
dir. Camilla Nielsson
prods. Signe Byrge Sørensen, Joslyn Barnes
POV premiere: Monday, August 8, 2022 - Delikado
Writer and Executive Producer 2018 Chicken & Egg Award Recipient Laura Nix, dir. Karl Malakunas, prods. Michael Collins, Marty Syjuco, Kara Magsanoc-Alikpala
POV premiere: Monday, September 26, 2022
An egg-stra special shout out to our Co-Founder & Senior Creative Consultant Judith Helfand, whose film Love & Stuff, produced by our Co-Founder & Board President Julie Parker Benello and AlumNest filmmaker Hilla Medalia, will have its POV premiere on Monday, September 5, 2022.
Check out the full line-up with this link.
The Nest at Sheffield DocFest 2022
We are thrilled to see four Nest-supported films and two AlumNest films at the 29th edition of Sheffield DocFest. Taking place from Thursday, June 23 through Tuesday, June 28, this festival’s edition is an invitation to ‘ReConnect’ with documentary and each other.
Projects from eight Nest-supported filmmakers will be participating at the MeetMarket, Sheffield DocFest’s pitching forum. The market will take place in-person for the first time since 2019 from Monday, June 27 through Tuesday, June 28 and will move online in the days following the festival.
Alis
dirs. & prods. Clare Weiskopf, Nicolas van Hemelryck
prods. Alexandra Galvis, Radu Stancu
Alis is a 2022 (Egg)celerator Lab finalist, and the winner of the Crystal Bear at the Berlin Film Festival.
Get your tickets with this link.
BEBA
dir. & prod. Rebeca Huntt
prod. Sofia Geld
BEBA is a Project: Hatched 2022 grantee.
Get your tickets with this link.
Electric Malady
dir. Marie Lidén
prod. Aimara Reques, Lorna Jane Ferguson
Electric Malady is a 2018 (Egg)celerator Lab grantee.
Get your tickets with this link.
Midwives
dir. & prod. Snow Hnin Ei Hlaing
prods. Bob Moore, Ulla Lehmann, Mila Aung-Thwin
Midwives is a 2020 (Egg)celerator Lab grantee and Special Jury Award winner at Sundance 2022.
Get your tickets with this link.
From the AlumNest
- The Joys and Sorrows of Young Yuguo
dir. Ilinca Calugareanu, prod. Mara Adina
World Premiere in the International Short Competition - The Great Abandonment
dirs. & prods. Shirley Abraham, Amit Madheshiya
MeetMarket
Eat Bitter
dirs. Ningyi Sun, Pascale Appora-Gnekindy
prod. Mathieu Faure
Eat Bitter is a 2022 (Egg)celerator Lab finalist.
Hummingbirds
dirs. Silvia Castaños, Estefanía Contreras
prods. Jillian Schlesinger, Leslie Benavides, Miguel Drake-McLaughlin
Hummingbirds is a 2022 (Egg)celerator Lab finalist.
Life + Life
dir. & prod. Contessa Gayles
Life + Life is a 2022 (Egg)celerator Lab grantee.
Matryoshka
dir. & prod. Maricarmen Merino
prods. Paulina Villegas, Karla Bukantz
Matryoshka is a 2022 (Egg)celerator Lab grantee.
The Wife Of
dir. & prod. Volia Chajkouskaya
prods. Ivo Felt, Christian Popp, Marius Markevicius
The Wife Of is a 2022 (Egg)celerator Lab grantee.
AlumNest projects at the MeetMarket
- #NunsToo Documentary
dir. Lorena Luciano, prod. Filippo Piscopo - DALTON’S DREAM
dirs. Kim Longinotto, Franky Murray Brown, prod. Lorine Plagnol - The Gender Project (working title)
dir. & prod. Kimberly Reed, prods. Louise Rosen, Robin Honan
Meet Our Team at Sheffield DocFest
Our Executive Director Jenni Wolfson and Program Coordinator Iva Dimitrova will be representing Chicken & Egg Pictures at the MeetMarket.
