Nest-supported Filmmakers on the DOC NYC Short List
DOC NYC, the largest nonfiction film festival in the US, announced their Short Lists for contenders for the documentary short category and contenders for feature documentary category. Their Short Lists are influential for their steady track record of anticipating Academy Award nominees and winners.
DOC NYC also noted that this year seven of the Short List feature selections are directed or co-directed by women, marking a new high. At Chicken & Egg Pictures, we were proud to see two of our supported filmmakers make the cut.
On Her Shoulders , directed by Alexandria Bombach (2018 SXSW LUNA / Chicken & Egg Pictures Award recipient), was listed as a top award contender for the documentary feature category.
Take Back The Harbor, directed by Kristi Jacobson (2016 Breakthrough Filmmaker Award recipient) and Roger Ross Williams, was listed as a top award contender for the documentary short category.
Both filmmakers will have their films screened during the DOC NYC festival in programs to be announced in mid-October. Congratulations to Alexandria and Kristi and good luck!
Gender Parity at the 2018 Camden International Film Festival
The 2018 Camden International Film Festival (CIFF) will take place in Camden, Rockport, and Rockland, Maine from September 13 to 16. Founded in 2005, CIFF is a festival focused exclusively on documentary film, and this year, we were egg-static to see that half of the selections across every category are directed by women.
In a press release from CIFF, Senior Programmer Samara Chadwick stated, “Programming at parity celebrates the contributions of the many formidable women in the field, while also emphasizing the fact that, in a century of documentary filmmaking, we’ve largely known one dominant perspective. […] At CIFF we’re drawn to directorial approaches from outside the canon, and we value all the creative voices and cinematic languages that have been otherwise underrepresented.”
At Chicken & Egg Pictures, we applaud the push for gender parity from the Camden International Film Festival.
See a full itinerary for Nest-supported films, filmmakers, and friends at CIFF below.
Points North Pitch, Saturday Sep. 15 at 10 AM at the Camden Opera House, including a pitch from 2018 Diversity Fellows Initiative grantee Robie Flores for her project The In Between.
Skywards, directed by Eva Weber (Black Out, 2007), Saturday Sep. 15 at 10 AM at The Strand Theatre in Rockland.
Survivors, co-directed by Arthur Pratt, Banker White, Anna Fitch and Barmmy Boy, Saturday Sep. 15 at 12:30 PM at the Rockport Opera House.
A Cure for Fear (Series), directed by Lana Wilson (The Departure and After Tiller), Saturday Sep. 15 at 3:30 PM at the Farnsworth Art Museum in Rockland*
The Feeling of Being Watched, directed by Assia Boundaoui (2016 Accelerator Lab grantee and The Whickers award winner), Sunday Sep. 16 at 12:30 PM. Assia will also be speaking on the Documentary as Co-Creation panel at 3:30 PM on Saturday Sep. 15 at High Mountain Hall in Camden.
On Her Shoulders, directed by Alexandria Bombach (2018 SXSW LUNA / Chicken & Egg Pictures Award recipient), Sunday Sep. 16 at 5 PM at The Strand Theatre in Rockland.*
Blowin’ Up, directed by Stephanie Wang-Breal, Sunday Sep. 16 at 5:30 PM at the Rockport Opera House.
And our very own Eggspert advisor Cara Mertes will be moderating The Public Sphere panel, Saturday Sep. 15 at 1:30 PM at High Mountain Hall.
*Chicken & Egg Pictures did not directly support Skywards, A Cure for Fear, or On Her Shoulders but did support their directors in past projects.
Post by 2018 Communications Intern Morgan Lee Hulquist.
Nine Nest-Supported Films/Filmmakers at the AFI Docs Film Festival
The AFI Docs Film Festival is kicking off in Washington, DC and Silver Spring, MD this week, and Chicken & Egg Pictures is honored to have supported the following nonfiction filmmakers and their projects, which can be seen at the festival from June 13-17.
United Skates, directed by Dyana Winkler & Tina Brown (2016 Diversity Fellows Initiative)
When America’s last standing roller rinks are threatened with closure, a community of thousands battle in a racially charged environment to save an underground subculture—one that has remained undiscovered by the mainstream for generations, yet has given rise to some of the world’s greatest musical talent.
The 2018 Tribeca Audience Award-winning film will be closing out the festival on Sunday, June 17 at 6:30 pm.
Blowin’ Up, directed by Stephanie Wang-Breal
Blowin’ Up looks at sex work, prostitution, and human trafficking through the lens of New York State’s criminal justice system. The film captures the growing pains of our nation’s first human trafficking intervention court in Queens, New York, and how we define trafficking and prostitution from many different perspectives: the criminal justice system, the social welfare system, and, most importantly, the women and girls who are at the center of it all.
Screenings: Thursday, June 14 at 3:30 pm and Friday, June 15 at 6:15 pm.
