10 Community SIMA Award Wins & Mentions

Last month, SIMA, the nonprofit impact media agency that celebrates, curates, and distributes documentaries and creative media projects that advance positive social change, announced the winners of the 12th annual Social Impact Media Awards. Of the 2024 winners, we were proud to have five supported films and two filmmakers win awards, and three alumni films and filmmakers receive special mentions. Congratulations to all those strong social impact leaders recognized in this year’s awards.

Eat Bitter

dirs. Ningyi Sun, Pascale Appora-Gnekindy

prod. Mathieu Faure

The upper half is characters Luan and Thomas' faces and Thomas prays to the left of their faces; and the lower half is the back of Thomas' head and him getting ready to dive in the yellowish river.
Stills from Eat Bitter

Eat Bitter is a 2022 (Egg)celerator Lab finalist who won the award for Best Cinematography.

graphic of a film reel

PAY OR DIE

dirs. & prods. Rachael Dyer, Scott Alexander Ruderman 

prod. Yael Melamede

PAY OR DIE
Still from PAY OR DIE

PAY OR DIE is a Project: Hatched 2023 grantee and won the Systemic Change Award (Sponsored by the Foundation for Systemic Change (FSC)).

graphic of a film reel

The Eternal Memory

dir. & prod. Maite Alberdi

prod. Juan de Dios Larraín, Pablo Larraín, Rocío Jadue

Still from the Eternal Memory
Still from The Eternal Memory

The Eternal Memory was supported through Maite Alberdi’s 2020 Chicken & Egg Award and won the award for Best Director.

graphic of a film reel

The Script

dir. Brit Fryer, Noah Schamus

prod. Colleen Cassingham, Jess Devaney

Still from The Script. In a set, a person with their back to the camera, talks to two other persons that are sitting in chairs in front of a table. To the right and left, there are camera crew people.
Still from The Script

The Script was supported in partnership with Multitude Films as a part of the QUEER FUTURES series and won the Creative Activism Award.

graphic of a film reel

Twice Colonized

dir. Lin Alluna

prods. Emile Hertling Péronard, Alethea Arnaquq-Baril, Stacey Aglok, Bob Moore

The main character of Twice Colonized, Aaju Peter, in a close-up shot holding her hands in front of her face so her traditional tattoos on her hands and her chin are visible.
Still from Twice Colonized

Twice Colonized is a Project: Hatched 2023 grantee who won the Transparency Jury Prize.


Special Mentions

How to Carry Water

dir. Sasha Wortzel

prod. Jess Devaney, Anya Rous, Colleen Cassingham

Still from How to Carry Water

How to Carry Water was supported in partnership with Multitude Films as a part of the QUEER FUTURES (2022) series.

graphic of a film reel

Suddenly TV

dir. & prod. Roopa Gogineni 

prods. Reem Haddad, Trevor Snapp, Fiona Lawson-Baker

A young Sudanese protester points a cardboard camera towards an interview unfolding on a bridge in the middle of a large sit-in demonstration.
Still from Suddenly TV

Suddenly TV is a Project: Hatched 2023 grantee.


From the AlumNest

  • Mourning in lod – Ethos Jury Prize
    dir. Hilla Medalia
    prod. Sheila Nevins

  • This Is Where I Learned Not To Sleep – Humanitas Award
    dirs. & prods. Kirsten Kelly & Anne de Mare
    prod. Andrew Schwertfeger

  • Who I Am Not – Special Mention
    dir. Tunde Skovran
    prods. Andrei Zinca, Danielle Turkov, Paul Cadieux, Patrick Hamm, Amy Shepherd, Edith Weil, Daniel Szandtner, Janos Kovacs

Post written by Communications Assistant Tess Caldwell

31 Oscar-eligible films from our community!

Congratulations to the 14 Chicken & Egg-supported films and 17 from our Alumni community on the list of documentary features and shorts eligible for the 96th Academy Awards®! We encourage you to catch these films in theaters and on streaming platforms. The Oscars® Shortlist will be announced on Thursday, December 21, so stay tuned.

Against the Tide

dir. Sarvnik Kaur 

prod. Koval Bhatia, Quentin Laurent

Still of Against the Tide. Two men go through the content of their fishing net, there are a fish and plastic trash.
Still from Against the Tide

Against the Tide is a 2021 (Egg)celerator Lab grantee.

