Chicken & Egg Pictures is proud to introduce the ninth cohort of our Chicken & Egg Award. This program awards women and gender-expansive documentary filmmakers who are at advanced- stages with a $75,000 grant as well as a tailored year-long mentorship program that is targeted to the goals of each individual grant recipient.
“Filmmakers are experts on what they need to push their artistic and personal development forward. Heavy oversight often stonewalls creative breakthroughs. Chicken & Egg Pictures believes that filmmakers, especially those who face barriers related to their gender, race, class, and location, should have financial freedom and flexibility as they embark on new projects. Unrestricted funding remains the cornerstone of the Chicken & Egg Award, and we have witnessed extraordinary breakthroughs with past winners by adhering to this model.”
– Elaisha Stokes, Senior Program Manager
The 2024 Chicken & Egg Award recipients are Alisa Kovalenko, Beth Aala, Jumana Manna, Katy Léna Ndiaye, Nailah Jefferson, Sierra Pettengill, Ursula Liang, and Violet Du Feng. Each awardee will receive an unrestricted $50,000 career grant and a $25,000 project grant.
Since 2016, the Chicken and Egg Award has granted unrestricted funding to accomplished industry veterans. For the first four years, the program supported US-based filmmakers, before expanding globally. In 2023, Chicken & Egg Pictures grew the grant cohort from six to eight directors. Each Awardee receives a $75,000 grant and year-long tailored mentorship, attends a creative retreat, participates in monthly peer-to-peer cohort calls, and travels to a major film festival where Chicken & Egg Pictures hosts a culminating retreat and facilitates high-level industry networking opportunities around distribution, funding, and more.
Please click on the Recipients’ names for more information on each filmmaker and give these visionary directors a warm welcome to the Nest!
2024 COHORT
- Alisa KovalenkoMore info >
Alisa Kovalenko
- Beth AalaMore info >
Beth Aala
- Jumana MannaMore info >
Jumana Manna
- Katy Léna NdiayeMore info >
Katy Léna Ndiaye
- Nailah JeffersonMore info >
Nailah Jefferson
- Sierra PettengillMore info >
Sierra Pettengill
- Ursula LiangMore info >
Ursula Liang
- Violet Du FengMore info >
Violet Du Feng