The Nest is back at DOC NYC PRO FALL 2022

DOC NYC PRO FALL 2022 will take place from Thursday, November 10 through Thursday, November 17 at Cinepolis Chelsea. The activities are designed to empower filmmakers at different stages of their careers. At Chicken & Egg Pictures, we are proud to see current grantee Rebeca Huntt and AlumNest filmmakers sharing their expertise throughout the week.

Production Day

Friday, November 11

TRUST
Featuring Nest-supported filmmaker Margaret Brown   

NEW YORK TIMES VS. SULLIVAN: DEFAMATION AND THE FUTURE OF DOCUMENTARY FILMMAKING 
Featuring Nest-supported filmmaker Jessica Devaney


Editing Day

Sunday, November 13

CASE STUDY: BEBA 
Featuring Project: Hatched 2022 grantee Rebeca Huntt 
Low angle shot of Beba, placing her arm behind her head and wearing a black top
Still from BEBA


Journalism and Documentary Day 

Monday, November 14

CASE STUDY: THE SING SING CHRONICLES
Featuring 2017 Chicken & Egg Award recipient Dawn Porter


Music for Documentaries Day

Tuesday, November 15

THE DIRECTOR/COMPOSER RELATIONSHIP
Featuring 2017 Chicken & Egg Award recipient Dawn Porter

CASE STUDY: MIJA
Featuring 2021 (Egg)celerator Lab grantee Isabel Castro

Close up to the face of Doris singing
Still from Mija


Documentary Series Day

Tuesday, November 16

MAKING THE LEAP FROM FEATURE DIRECTING TO DOC SERIES
Featuring 2017 Chicken & Egg Award recipient Geeta Gandbhir 

CASE STUDY: MIND OVER MURDER
Featuring 2018 Chicken & Egg Award recipient Nanfu Wang


Check out the full line-up with this link.

AlumNest filmmakers nominated for the NAACP Image Awards!

We were honored to see three Chicken & Egg Award filmmakers on the nominations list for the 53rd annual NAACP Image Awards, recognizing achievements by Black artists across film, TV, literature, music, and more. 

Congratulations to all the nominees! Tune in to the live ceremony on Saturday, February 26 at 8 pm ET on BET.


Rise Again: Tulsa and the Red Summer

dir. and prod. Dawn Porter

Dawn Porter 2017 Breakthrough Filmmaker Award2017 Chicken and Egg Award recipient Dawn Porter was nominated for Outstanding Directing in a Documentary (Television or Motion Picture).

 


Black and Missing

dirs. Samantha Knowles, Yoruba Richen, Geeta Gandbhir, Nadia Hallgren

prods. Samantha Knowles, Nimco Sheikhaden

A woman wearing earrings and a necklace smiles at the cameraTwo Chicken & Egg Award recipients Yoruba Richen and Geeta Gandbhir were nominated for Outstanding Directing in a Documentary (Television or Motion Picture). Both were directors on the four-part HBO documentary.

Geeta Gandbhir 2017 Breakthrough Filmmaker Award

Yoruba Richen was also honored with nominations for Outstanding Documentary for her films American Masters: How It Feels To Be Free*, prod. Julie Sacks, and High on the Hog: How African American Cuisine Transformed America**, prods. Jonathan Clasberry, Christina Lenis, Lauren Vance.

Check the full nomination list
with this link.


*Film developed during Yoruba Richen’s Chicken & Egg Award year

**Yoruba directed the episode: Freedom.

Midwives Wins Special Jury Award at Sundance 2022!

The 2022 Sundance Film Festival Awards were announced on Friday, January 28. Chicken & Egg Pictures was egg-static to see 2020 (Egg)celerator Lab grantee Midwives and Nest-supported filmmaker Margaret Brown receive Special Jury awards from the festival, which was held online from Thursday, January 20 to Sunday, January 30. 

Congratulations!