Find about upcoming screenings here.

graphic of a film reel

Bad Press

dirs. Rebecca Landsberry-Baker, Joe Peeler

prods. Conrad Beilharz, Garrett F. Baker, Tyler Graim

Indigenous journalist Angel Ellis sits in front of Mvskoke Media wearing a bandana , sunglasses and a "I Voted" sticker on her blue T-shirt. She's smoking a cigarette while scrolling through her cell phone on a warm summer evening.
Still from Bad Press

Bad Press is a participant of Project: Hatched 2023.

Find out about upcoming screenings here.

graphic of a film reel

Eat Bitter

dirs. Ningyi Sun, Pascale Appora-Gnekindy

prod. Mathieu Faure

The upper half is characters Luan and Thomas' faces and Thomas prays to the left of their faces; and the lower half is the back of Thomas' head and him getting ready to dive in the yellowish river.
Stills from Eat Bitter

Eat Bitter is a 2022 (Egg)celerator Lab finalist.

Find out about upcoming screenings here.

graphic of a film reel

El eco / The Echo

dir. & prod. Tatiana Huezo

prod. Dalia Reyes

Still from El Eco. Two young kids sit on a large rock jutting out from the side of a grassy hill. They are facing away from the camera. In front of them is a grassy valley with sheep grazing in it.
Still from El Eco/The Echo

El eco / The Echo was supported through Tatiana Huezo’s 2021 Chicken & Egg Award.  

graphic of a film reel

Joonam

dir. Sierra Urich

prod. Keith Wilson

A mother and daughter stand under opposite ends of a grape arbor together, harvesting grape leaves. A grandmother is seen sitting in the background with a walker in front of her. Each woman appears to be separately lost in thought.
Still from Joonam

Joonam is a 2022 (Egg)celerator Lab grantee.

Find out about upcoming screenings here.

graphic of a film reel

MnM

dir. Twiggy Pucci Garçon

prods. Colleen Cassingham, Jess Devaney

Still from MnM. Close up to the face of a person while a hand is using a brush to paint their eyelids.
Still from MnM

MnM was supported in partnership with Multitude Films as a part of the QUEER FUTURES (2022) series and is eligible for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Film.

graphic of a film reel

PAY OR DIE

dirs. & prods. Rachael Dyer, Scott Alexander Ruderman

prod. Yael Melamede

PAY OR DIE
Still from PAY OR DIE

PAY OR DIE is a participant of Project: Hatched 2023.

Now streaming on Paramount +

graphic of a film reel

Plan C

dir. & prod. Tracy Droz Tragos

PLAN C strategy meeting 2021. A group of people gathers around a table with plates and drinks while a person writes on a whiteboard.
Still from Plan C

Plan C is a 2022 Critical Issues Fund grantee.

Find out about upcoming screenings here or watch on demand here.

graphic of a film reel

Razing Liberty Square

dir. Katja Esson

prods. Ann Bennett, Corinna Sager, Ronald Baez

A young person is reclined in a thin column. There is a construction behind them.
Still from Razing Liberty Square

Razing Liberty Square is a 2022 Critical Issues Fund grantee.

The film will open theatrically in Miami on January 26 and the Broadcast Premiere will be on Independent Lens on January 29.

graphic of a film reel

Reality Winner

dir. & prod. Sonia Kennebeck

prod. Ines Hofmann Kanna

Still from United States vs. Reality Winner. A young woman, Reality Winner, is standing in a field in front of a house. She has a serious expression. The light is low and the background is out of focus.
Still from Reality Winner

Reality Winner was supported through Sonia Kennebeck’s 2023 Chicken & Egg Award.

graphic of a film reel

Songs of Earth

dir. & prod. Margreth Olin

prod. Lena Faye-Lund Sandvik

Still from Songs of Earth

Songs of Earth was supported through Margreth Olin’s 2022 Chicken & Egg Award.

graphic of a film reel

The Eternal Memory

dir. & prod. Maite Alberdi

prod. Juan de Dios Larraín, Pablo Larraín, Rocío Jadue

Still from the Eternal Memory
Still from The Eternal Memory

The Eternal Memory was supported through Maite Alberdi’s 2020 Chicken & Egg Award.