Check out the full line-up with this link and the complete list of MeetMarket projects with this link.
The Nest at the New York Human Rights Watch Film Festival
The 33rd edition of the New York Human Rights Watch Film Festival will feature two Nest-supported films! The festival will run from Friday, May 20 to Thursday, May 26 with both in-person and online screenings.
Midwives
dir. & prod. Snow Hnin Ei Hlaing
prods. Bob Moore, Ulla Lehmann, Mila Aung-Thwin
A tale of the complicated relationship between Rohingya and Buddhists in Myanmar, told over five years through the eyes of two midwives from either side of the divide.
Midwives is a 2020 (Egg)celerator Lab grantee.
Get your tickets + more info with this link.
The Janes
dirs. Tia Lessin, Emma Pildes
prods. Emma Pildes, Daniel Arcana, Jessica Levin
The Janes is the story of an underground network of women in Chicago in the ‘60s and early ‘70s who provided safe, affordable, illegal abortions.
The Janes is a Project: Hatched 2022 grantee.
Get your tickets + more info with this link.
From the AlumNest
- Delikado
Writer and Executive Producer 2018 Chicken & Egg Award Recipient Laura Nix, dir. Karl Malakunas, prods. Marty Syjuco, Michael Collins, Kara Magsanoc-Alikpala
Check out the full line-up with this link.
Announcing our Project: Hatched 2022 Grantees and Finalists!
Chicken & Egg Pictures proudly announced via Women & Hollywood six new grantees of our 2022 Project: Hatched program. Each film will receive $30,000 toward its completion and impact campaign and will participate in a seven-month program with tailored mentorship for impact strategy and professional development. Additionally, two films will each receive a $15,000 finalist grant.
This year, Chicken & Egg Pictures invited previously supported filmmakers in our alumni community, AlumNest, to participate in the Project: Hatched selection process.
“These processes are always complex and we receive more applications worthy of consideration than we can support. Sharing the power and responsibility that comes with making these selections with our AlumNest filmmakers was a very special and illuminating experience.”
Said Program Director Lucila Moctezuma.
Please click the film titles for more information on each project, and give these passionate and committed directors a warm welcome to the Nest!
Project: Hatched 2022 grantees:
A Woman on the Outside
Directors: Lisa Riordan Seville, Zara Katz
Producers: Kiara C. Jones, Lisa Riordan Seville, Zara Katz
Kristal is a young ambitious Philadelphian driven to keep families connected to their incarcerated loved ones. But when her father and brother return from prison, she confronts the ultimate question: can she reunite her own family?
Any Given Day
Director: Margaret Byrne
Producer: Margaret Byrne
Producer/Impact Producer: Latesha Dickerson
A filmmaker and three Chicagoans navigate the complexities of living with mental illness.
BEBA
Director: Rebeca Huntt
Producers: Rebeca Huntt, Sofia Geld
Impact Producer: Mia Bruno
A stunning self-portrait, tough, raw, stubborn, and powerful “Beba” stares down the curses of her ancestry, probing the psychic wounds she has inherited, while simultaneously embracing the vastness of her multitudes.
Crossings
Director: Deann Borshay Liem
Producers: Deann Borshay Liem, Ramsay Liem, Sarah Kim, Gay Dillingham
Thirty women peacemakers, including Gloria Steinem, undertake a risky crossing of the demilitarized zone (DMZ), from North to South Korea, to end America’s longest-running war.
Mama Has a Mustache
Director: Sally Rubin
Producer: Sally Rubin
Impact Producer: Nick Kelso
Mama Has a Mustache is a short animated documentary about identity and family outside of the traditional gender binary, as seen through children’s eyes.
Takeover
Director: Emma Francis-Snyder
Producer: Tony Gerber
In 1970, the Young Lords, a group of activists, took over a decrepit hospital in the South Bronx, launching a battle for their lives, their community, and healthcare for all.