Winner of the World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award: Excellence In Vérité Filmmaking

Midwives

dir. & prod. Snow Hnin Ei Hlaing

prods. Bob Moore, Ulla Lehmann, Mila Aung-Thwin

Still from Midwives
Still from Midwives

Check out 2017 Chicken and Egg Award recipient Dawn Porter presenting the Award with this link.


A special congratulations to AlumNest filmmaker Margaret Brown (The Great Invisible) on receiving the U.S. Documentary Competition Special Jury Award: Creative Vision for Descendant!

Check out the full winners’ list with this link.

We Stand with Reproductive Rights

The Supreme Court recently heard arguments in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, one of the most significant United States abortion cases in decades. This case has the potential to undo Roe v. Wade and is a threat to the constitutional rights of people who can become pregnant in the United States, where our organization is based. At Chicken & Egg Pictures we are deeply concerned about the possible outcomes of this case— such as preventing access to safe and legal abortions—and stand in support of reproductive rights

We are living a defining moment for present and future generations, and we fiercely believe in the transformative power of documentary, especially in a call to action moment like this. Over the past sixteen years, Chicken & Egg Pictures has supported filmmakers who skillfully weave deeply humane storytelling to showcase the impact of reproductive restrictions. We encourage you to revisit some of the Nest-supported films that have increased visibility for reproductive rights:


A Quiet Inquisition, dirs. & prods. Alessandra Zeka and Holen Sabrina Kahn

A Quiet Inquisition Alessandra Zeka Holen Sabrina Kahn

Set in Nicaragua, A Quiet Inquisition portrays the reality of abortion prohibition where doctors have to navigate between the potential of prosecution and medical protocols that save lives.
Rent on Youtube


On The Divide, dirs. Maya Cueva & Leah Galant, prods. Melanie Miller, Diane Becker, Amanda Spain, Elizabeth Woodward

On The Divide Still

On The Divide is a film about the last abortion clinic on the US-Mexico border, where three Latinx people are connected despite their different views. As threats to the clinic and their personal safety mount, these three are forced to make decisions they never could have imagined.
Watch on POV in 2022 


Vessel, dir. & prod. Diana Whitten, prod. Mitchell Block

Vessel Diana Whitten

Vessel is the story of activist Rebecca Gomperts, founder of Women on Waves, a non-profit organization dedicated to bringing reproductive health services to women in countries with restrictive abortion laws. When her ship is faced with governmental, religious, and military blockade, she decides to use new technologies to train women to give themselves abortions using WHO-researched pills. This work builds an underground network of emboldened pro-choice activists who trust women to handle abortion. 
Rent on Amazon Prime


The Chosen Life, dir. Dawn Porter, prod. Marilyn Ness

The Chosen Life follows the story of Dr. Yashica Robinson as she offers reproductive options for women in Huntsville, Alabama, where abortion providers face harassment, ostracism, and state-sanctioned obstacles.
Watch via The New York Times


Motherland, dir. & prod. Ramona S. Díaz, prod. Rey Cuerdo

Motherland Ramona Diaz

Motherland takes us into the world’s busiest maternity hospital, which is located in one of its poorest countries: the Philippines. There, women face devastating consequences as their country struggles with reproductive health policy and the politics of conservative ideologies.
Watch on Tubi, Vudu & Peacock


Belly of the Beast, dir. Erika Cohn, prods. Nicole Docta, Christen Marquez & Angela Tucker

Still from Belly of the Beast

Belly of the Beast is a shocking story about the ongoing legacy of eugenics and reproductive injustice in the United States. When a courageous young woman and a radical lawyer discover a pattern of illegal sterilizations in California’s women’s prisons—primarily targeting women of color, they wage a near-impossible battle against the Department of Corrections. 
Host a screening


After Tiller, dirs. & prods. Martha Shane and Lana Wilson

After Tiller Martha Shane Lana Wilson

After Tiller is a compassionate portrait of the remaining four American doctors who openly provide third-trimester abortions and have become the new number-one targets of the anti-abortion movement. They continue to risk their lives every day to do work that many believe is murder, but which they believe is profoundly important for their patients’ lives. 
Watch on Tubi & Apple TV


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

Still from Storm Lake
Still from Storm Lake

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

Still from And So I Stayed

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.