Now streaming on Paramount +.

graphic of a film reel

Total Trust

dir. Jialing Zhang

prod. Knut Jäger

Main characters in The Total Trust standing in front of the ocean.
Still from Total Trust

Total Trust was supported through Jialing Zhang’s 2021 Chicken & Egg Award.

Check out their list of upcoming New York screenings here

graphic of a film reel

Twice Colonized

dir. Lin Alluna

prods.  Emile Hertling Péronard, Alethea Arnaquq-Baril, Stacey Aglok, Bob Moore

The main character of Twice Colonized, Aaju Peter, in a close-up shot holding her hands in front of her face so her traditional tattoos on her hands and her chin are visible.
Still from Twice Colonized

Twice Colonized is a participant of Project: Hatched 2023.

Find out about upcoming screenings here.


Alumni filmmakers eligible for Best Documentary Feature

  • Anonymous Sister
    dir. & prod. Jamie Boyle
    prods. Marilyn Ness, Elizabeth Westrate
  • The Lady Bird Diaries 
    dir. & prod. Dawn Porter
    prod. Kim Reynolds
  • Victim/Suspect
    dir. & prod. Nancy Schwartzman
    prods. Julie Goldman, Christopher Clements, Alice Henty, Rachel de Leon, Amanda Pike
  • Who I Am Not
    dir. Tunde Skovran
    prods. Andrei Zinca, Danielle Turkov, Paul Cadieux, Patrick Hamm, Amy Shepherd, Edith Weil, Daniel Szandtner, Janos Kovacs 
  • You Were My First Boyfriend
    dirs. Cecilia Aldarondo, Sarah Enid Hagey
    prod. Ines Hofmann Kanna (prod. of Reality Winner)

Alumni filmmakers eligible for Best Documentary Short Film

  • Bone Black: Midwives vs the South 
    dir. Rebecca Richman Cohen
    prod. Yoruba Richen
  • Rest Stop
    dir. Crystal Kayiza
    prods. Brit Fryer, Jalena Keane-Lee
  • The Recall
    dir. Imani Dennison (POV Shorts Co-Production Fund Grantee)
    prod. Flor Tejada
  • The Feeling of Being Close to You
    dir. & prod. Ash Goh Hua

Post written by Communications Intern Tess Caldwell

9 Chicken & Egg Supported Films at DOC NYC 2023!

We are thrilled to see nine Chicken & Egg supported films and 17 AlumNest films on the lineup for this years’ DOC NYC Festival! We also have six supported filmmakers and our very own Program Director Kiyoko McCrae participating in the DOC NYC PRO programming. The festival will take place between Wednesday, November 8, to Thursday, November 16. We hope to see you there!

Bad Press

dirs. Rebecca Landsberry-Baker, Joe Peeler

prods. Conrad Beilharz, Garrett F. Baker, Tyler Graim

Indigenous journalist Angel Ellis sits in front of Mvskoke Media wearing a bandana , sunglasses and a "I Voted" sticker on her blue T-shirt. She's smoking a cigarette while scrolling through her cell phone on a warm summer evening.
Still from Bad Press

Bad Press is a participant of Project: Hatched 2023 having its NYC Premiere in the Winners Circle Section.

Get your tickets here.

graphic of a film reel

Eat Bitter

dirs. Ningyi Sun, Pascale Appora-Gnekindy

prod. Mathieu Faure

The upper half is characters Luan and Thomas' faces and Thomas prays to the left of their faces; and the lower half is the back of Thomas' head and him getting ready to dive in the yellowish river.
Stills from Eat Bitter

Eat Bitter is a 2022 (Egg)celerator Lab finalist having its New York Premiere in the Investigations section.

Get your tickets here.

graphic of a film reel

How To Have An American Baby

dir. & prod. Leslie Tai

prods. Jillian Schultz, Chocho Tang, Elivia Shaw, Yan Cong, Xinyi “Leila” Lin

How to Have an American Baby Leslie Tai 2017 Diversity Fellows Initiative
Still from How to Have an American Baby

How to Have an American Baby participated in the former 2017 Diversity Fellows Initiative and is having its New York Premiere in the Investigations section.

Get your tickets here.

graphic of a film reel

Is There Anybody Out There?

dir. Ella Glendining

prod. Janine Marmot

Still from Is There Anybody Out There? Ella Glendining is on a a medical bend with her belly uncovered
Still from Is There Anybody Out There?