Project: Hatched 2022 finalists
Powerlands
Director: Ivey Camille Manybeads Tso
Producers: Jordan Flaherty, Emily Faye Ratner, Ewa Jasiewicz
A Navajo filmmaker investigates the global displacement of Indigenous people and the devastation of the environment by corporations that have exploited the land where she was born.
The Janes
Directors: Tia Lessin, Emma Pildes
Producers: Emma Pildes, Daniel Arcana, Jessica Levin
The Janes is the story of an underground network of women in Chicago in the ‘60s and early ‘70s who provided safe, affordable, illegal abortions
The Nest at the 82nd Annual Peabody Awards
Nominations for the 82nd Annual Peabody Awards were announced on Wednesday, April 13. The Peabody Awards recognize compelling and meaningful storytelling in electronic media and aim to honor stories that matter. The winners will be announced from Monday, June 6 through Thursday, June 9 in a multi-day virtual celebration on the official Peabody Award social media platforms. See below the Nest-supported films and AlumNest films that were nominated.
Congratulations and the best of luck!
Simple As Water
dir. & prod. Megan Mylan
prod. Robin Hessman
Storm Lake
dirs. Beth Levison & Jerry Risius
prod. Beth Levison
9to5: The Story of a Movement
dirs. & prods. Julia Reichert & Steven Bognar
This film was supported through Julia Reichert’s Chicken & Egg Award year.
A Thousand Cuts
dir. & prod. Ramona S. Diaz
prod. Leah Marino
From the AlumNest
- High on the Hog: How African American Cuisine Transformed America
2016 Chicken & Egg Award recipient Yoruba Richen directed the Episode 4: Freedom. -
In the Same Breath
dir. Nanfu Wang
prods. Jialing Zhang, Carolyn Hepburn, Sara Rodriguez, Julie Goldman, and Christopher Clements
Check out the full nominee list with this link.
Gender Parity & Nest-supported Films at at Sundance
At Chicken & Egg Pictures we are egg-static to see two (Egg)celerator grantees and feature documentary debuts on the 2022 Sundance Film Festival program: Mija and Midwives, as well as six films by the AlumNest. The festival will come back with a hybrid format, with in-person activities in Park City, Salt Lake City and the Sundance Mountain Resort in Utah and with online events from Thursday, January 20 to Sunday, January 30. We are also excited to see that nonfiction films are once again one of the strongest sections of the festival’s program.
Last week, Director Tabitha Jackson and Director of Programming Kim Yutani, announced this edition’s details. Yutani and Jackson shared important statistics about women filmmakers in their program selection:
“Of the submissions to Sundance this year, only 28 percent were from women. Yet among all the features selected, 52 percent were directed by women. When asked whether the programmers decided to boost women auteurs over men, they steered around the question, saying they are always looking to promote female filmmakers. Jackson added: “The slightly depressing fact is that the figure of 28 percent submissions from women has remained pretty static across the years. It is a figure that we would wish to see higher because of what it indicates about the state of the industry. It’s surprising that so few are submitting.”
Sundance Film Festival Unveils 2022 Lineup That Reflects ‘Age of Reckoning’, Nicole Sperling
Learn more about Mija, Midwives, and AlumNest films below:
Mija
dir. Isabel Castro
prod. Tabs Breese, Isabel Castro, Yesenia Tlahuel
Selected as part of the Next category
Premiering on Friday, January 21
Get your tickets
With Doris’ voice as our guide, Mija uses VHS archive, verité footage, and camcorder vlogging to tell the story of two young women’s coming-of-age journeys as they look for success and belonging. The film is an immensely emotional and intimate portrait honoring the resilience of immigrants and their children.
