Chicken & Egg Pictures is proud to introduce the 29 film projects supported by its second Research & Development Grant. The grants provide directors with $10,000 USD for research or $20,000 USD for development of a new documentary project. These critical stages in the life of a documentary are often unpaid and unsupported. Grantees will also have access to the Chicken & Egg Pictures’ team and community of filmmakers for peer support, expert mentorship, and industry connections.

The 2024 Chicken & Egg Pictures Research & Development Grant is supported by the Netflix Fund for Creative Equity, a dedicated effort to help build new opportunities for underrepresented communities within entertainment.

The Research & Development (R&D) Grant this year demonstrates an increase in both the number of projects and the diversity of grantees supported. This year, 29 film projects will receive grant awards that support 34 total filmmakers (including projects with co-directors) representing 17 countries worldwide including Afghanistan, Argentina, Chile, Finland, Haiti, Hong Kong, Jordan, Kenya, and Mexico. The diversity of this year’s cohort is deepened in other ways as well: of the 59% of grantees who identify as BIPOC, 34% identify as Arab or Latin-x (groups that have been identified as underrepresented in the talent pipeline). 12% of grantees identify as gender-expansive (trans or non-binary) and 31% identify as LGBTQ. There was a 42% increase in applications over the first year, totaling 297 applications from 52 countries.

This year’s R&D film projects represent a wide variety of perspectives, bringing new voices to elevate transformational narratives and dealing with urgent issues including AI and social connection, LGBTQ visibility and history, journalism and democracy, environmental conservation and corporate power, and more. The filmmakers’ artistic styles range widely, including verité, archival, biopic, experimental, and hybrid filmmaking.

RESEARCH GRANT RECIPIENTS

1. Assia Boundaoui (dir.) | US, Algeria
2. Leola Calzolai-Stewart (dir.) | US
3. Ali Grant (dir.) | Canada
4. Hazel Gurland-Pooler (dir.) | US, Colombia
5. Sini Hormio & Anu Silfverberg (dirs.) | Finland
6. Minji Ma (dir.) | South Korea
7. Nadina Marquisio (dir.) | Argentina
8. Anushka Meenakshi & Richa Chandru Bhavanam (dirs.) | India
9. Jennifer Ngo (dir.) | Hong Kong
10. Jules Rosskam & Irene Lusztig (dirs.) | US
11. Sonia Ben Slama (dir.) | France, Tunisia
12. Angela Tucker (dir.) | US
13. Elizabeth Lo (dir.) | US, Hong Kong

DEVELOPMENT GRANT RECIPIENTS

1. Sahra Mani (dir.) | Afghanistan, France (Dream of Grape Gardens)
2. Rand Beiruty (dir.) | Jordan (Portrait of A)
3. Michèle Stephenson (dir.) | US, Haiti (Oshun and My Grandmother: A Fable In Four Movements)
4. Sumie García (dir.) | Mexico (Maps of Post-truth)
5. Nico Opper (dir.) | US (Untitled Alexandra Billings Project)
6. Francesca Trianni (dir.) | Italy (Untitled Predator Project)
7. Rintu Thomas & Sushmit Ghosh (dirs.) | India (The Untitled Memory Project)
8. Jialing Zhang (dir.) | US (Dreams*)
9. Georgina Cammalleri (dir.) | Argentina, UK (Olympic Twins*)
10. Jane M. Wagner (dir.) | US (*holds you tight*)
11. Zippy Kimundu (dir.) | Kenya, Ireland (The White Doctor)
12. Inna Sahakyan (dir.) | US, Armenia (The Judge and the Dictator*)
13. Alexa Bakony (dir.) Hungary | (Highways of Hope*)
14. Alyx Duncan & Briar March (dirs.) | New Zealand (Memento Mori)
15. Anabel Rodríguez Ríos (dir.) | Venezuela (The Journey to Santa Rosa de Amanadona)
16. Carola Fuentes (dir.) | Chile (Untitled Chilean Documentary)

*Working title

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)