Dark Money, directed by Kimberly Reed
A century ago, corrupt money swamped Montana’s legislature, but Montanans rose up to prohibit corporate campaign contributions. Today, in the wake of the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision —which allows unlimited, anonymous money to pour into elections nationwide—Montana is once again fighting to preserve open and honest elections. Following an investigative reporter through a political thriller, Dark Money exposes one of the greatest threats to American democracy.
Screening: Thursday, June 14 at 6:00 pm.
It Will Be Chaos, directed by Lorena Luciano and Filippo Piscopo
Life in Southern Italy is thrown into a tailspin when refugees arrive by the thousands and the locals are left to fend for themselves. Eritrean survivor Aregai, trapped in the Italian faltering immigration system, goes underground to reach Northern Europe. Through his journey, intercut with the road trip to Germany of a Syrian family, the clash between the newcomers and the locals escalates in real time.
Screening: Thursday, June 14 at 5:45 pm.
Tre Maison Dasan, directed by Denali Tiller (Accelerator Lab 2015)
Tre Maison Dasan is a story that explores parental incarceration through the eyes of three boys—Tre, Maison, and Dasan. Following their interweaving trajectories through boyhood marked by the criminal justice system, and told directly through the child’s perspective, the film unveils the challenges of growing up and what it means to become a man in America.
Screenings: Thursday, June 14 at 6:00 pm and Sunday, June 18 at 4:45 pm.
The following films were directed by Nest-supported filmmakers and will also be featured at the AFI Docs Film Festival.
Inventing Tomorrow, directed by Laura Nix (2018 Breakthrough Filmmaker Award recipient)
On Her Shoulders, directed by Alexandria Bombach (2018 SXSW LUNA / Chicken & Egg Pictures Award recipient)
A Murder in Mansfield, directed by Barbara Kopple (2011 Chicken & Egg Pictures Celebration Award)
Skywards, directed by Eva Weber (Black Out, 2007)
See the full AFI Docs Film Festival slate here.
Post by Morgan Hulquist, Summer 2018 Chicken & Egg Pictures Communications Intern.
The Nest at 2018 Human Rights Watch Film Festival
The 2018 Human Rights Watch Film Festival (HRWFF) in New York City will feature four Chicken & Egg-supported films and filmmakers! Make sure to catch a screening of the following films if you happen to be in the New York City area between June 14-21!
You can look at the full list of the documentaries featured here.
A Thousand Girls Like Me*, directed by Sahra Mani (2016 Diversity Fellow Initiative)
In Afghanistan where systematic abuses of girls rarely come to light, and seeking justice can be deadly, one young woman says “Enough.” Khatera was brutally raped by her father since the age of nine and today she raises two precious and precocious children whom he sired. Against her family’s and many Afghanis’ wishes, Khatera forces her father to stand trial. This is her incredible story of love, hope, bravery, forgiveness, and truth.
Screening(s):
June 19, 9 pm at the Film Society of Lincoln Center’s Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center
June 20, 7 pm at the IFC Center
Get your tickets here.
*A Thousand Girls Like Me will have its US premiere at the 2018 HRWFF.
Naila and the Uprising*, directed by Julia Bacha
Weaving together interviews, news footage, and expressive animation, award-winning documentarian Julia Bacha inventively chronicles the remarkable journey of Naila Ayesh, who in the late 1980s joined a clandestine movement of Palestinian women who played a pivotal role in the nonviolent uprising known as the First Intifada.
Screening(s):
June 16, 7 pm at IFC Center
Get your tickets here.
*Chicken & Egg Pictures did not support Naila and the Uprising but supported director Julia Bacha’s film, Budrus.
On Her Shoulders*, directed by Alexandria Bombach (2018 SXSW LUNA / Chicken & Egg Pictures Award recipient)
This empowering documentary presents 23-year-old Nadia Murad, a Yazidi genocide survivor determined to tell the world her story. Determined advocate and reluctant celebrity, she becomes the voice of her people and their best hope to spur the world to action.
Screening(s):
June 14, 7 pm at the Film Society of Lincoln center’s Walter reade theatre
Get your tickets here.
*Chicken & Egg Pictures did not support On Her Shoulders but supported director Julia Alexandria Bombach through the SXSW LUNA / Chicken & Egg Pictures Award.
The Unafraid*, directed by Heather Courtney and Anayansi Prado (2017 Chicken & Egg Pictures mentee)
High School seniors Alejandro, Silvia, and Aldo, like most of their friends, are eager to go to college and pursue their education. However, their home state of Georgia not only bans them from attending the top five public universities, but also deems them ineligible for in-state tuition at public colleges due to their immigration status as DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) recipients. In response, these three ambitious and dream-filled students divert their passions towards the fight for education in the undocumented community. As President Donald Trump’s campaign rhetoric against immigrants gains momentum, and amid constant threat of losing their DACA status and being deported, The Unafraid follows these inspirational members of the generation of “undocumented, unapologetic and unafraid” young people who are determined to overcome and dismantle oppressive policies and mindsets.
Screening(s):
June 21, 7 pm at IFC Center
You can buy tickets to the Human Rights Watch Film Festival here.
*Chicken & Egg Pictures did not support The Unafraid but supported director Anayansi Prado’s film, Children in No Man’s Land.