Midwives
dir. & prod. Snow Hnin Ei Hlaing
prods. Bob Moore, Ulla Lehmann, Mila Aung-Thwin
Selected as part of the World Cinema Documentary Competition
Premiering on Monday, January 24
Get your tickets
Hla and Nyo Nyo are two midwives that work side by side in a makeshift medical clinic in western Myanmar, where the Rohingya (a Muslim minority community) are persecuted and denied basic rights. Filmed over three tumultuous years, their remarkable relationship reveals both tensions and the hope inherent in their common cause.
From the AlumNest
AlumNest filmmakers are soaring into Sundance’s program in the U.S. Documentary Competition to the World Cinema Documentary Competition:
- Descendant, directed by Margaret Brown, prods. Essie Chambers, Kyle Martin
- The Janes, directed by Tia Lessin and Emma Pildes, prods. Emma Pildes, Daniel Arcana, Jessica Levin
- TikTok, Boom., directed by Shalini Kantayya, prods. Ross M. Dinerstein. Shalini Kantayya, Danni Mynard
- To The End, directed by Rachel Lears, prod. Sabrina Schmidt Gordon
- The Martha Mitchell Effect, produced by Beth Levison, Judith Mizrachy, dirs. Anne Alvergue, Debra McClutchy
A special shoutout to 2018 Chicken & Egg Award recipient Natalia Almada, whose 2002 short documentary film All Water Has a Perfect Memory, will screen online as part of the “From the Collection” program, a line-up of 40 short films selected to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Sundance Institute. Ticket sales start Friday, December, 17.
Nest-supported Filmmakers Nominated for IDA Documentary Awards!
The Annual IDA Documentary Awards, the world’s most prestigious awards event dedicated to the documentary genre, announced their nominees and honorees.
Here at Chicken & Egg Pictures, we are sending egg-stra special congratulations to the Nest-supported films that received a nomination: Writing With Fire, Ascension, Simple As Water, Manzanar, Diverted: When Water Becomes Dust, and from the AlumNest: In the Same Breath and Witness. Massive congratulations to the Nest-supported filmmakers that received a 2021 Awards Honorees: Rintu Thomas & Sushmit Ghosh (Writing With Fire) and Cecilia Aldarondo (Landfall).
The awards ceremony will take place on Saturday, February 5, 2022 at Paramount Studios, Los Angeles; tickets will be accessible to the public in January 2022. Take a look at the nominees and honorees:
Writing With Fire
dirs. & prods. Rintu Thomas, Sushmit Ghosh
Nominated for Best Feature
Ascension
dir. & prod. Jessica Kingdon
prods. Kira Simon-Kennedy and Nathan Truesdell
Nominated for Best Cinematography
Cinematographers: Jessica Kingdon and Nathan Truesdell
Simple As Water
dir. & prod. Megan Mylan
prod. Robin Hessman
Nominated for Best Editing
Editors: Purcell Carson and Megan Mylan
Manzanar, Diverted: When Water Becomes Dust
dir. & prod. Ann Kaneko
prod. Jin Yoo-Kim
Nominated for Best Music Score
Composers: Lori Goldston, Steve Fisk and Alexander Miranda
2021 Awards Honorees
2018 (Egg)celerator Lab grantee Writing With Fire directors & producers Rintu Thomas and Sushmit Ghosh will receive the Courage Under Fire Award.
Project: Hatched 2020 grantee Landfall director Cecilia Aldarondo will receive the Emerging Documentary Filmmaker Award.
From the AlumNest
In the Same Breath, directed & produced by 2018 Chicken & Egg Award recipient Nanfu Wang, produced by 2021 Chicken & Egg Award recipient Jialing Zhang, Carolyn Hepburn, Sara Rodriguez, Julie Goldman, and Christopher Clements, was nominated for Best Feature. Witness, produced by Nest-supported filmmaker Amber Fares, Lisa Camillo, Saad Zuberi, Emile Guertin and Reem Haddad, was nominated for Best Short Series.