Belly of the Beast Receives Four News and Documentary Emmy® Noms!

Nominations for the 42nd Annual News and Documentary Emmy® Awards were announced today by The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS): Project: Hatched 2020 grantee Belly of the Beast received FOUR nominations! Also nominated were two films by Chicken & Egg Award recipients and one produced by our Co-founder & Board President Julie Parker Benello.  

Belly of the Beast (Project: Hatched 2020)

dir. Erika Cohn

prods. Nicole Docta, Christen Marquez & Angela Tucker


Nominated for Outstanding Direction: Documentary, Outstanding Current Affairs Documentary, Best Documentary, Outstanding Editing: Documentary

AlumNest Films


The Sit-In: Harry Belafonte Hosts The Tonight Show

Nominated for Outstanding Arts and Culture Documentary
dir. Yoruba Richen (2016 Chicken & Egg Award Recipient)
prods. Valerie Thomas & Joan Walsh

Tutwiler

Nominated for Outstanding Short Documentary
dir. Elaine McMillion Sheldon (2016 Chicken & Egg Award Recipient)
prod. Alysia Santo

John Lewis: Good Trouble

Nominated by Outstanding Research: Documentary, Outstanding Historical Documentary, Outstanding Lighting Direction and Scenic Design
dir. Dawn Porter (2017 Chicken & Egg Award recipient)
prods. Erika Alexander & Ben Arnon

Special Congratulations


A special congratulations to our Co-Founder & Board President Julie Parker Benello, producer of Athlete A (dirs. Bonni Cohen & Jon Shenk, prods. Serin Marshall, Julie Parker Benello & Jen Say). The film was nominated for Best Documentary and Outstanding Investigative Documentary. 

Check out the full nomination list here. The awards for Documentary Categories will be presented on Wednesday, September 29, 2021. Post by 2021 Summer Communications Intern Mariana Sanson. 

Nest-supported Filmmakers Nom’d for the NAACP Image Awards!

We were honored to see five Nest-supported filmmakers on the recently announced nominations list for the 52nd annual NAACP Image Awards, which are known for “celebrating outstanding achievement in the areas of film, TV, music and literature—from an African American perspective.”*


Coded Bias — Outstanding Documentary (Film)

Coded Bias, directed by Shalini Kantayya

Coded Bias, directed by Shalini Kantayya, explores the fallout of MIT Media Lab researcher Joy Buolamwini’s startling discovery that facial recognition does not see dark-skinned faces accurately, and her subsequent journey to push for the first-ever US legislation to govern against bias in artificial intelligence. The documentary aims to shine a light on the threat artificial intelligence poses to civil rights and democracy. The film participated in Project: Hatched 2020.


Through the NightOutstanding Breakthrough Creative (Motion Picture)

Through the Night, directed by Loira Limbal

Loira Limbal and her work on Through the Night are nominated for Outstanding Breakthrough Creative (Motion Picture). Through the Night is a verité documentary that explores the personal cost of our modern economy through the stories of two working mothers and a child care provider, whose lives intersect at a 24-hour daycare center in New Rochelle, NY. The film participated in the 2018 (Egg)celerator Lab.


AlumNest filmmakers nominated include Chicken & Egg Award Recipients Yoruba Richen, Dawn Porter, and Grace Lee:

The Sit-In: Harry Belafonte Hosts the Tonight Show by Yoruba Richen — Outstanding Directing in a Documentary (Television or Motion Picture) and Outstanding Writing in a Documentary (Television or Motion Picture)

And She Could Be Next by Grace Lee and Chicken & Egg Pictures Board Member Marjan Safinia — Outstanding Documentary (Television)

John Lewis: Good Trouble by Dawn Porter — Outstanding Documentary (Film)


Congratulations to all the nominees! We will be watching the awards ceremony from our Nest on Saturday, March 27th at 8 pm ET.