Chicken & Egg Pictures at Sheffield Doc/Fest
Sheffield Doc/Fest is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, and Chicken & Egg Pictures will be there with the 2018 Accelerator Lab cohort of first- and second-time female filmmakers, as well as four Nest-supported films for Sheffield goers to look out for!
A Thousand Girls Like Me directed by Sahra Mani (2016 Diversity Fellows Initiative)
In Afghanistan where systematic abuses of girls rarely come to light, and seeking justice can be deadly, one young woman says “Enough.” Khatera was brutally raped by her father since the age of nine and today she raises two precious and precocious children whom he sired. Against her family’s and many Afghanis’ wishes, Khatera forces her father to stand trial. This is her incredible story of love, hope, bravery, forgiveness, and truth. Showtimes are Friday, June 8 at 3:45 PM and Sunday, June 10 at 6:30 PM.
The Pain of Others, directed by Penny Lane (2017 Breakthrough Award Recipient)
The Pain of Others is a found footage documentary about Morgellons, a mysterious illness whose sufferers say they have parasites under the skin, long colored fibers emerging from lesions, and a host of other bizarre symptoms which could be borrowed from a horror film. The Pain of Others is composed entirely of videos shared by a group of “Morgies” who have turned to YouTube for community and to prove they’re not crazy. Unsettling, funny and intimate, The Pain of Others is at once a body-horror documentary and a radical act of empathy. Showtimes are Sunday, June 12 at 9:00 AM and Tuesday, June 12 at 6:00 PM.
On Her Shoulders directed by Alexandria Bombach (2018 SXSW LUNA / Chicken & Egg Pictures Award recipient)
This empowering documentary presents 23-year-old Nadia Murad, a Yazidi genocide survivor determined to tell the world her story. Determined advocate and reluctant celebrity, she becomes the voice of her people and their best hope to spur the world to action. Showtimes are Sunday, June 10 at 3:00 PM and Monday, June 11 at 9:30 AM.
Skywards directed by Eva Weber (director of Nest-supported film Black Out, 2007)
A poetic and evocative visual study, Skywards takes the viewer on a journey into the world of pigeon flying, high above the bustling and crowded streets of Old Delhi. Showtimes are Sunday, June 10 at 5:45 PM and Tuesday, June 12 at 9:00 AM.
Additionally, join us for our second annual Accelerator Lab Pitch at Sheffield! The 2018 Accelerator Lab participants will pitch their projects to a live audience and will receive feedback from international decision makers and buyers. This will be an opportunity for all pass holders to hear from and meet filmmaking talent for future collaborations. The live pitch will take place Sunday, June 10 at 10:00 am.
Post by Morgan Hulquist, Summer 2018 Chicken & Egg Pictures Communications Intern.
Four Nest-supported Films at the 2018 Full Frame Documentary Film Festival
The annual Full Frame Documentary Film Festival will feature four Chicken & Egg-supported films this year! Held in Durham, North Carolina, the festival attracts filmmakers and film lovers from all over the world, creating a dynamic and culturally diverse experience for all involved.
The festival will run from April 5-8. Check out the entire list of films here. Purchase individual screening tickets here.
Dark Money, directed by Kimberly Reed (2018 Discretionary Grant Recipient)
A century ago, corrupt money swamped Montana’s legislature, but Montanans rose up to prohibit corporate campaign contributions. Today, in the wake of the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision—which allows unlimited, anonymous money to pour into elections nationwide—Montana is once again fighting to preserve open and honest elections. Following an investigative reporter through a political thriller, Dark Money exposes one of the greatest threats to American democracy.
The Square, directed by Jehane Noujaim
A group of Egyptian revolutionaries battle leaders and regimes, risking their lives to build a new society of conscience.
Kings of Pastry (2010 Celebration Award Recipient), directed by Chris Hegedus and D A Pennebaker
On Her Shoulders directed by Alexandria Bombach (2018 SXSW LUNA / Chicken & Egg Pictures Award recipient)
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Chicken & Egg Pictures also wants to give a special shout-out to the following films by Nest-supported filmmakers whose latest films will also be featured at the 2018 Full Frame Documentary Film Festival!
Capturing the Flag directed by Anne de Mare (director of the Nest-supported film, The Homestretch)
Control Room directed by Jehane Noujaim (director of the Nest-supported film, The Square)
Rafea: Sola Mama directed by Jehane Noujaim and Mona Eldaeif
Startup.com directed by Chris Hegedus (2010 Celebration Award recipient) and Jehane Noujaim
The Pushouts directed by Katie Galloway (director of the Nest-supported film, The Return)
Inventing Tomorrow directed by Laura Nix (2018 Breakthrough Filmmaker Award Recipient)
This Is Home directed by Alexandra Shiva (Chicken & Egg Pictures Board of Directors)
The Unafraid directed by Heather Courtney and Anayansi Prado (2017 Chicken & Egg Pictures mentee)
Post by 2018 Spring Programs Intern Dinayuri Rodriguez.