Post by Communications Intern Mariana Sanson
Project: Hatched Grantees at the New Orleans Film Festival
The 32nd annual New Orleans Film Festival will take place from Friday, November 5 through Sunday, November 14, with in-person screenings and a Virtual Cinema accessible worldwide 🌍🐣! At Chicken & Egg Pictures we are egg-cited to see three Project: Hatched 2021 films and a film from the AlumNest as part of their lineup. Take a look at them below and get your tickets with this link.
Fruits of Labor
dir. & prod. Emily Cohen Ibañez
Manzanar, Diverted: When Water Becomes Dust
dir. & prod. Ann Kaneko
prod. Jin Yoo-Kim
On The Divide
dirs. Maya Cueva, Leah Galant
prods. Melanie Miller, Diane Becker, Amanda Spain, Elizabeth Woodward
From the AlumNest
Ale Libre, directed by Project: Hatched 2021 grantee Maya Cueva, prods. Mayra Amaya, Melissa Bueno-Woerner, Daniel Tantalean, is part of the Documentary shorts section.
Post by Communications Intern Mariana Sanson
The Nest is back at DOC NYC PRO FALL 2021!
The line-up for DOC NYC PRO FALL 2021 was recently announced with in-person panels during thematic days taking place from Thursday, November 11 through Thursday, November 18 at Cinépolis Chelsea. Here at Chicken & Egg Pictures, we are proud to see current grantees and AlumNest filmmakers sharing their expertise throughout the week.
Funding Day
Thursday, Nov. 11
The Nuts and Bolts of Equity Investing
Featuring Chicken & Egg Pictures Board member Susan Margolin
Building Budget and Community on Kickstarter
Featuring Nest friend and Brown Girls Doc Mafia Founder Iyabo Boyd
Producing Day
Friday, Nov. 12
Impact Producing: Case Studies
Featuring Storm Lake director and producer Beth Levison (Project: Hatched 2021) and Impact Producers Alice Quinlan and Hoda Hawa.
Cinematography Day
Saturday. Nov. 13
Introducing the Documentary Cinematographers Alliance
Featuring An Act of Worship director Nausheen Dadabhoy (2019 (Egg)celerator Lab) and Made in Boise cinematographer Jenni Morello.
Editing Day
Sunday, Nov. 14
Ade Launches Guidelines and BIPOC Editors Initiative
Moderated by 2017 Chicken & Egg Award recipient Geeta Gandbhir
Case Study: The Rescue
Featuring Co-Founder Senior Creative Consultant Judith Helfand
Finding and Shaping Your Main Character
Moderated by Co-Founder Senior Creative Consultant Judith Helfand
Doc Series Day
Tuesday, Nov. 16
Power Dynamics in Documentary and Journalism
Featuring 2017 Chicken and Egg Award recipient Dawn Porter
Proximity, Access, and Journalistic Distance
Featuring Enemies of the State director Sonnia Kennebeck (2018 (Egg)celerator Lab).
Audience Engagement and Distribution Day
Wednesday. Nov. 17
How to Build Your Audience from Scratch
Featuring And So I Stayed directors Natalie Pattillo and Daniel Nelson (Project: Hatched 2021)
Success?
Featuring Nest friend and Brown Girls Doc Mafia Founder Iyabo Boyd.
Legal for Docs Day
Thursday, Nov. 18
New Trends in Ethics and Documentaries
Featuring the attorneys Nicole Page and Michelle Lamardo our partner Reavis Page Jump LLP Featuring Nest-supported filmmaker and Pray Away (2019 (Egg)celerator Lab) producer Jessica Devaney.
Post by Communications Intern Mariana Sanson.
Supported Films at DOC NYC Film Festival
Chicken & Egg Pictures is part of DOC NYC 2021 line up. With an in-person return to theatrical screenings and virtual options available throughout the US, the festival will run from Wednesday, November 10 to Thursday, November 18. Take a look at the five Nest-supported films, and projects from the AlumNest below and get your tickets with this link.