*Language courtesy of NAACP Image Awards.

A Full Nest at Tribeca Film Festival

The 2020 Tribeca line-up for feature films is out! And there’s plenty to see from the Nest. Making their world premieres at Tribeca Film Festival this year are three films (Enemies of the State, Pray Away, and Through the Night) from our (Egg)celerator Lab program in 2018 and 2019, one film supported through our Chicken & Egg Award (Stateless), and one film supported through a grant in 2018 (Simple As Water).

AlumNest filmmakers screening at Tribeca include directors such as Chicken & Egg Award recipients Dawn Porter (premiering John Lewis: Good Trouble) and Yoruba Richen (premiering The Sit-In: Harry Belafonte Hosts The Tonight Show).

Here is your Nest guide to the upcoming Tribeca Film Festival, from Wednesday, April 15 to Sunday, April 26: 

Nest-supported films

Enemies of the State, directed by Sonia Kennebeck
2018 (Egg)celerator Lab

An average American family becomes entangled in a bizarre web of espionage and corporate secrets when their hacker son is targeted by the US government.

Pray Away, directed by Kristine Stolakis
2019 (Egg)celerator Lab

Former leaders of the “pray away the gay” movement contend with the aftermath unleashed by their actions, while a survivor seeks healing and acceptance from more than a decade of trauma

Simple As Water, directed by Megan Mylan
2018 Grant

Megan Mylan’s closely observed fragments of lives cut between Turkey, Greece, Germany, and the US. Each unfolding scene portrays the elemental bonds holding together Syrian families pulled apart by war, searching for a new life.

Stateless (Apátrida), directed by Michèle Stephenson
2016 Chicken & Egg Award

Through the grassroots campaign of electoral hopeful Rosa Iris, director Michèle Stephenson’s new documentary reveals the depths of racial hatred and institutionalized oppression that divide Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

Through the Night, directed by Loira Limbal
2018 (Egg)celerator Lab

Through the Night is a verité documentary that explores the personal cost of our modern economy through the stories of two working mothers and a child care provider, whose lives intersect at a 24-hour daycare center in New Rochelle, NY.

AlumNest films

John Lewis: Good Trouble, directed by Dawn Porter (2017 Chicken & Egg Award recipient)

The Sit-In: Harry Belafonte Hosts The Tonight Show, directed by Yoruba Richen

Picture a Scientist, directed by Ian Cheney and Sharon Shattuck (From This Day Forward)

Women in Blue, directed by Deirdre Fishel (Care)

Also premiering at Tribeca is Athlete A, directed by Bonni Cohen and Jon Shenk, which is produced by our Co-Founder Julie Parker Benello, along with Serin Marshall and Jen Sey.

Congratulations to these filmmakers on their premieres!

Chicken & Egg Pictures Receives IDA Amicus Award

Earlier this month, Nest-supported Dark Money and United Skates were included in the International Documentary Association (IDA) Shortlist for Top Feature and as well as nominated for the IDA Award for Best Feature of 2018.

And last week, we received more good news from the International Documentary Association. Chicken & Egg Pictures is being recognized with the prestigious Amicus Award. We’re in good company too, with past recipients including Stephen Spielberg, Norman and Lyn Lear, and our dear Nest friend and Fork Films President and CEO Abigail Disney.

The Amicus Award “honors individuals or organizations in recognition of their work supporting the essential needs of the nonfiction media landscape,” and we humbly thank IDA for this extraordinary recognition. In an environment where the need to amplify women’s voices is receiving much needed attention, this award will serve to further elevate the importance of their stories.

Julia Reichert 2016 Breakthrough Filmmaker AwardWe would like to extend a special congratulations to 2016 Breakthrough Filmmaker Award Recipient Julia Reichert for her well-earned Career Achievement Award. Thank you Julia, for your incredible contributions to documentary filmmaking. We are so happy for you and cannot wait to celebrate your achievements.