Is There Anybody Out There? is a 2021 (Egg)celerator Lab grantee and is having its NYC Premiere in the Fight The Power section. 

Get your tickets here.

graphic of a film reel

MnM

dir. Twiggy Pucci Garçon

prod. Colleen Cassingham, Jess Devaney

Still from MnM. Close up to the face of a person while a hand is using a brush to paint their eyelids.
Still from MnM

MnM was supported in partnership with Multitude Films as a part of the QUEER FUTURES (2022) series and is having its NYC Premiere in the “Shorts: Family Matters” program. 

Get your tickets here.

graphic of a film reel

Songs of Earth

dir. & prod. Margreth Olin

prod. Lena Faye-Lund Sandvik

Still from Songs of Earth

Songs of Earth was supported through Margreth Olin’s 2022 Chicken & Egg Award and is participating in the Winners Circle section. 

Get your tickets here.

graphic of a film reel

Suddenly TV

dir. & prod. Roopa Gogineni

prods. Reem Haddad, Trevor Snapp, Fiona Lawson-Baker

A young Sudanese protester points a cardboard camera towards an interview unfolding on a bridge in the middle of a large sit-in demonstration.
Still from Suddenly TV

Suddenly TV is a participant of Project: Hatched 2023, and is participating in the “Shorts: The People vs” program.

Get your tickets here.

graphic of a film reel

The Eternal Memory

dir. & prod. Maite Alberdi

prod. Juan de Dios Larraín, Pablo Larraín, Rocío Jadue

Still from the Eternal Memory
Still from The Eternal Memory

The Eternal Memory was supported through Maite Alberdi’s 2020 Chicken & Egg Award and is participating in the Short List: Features section. 

Get your tickets here.

graphic of a film reel

Total Trust

dir. Jialing Zhang

prod. Knut Jäger

Main characters in The Total Trust standing in front of the ocean.
Still from Total Trust

Total Trust is supported through Jialing Zhang’s 2021 Chicken & Egg Award and is having its US Premiere in the International Competition section. 

Get your tickets here.


DOC NYC PRO

DOC NYC PRO FALL 2023 will take place from Thursday, November 9 through Thursday, November 16. The activities are comprised of several panels and pitches designed to empower filmmakers at different stages of their careers.

CINEMATOGRAPHY DAY

Saturday, November 11

 

DOCUMENTARY ETHICS AND THE LAW
Featuring Jess Devaney, director of Chicken & Egg-supported film Love the Sinner and producer of The Script, MnM, How to Carry Water, and It’s Only Life After All

 

EDITING DAY

Sunday, November 12

 

CASE STUDY: GOING TO MARS: THE NIKKI GIOVANNI PROJECT
Featuring 2016 Chicken & Egg Award recipient Michèle Stephenson

 

JOURNALISM AND DOCUMENTARY DAY

Monday, November 13

 

WHEN JOURNALISTS BECOME DOCUMENTARY VISIONARIES
Featuring Becca Landsberry-Baker, director and producer of Project: Hatched 2023 participant Bad Press.

 

CREATIVE DISTRIBUTION DAY

Thursday, November 16

 

HOPE
Featuring 2017 Chicken & Egg Award recipient Dawn Porter.

 

THE POWER OF EDUCATIONAL DISTRIBUTION
Featuring Chithra Jeyaram, director and producer of 2022 (Egg)celerator Lab participant Our Daughters (working title)

 

WHERE WILL YOUR FILM BE IN 20 YEARS?
Featuring our Board member Susan Margolin.

 


From the AlumNest

  • Time Bomb Y2K | NYC Premiere
    dirs. Brian Becker, Marley McDonald
    prods. Penny Lane, Brian Becker, Peter Nauffts, Shelby Fintak
  • Unseen | NYC Premiere 
    dir. & prod. Set Hernandez
    prods. Félix Endara, Day Al-Mohamed, Diane Quon, Dorian Gomez Pestaña, Josaen Ronquillo, Cheryl Green, Thomas Reid, Qudsiya Naqui, Conchita Hernandez
  • Who I Am Not | New York Premiere 
    dir. Tunde Skovran
    prods. Andrei Zinca, Danielle Turkov, Paul Cadieux, Patrick Hamm, Amy Shepherd, Edith Weil, Daniel Szandtner, Janos Kovacs

A Special Congratulations


Meet Our Team at DOC NYC

Since the festival is on our home turf, we are excited for many of our team members to have opportunities to attend screenings and events for our filmmakers. We are also incredibly excited to announce that our very own Program Director, Kiyoko McCrae, was honored by the Documentary New Leaders program. Learn more about this honor here. Come say hi! 


