Chicken & Egg Pictures is proud to introduce the inaugural  Chicken & Egg Pictures Research & Development Grant cohort. The 2023 grants provide experienced directors with $10,000 USD for research or $20,000 USD for development of a new documentary project. The research and development stages are particularly challenging for independent films, and often go unpaid. The R&D Grant aims to provide filmmakers with the freedom and support to invest in the creative process during these critical phases. Furthermore, recipients will have access to the Chicken & Egg Pictures team and a community of filmmakers, offering additional peer support, mentorship opportunities, and deeper connections within the documentary industry. 

The 2023 Chicken & Egg Pictures Research & Development Grant is supported by Netflix’s Fund For Creative Equity, a dedicated effort to help build new opportunities for underrepresented communities within entertainment.

The 27 Research & Development Grant recipients listed below are divided into two segments: 1) The Research Grant recipients who are in the ideation period including identifying secondary sources, following storylines, and building foundational relationships, and 2) The Development Grant recipients who are in a deeper exploration period including securing access to core characters and collaborators, solidifying budgets, fundraising, story development, and other pre-production priorities. 

 

RESEARCH GRANT RECIPIENTS

1. Marah Strauch (dir. & prod.) | Eric Bruggemann (prod.) | Austria, United States
2. Corine Shawi (dir. & prod.) |Nancy Sabbagh (prod.) | Lebanon 
3. Daniela Muñoz Barroso (dir.) | Leila Montero (prod.) | Cuba 
4. Anjali Nayar (dir.) | Kenya-Jade Pinto (dir.) | Canada, India, Kenya 
5. Sandra Luz López Barroso (dir.) | Karla Bukantz (prod.) | Mexico 
6. Violeta Ayala (dir. & prod) | Redelia Shaw (prod.) | Dan Fallshaw (prod.) | Australia, Bolivia  
7. Ilinca Calugareanu (dir. & prod.) | Romania, United Kingdom 
8. Erika Cohn (dir. & prod.) | United States 
9. Yoruba Richen (dir. & prod.) | Lacey Schwartz Delgado (dir. & prod.) | Mehret Mandefro (prod.) | Kristi Jacobson (prod.) | United States, Ethiopia

 

DEVELOPMENT GRANT RECIPIENTS

1. Tatiana Fernández Geara (dir. & prod.) | Wendy P. Espinal (prod.) | Dominican Republic (I am my Grandma’s Granddaughter)
2. Sabaah Folayan (dir. & prod.) | United States (Worth the Risk (working title))
3. Rita Baghdadi (dir. & prod.) | Sahar Yousefi (prod.) | United States, Morocco (Stallions)
4. Iva Radivojević (dir. & prod.) | Madeleine Molyneaux (prod.) | Marija Stojnić (prod.), Andrijana Sofranić Šućur (prod.) | Serbia (Formerly Yugoslavia), United States (When The Phone Rang)
5. Angeliki Aristomenopoulou (dir.) | Rea Apostolides (prod.) | Yuri Averof (prod.) | Greece, Iceland, United Kingdom (Holy Human Angel)
6. Farihah Zaman (dir. & prod.) | Jeff Reichert (prod.) | United States, Bangladesh (Soulmates)
7. Luchina Fisher (dir. & prod.) | Yvonne Welbon (prod.) | Thomas Allen Harris (prod.) | United States (The Untitled Gary Fisher Project)
8. Svitlana Lishchynska (dir.) | Anna Kapustina (prod.) | Alex Tondowski (prod.) | Derren Lawford (prod.) | Ukraine, Germany, United Kingdom (A Bit Of A Stranger)
9. Habiba Nosheen (dir. & prod.) | Amar Lohana (prod.) | Pakistan, Canada, United States (The Gymnasts of Machar Colony)
10. Isabella Rinaldi (dir. & prod.) | Arya Rothe (dir. & prod.) | Cristina Hanes (dir. & prod.) | Italy, India, Romania (Untitled)
11. Bora Lee-Kil (dir.) | Sona JO (prod.) | Republic of Korea (Our Bodies)
12. Cynthia Lowen (dir. & prod.) | Jon Cohrs (co-dir.) | Jim LeBrecht (prod.) | United States (Kids Like Me)
13. Grace Lee (dir. & prod.) | Alicia Sams (prod.) | United States (The Franklin Experiment)
14. Petra Costa (dir. & prod.) | Brazil (Untitled 2)
15. Elwira Niewiera (dir.) | Poland, Germany (Untitled 3)
16. Mila Turajlić (dir. & prod.) | Carine Chichkowsky (prod.) | Serbia, France, Canada (Second World Second Sex)
17. Sarvnik Kaur (dir. & prod.) | Quentin Laurent (co-prod.) | India, France (Disruption)
18. Carmen Castillo (dir.) | Camille Laemlé (prod.) | Macarena Aguiló (prod.) | Chile, France (Memories of an Oblivion)