Dawn Porter 2017 Breakthrough Filmmaker AwardWe also congratulate 2017 Breakthrough Filmmaker Award Recipient Dawn Porter for her nomination for Best Limited Series for her Netflix doc series Bobby Kennedy for President. Chicken & Egg Pictures did not directly support Bobby Kennedy for President but supported Dawn during her breakthrough year and past projects Trapped and The Chosen Life. Congratulations Dawn and good luck!

The IDA Awards ceremony will take place on Saturday, December 8 at the Paramount Theatre in Los Angeles.  We’ll see you there!

Chicken & Egg Pictures-supported Filmmakers are DOC NYC Pros

DOC NYC, the largest nonfiction film festival in the US, is just around the corner, and they released the line-up for their eight-day DOC NYC PRO conference  which will take place in conjunction with film screenings and from November 8-15.  Each day includes a keynote address, followed by panels with filmmakers and industry professionals on a selection of themes . Here’s a line-up of Chicken & Egg Pictures-supported filmmakers and Nest-friends to hear from at DOC NYC PRO.

Thursday, November 8 

Morning Manifesto: Dawn Porter (2017 Breakthrough Filmmaker Award Recipient) gives the opening speech of the DOC NYC PRO conference, discussing her “thoughts on the current state of documentary filmmaking.”

Nanfu Wang Born In China 2017 Accelerator LabWho Owns The Story: Nanfu Wang (2018 Breakthrough Filmmaker Award recipient) speaks on a panel exploring “the issues of complicated filmmaker/subject relationships and storytelling ownership”.

 

Dig Deep: Doc Storytelling: Nancy  Schwartzman (Roll Red Roll) speaks on “providing specific, in-depth and enlightening studies for emerging documentary filmmakers”.

 

Friday, November 9 

Alexandria BombachGetting Personal: Alexandria Bombach, 2018 SXSW LUNA / Chicken & Egg Pictures Award recipient and director of DOC NYC Short Listed film On Her Shoulders,  discusses films “that rely on a strong bond between director and subject with filmmakers”.

Dawn Porter 2017 Breakthrough Filmmaker Award

 

Case Study: Bobby Kennedy For PresidentNest-supported Dawn Porter speaks on her acclaimed Netflix doc series.

 

Saturday, November 10

Morning Manifesto: Our Nest-friend and President and CEO of Fork Films  Abigail Disney speaks on “what stories are the most important to tell”.

Storytelling in a Post-Truth World: Rabab Haj Yahya, editor of 2018 Accelerator Lab grantee The Feeling of Being Watched shares her thoughts about ensuring a story is truthful.

Grab Your Audience’s Attention: Editor of 2016 Diversity Fellows Initiative grantee United Skates, Katharine Garrison speaks on a panel about ” bringing an audience into your film’s world”.

Sunday, November 11

Tight Spots, Dynamic Shots: Erik Shirai, cinematographer of Nest-supported Blowin’ Up speaks on a panel about cinematography in docs.

Monday, November 12

Case Study With Michèle Stephenson and Joe Brewster: Directors of the Impact & Innovation Initiative project Changing Same: The Untitled Racial Justice Project Joe Brewster and Michèle Stephenson (also a 2016 Breakthrough Filmmaker Award recipient) discuss crafting exemplary short films.

Tuesday, November 13

 

Access is Everything: Kimberly Reed (Dark Money) and others discuss building trust with documentary subjects.

 

Wednesday, November 14

Dissecting Development With Impact Partners: Our friends at Impact Partners present a panel about establishing development funding for documentaries.

Penny Lane 2017 Breakthrough Filmmaker Award

Way More Than B-Roll: 2017 Breakthrough Filmmaker Award recipient Penny Lane discusses how archival footage creates a deeper meaning in documentaries.

 

Thursday, November 15

The New Black Yoruba Richen

Morning Manifesto: Yoruba Richen (2016 Breakthrough Filmmaker Award recipient) and director of The New Black shares her thoughts on getting films made.

Synopses of panels courtesy of the DOC NYC website.

See you at the DOC NYC PRO conference!