We are delighted to provide you with a discount code on tickets (capacity permitting) for our supported films.

Just enter the code at checkout: DOCNYC_PTNR_23
This code will unlock the following discounts:
Opening Night / Centerpiece / Closing Screenings: $25 (Regular price: $30)
Regular Screenings: $17 (Regular price: $20)
DOC NYC U, Short List, Weekday Matinees (M-F before 12pm): $11 (Regular Price: $13)
Online screenings: $13 (Regular Price: $10)


Post written by Communications Intern Tess Caldwell

Machtat World Premiere + Four Nest-supported Films at Visions du Réel

Chicken & Egg Pictures is proud to see five Nest-supported films in the lineup for Visions Du Réel 2023. The festival will take place between Friday, April 21 to Sunday, April 30 in Nyon, Switzerland. 

We are sending special congratulations to the 2020 (Egg)celerator Lab grantee Machtat on their World Premiere!

Against the Tide

dir. Sarvnik Kaur

prods. Koval Bhatia, Quentin Laurent

Still from Against the Tide

Against the Tide is a 2021 (Egg)celerator Lab grantee participating in the Grand Angle Section.

Get your tickets here.

graphic of a film reel

Ciné-Guerrillas: Scenes From the Labudović Reels

dir. & prod. Mila Turajlić

prod. Carine Chichkowsky

Still from Ciné Guerrillas: Scenes From the Labudović Reels

Ciné-Guerrillas: Scenes From the Labudović Reels will be participating in the Grand Angle Section and was supported through Mila Turajlić’s 2020 Chicken & Egg Award.  

Get your tickets here.

graphic of a film reel

Eat Bitter

dir. Ningyi Sun, Pascale Appora-Gnekindy

prod. Mathieu Faure

The upper half is characters Luan and Thomas' faces and Thomas prays to the left of their faces; and the lower half is the back of Thomas' head and him getting ready to dive in the yellowish river.
Still from Eat Bitter

Eat Bitter is a 2022 (Egg)celerator Lab finalist participating in the Grand Angle Section.

Get your tickets here.

graphic of a film reel

El eco / The Echo

dir. & prod. Tatiana Huezo

prod. Dalia Reyes

Still from El Eco. Two young kids sit on a large rock jutting out from the side of a grassy hill. They are facing away from the camera. In front of them is a grassy valley with sheep grazing in it.
Still from El eco / The Echo

El eco / The Echo will be participating in the Grand Angle Section and was supported through Tatiana Huezo’s 2021 Chicken & Egg Award.  

Get your tickets here.

graphic of a film reel

Machtat

dir. Sonia Ben Slama

prods. Tania El Khoury, Cécile Lestrade, Elise Hug

Still from Machtat

Machtat is a 2020 (Egg)celerator Lab grantee having its World Premiere in the International Feature Film Competition.

Get your tickets here.


Vdr-Rough Cut Lab & VdR-Pitching Session

Our Daughters

dir. & prod. Chithra Jeyaram 

Four adults are in the entrance of a house, two women hold a circle with her hands, in front of two men. Each men have a baby on their shoulders.
Still from Our Daughters

2022 (Egg)celerator Lab grantee Our Daughters will be participating in the VdR rough cut lab. 

graphic of a film reel

Florence from Ohio

dir. Stephanie Wang Breal

prods. Mynette Louie, Carrie Weprin 

Still from Florence from Ohio

Florence from Ohio was supported through Stephanie Wang Breal’s 2019 Chicken & Egg Award and it is participating in the VdR-Pitching Session.


Meet our Team at Visions Du Réel

Representing Chicken & Egg Pictures, our Associate Director of Program Sabine Fayoux Cantillo will be in attendance at Visions Du Reel. While in Nyon, she’ll be participating in VdR-Pitching, attending VdR-Work in Progress, and taking 1-1 meetings with filmmakers. 