Nest-supported Films
Once Upon a Time in Uganda
dir. Cathryne Czubek, co-dir. Hugo Perez
prods. Gigi Dement, Cathryne Czubek, Matt Porwoll, Hugo Perez, Kyaligamba Ark Martin
US Premiere
Friday, Nov. 12
Tickets here
Against all odds, former bricklayer and teacher Isaac Nabwana has turned his small home in the slums of Uganda’s capital city into the Wakaliwood action movie studio. After 10 years and 40+ films, Wakaliwood has become an overnight international media sensation, inspiring others around the world to follow in his footsteps. When New York film nerd Alan Hofmanis shows up on his doorstep one day, everything is bound to change.
Storm Lake
dirs. Beth Levison & Jerry Risius
prod. Beth Levison
NYC Premiere
Friday, Nov. 12
Sunday, Nov. 14
Tickets here
Pulitzer prize-winning journalist Art Cullen and his family fight to unite and inform their rural Iowan farming community through their biweekly newspaper, The Storm Lake Times—even as the paper hangs on by a thread. Twice a week, they work as civic watchdogs to protect their hometown and the legacy of credible journalism, at large—come hell or pandemic.
Writing With Fire
dirs. & prods. Rintu Thomas, Sushmit Ghosh
NYC Premiere
Thursday, Nov. 11
Tickets here
In a cluttered news landscape dominated by men, emerges India’s only newspaper run by Dalit women. Armed with smartphones, Chief Reporter Meera and her journalists break traditions, be it on the frontlines of India’s biggest issues or within the confines of their homes, redefining what it means to be powerful.
United States Vs. Reality Winner
dir & prod. Sonia Kennebeck
prod. Ines Hofmann Kanna
NYC Premiere
Saturday, Nov. 13
Tickets here
Reality Winner (her actual birth name) is a U.S. Air Force veteran who became a whistleblower in her 20s by leaking classified documents about Russian cyber-warfare attacks on the 2016 U.S. elections. Award-winning filmmaker Sonia Kennebeck (National Bird; Enemies of the State), supported by executive producer Wim Wenders, digs into her case, exploring mistakes made by journalists at The Intercept that led the FBI to discover Winner’s identity.*
Boycott
dir & prod. Julia Bacha
prod. Suhad Babaa, Daniel J. Chalfen
NYC Premiere
Monday, Nov. 14
Tickets here
Boycotts have long been a tool used by Americans rallying for social and political change, from civil rights leaders to anti-apartheid activists. But in recent years, 33 U.S. states have introduced anti-boycott legislation or executive orders designed to penalize individuals and companies who choose to boycott Israel due to its human rights record. Boycott looks at the cases of a news publisher in Arkansas, an attorney in Arizona and a speech therapist in Texas whose careers are threatened by the harsh measures of these new laws. A legal thriller with “accidental plaintiffs” at the center, the film is a bracing look at the far-reaching implications of anti-boycott legislation and an inspiring tale of everyday Americans standing up to protect our rights in an age of shifting politics and threats to freedom of speech.
AlumNest Films
Listening to Kenny G, directed by 2017 Chicken & Egg Award recipient Penny Lane, prod. Gabriel Sedgwick, will open the festival on Wednesday, Nov. 10. A Decent Home, directed and produced by AlumNest filmmaker Sara Terry, producer Alysa Nahmias, will screen on Tuesday, Nov. 16. Exposure, directed and produced by AlumNest filmmaker Holly Morris, producers Eleanor Wilson, Michael Kovnat, Jill Mazursky, will have its NYC premiere on Saturday, Nov. 13. The film Black and Missing, directed by 2017 Chicken & Egg Award recipient Geeta Gandbhir and Samantha Knowles, producers Samantha Knowles, Nimco Sheikhaden, will premiere on Wednesday, Nov. 17.
*Language courtesy of DOC NYC.
Post by Communications Intern Mariana Sanson