Written by Spring Intern Tess Caldwell

Over a Dozen Films Screening at Hot Docs Film Festival!

The 30th anniversary edition of Hot Docs will take place across Toronto from Thursday, April 27 to Sunday, May 7. We are egg-static to announce that 13 Nest-supported films are part of the lineup and there are also two AlumNest films featured. Hot Docs is North America’s largest documentary festival, conference, and market, and embodies a deep commitment to gender parity, with 53% female directors in this year’s official selection, according to Variety.

We are sending special congratulations to the 2022 Critical Issues Fund grantee Razing Liberty Square on their World Premiere. See below for more details.

  • 2021 (Egg)celerator Lab Grantee Against the Tide | Canadian Premiere | dir. Sarvnik Kaur | prod. Koval Bhatia
  • 2022 (Egg)celerator Lab Finalist – Eat Bitter | Canadian Premiere | dirs. Ningyi Sun, Pascale Appora-Gnekindy | prod. Mathieu Faure
  • 2021 Chicken & Egg Award Recipient Tatiana Huezo’s – The Echo | North American Premiere | dir. & prod. Tatiana Huezo | prod. Dalia Reyes
  • 2020 Chicken & Egg Award Recipient Maite Alberdi’s The Eternal Memory | Canadian Premiere | dir. & prod. Maite Alberdi | prods. Juan de Dios Larraín, Pablo Larraín, Rocío Jadue
  • 2019 (Egg)celerator Lab Grantee Milisuthando | Canadian Premiere | dir. Milisuthando Bongela | prod. Marion Isaacs
  • 2020 (Egg)celerator Lab Grantee Polaris | Canadian Premiere | dir. Ainara Vera  | prods. Clara Vuillermoz, Emile Hertling Peronard
  • 2020 Chicken & Egg Award Recipient Tonje Hessen Schei’s Praying for Armageddon | North American Premiere | dir. Tonje Hessen Schei | co-dir. Michael Rowley | prods Torstein Parelius, Ingrid G. Aune Falch, Christian Aune Falch
  • 2022 Critical Issues Fund grantee Razing Liberty Square | World Premiere | dir. & prod. Katja Esson | prods. Ann Bennett, Corinna Sager, Ronald Baez
  • 2021 Chicken & Egg Award Recipient Jialing Zhang’s Total Trust | North American Premiere | dir. & prod. Jialing Zhang | prods. Knut Jager, Michael Grotenhoff, Saskia Kress

Special Presentations in the Big Ideas Section

The 2023 Special Presentations program features high-profile subjects, award-winning films and filmmakers, and masterful perspectives on current events and pressing issues. There are 24 films set to screen in this program. Two Nest-supported films are being featured in the Big Ideas section.

Is there Anybody Out There?

dir. Ella Glendining

prod. Janine Marmot

Still from Is There Anybody Out There? Ella Glendining is on a a medical bend with her belly uncovered
Still from Is There Anybody Out There?

2021 (Egg)celerator Lab grantee Is There Anybody Out There? is having its Canadian premiere.

Get your tickets here.

graphic of a film reel

It’s Only Life After All

dir. & prod. Alexandria Bombach

prods. Kathlyn Horan, Jess Devaney, Anya Rous

Still from It’s Only Life After All

It’s Only Life After All was supported through Alexandria Bombach’s 2019 Chicken & Egg Award and is having its Canadian premiere.

Get your tickets here.


Hot Docs Forum

The Hot Docs Forum, one of the festivals’ flagship industry events, is where filmmakers are able to pitch to international decision makers. This year, they’ve chosen 19 Forum projects representing 16 countries and 23 filmmakers, 12 of whom are women and 11 of whom are BIPOC.

Intercepted

dir. Oksana Karpovych 

prods. Giacomo Nudi, Rocío Barba Fuentes, Pauline Tran Van Lieu, Lucie Rego, Darya Bassel

Still from Intercepted. A dark road is lit by a vehicle's headlights. A rural landscape can be seen; some vegetation on the left and right of the road; there are hills in the background and the sky's horizon is in the distance.
Still from Intercepted

Intercepted is a 2022 Critical Issues Fund grantee.


From the AlumNest


Meet our Team at Hot Docs

Kiyoko McCrae looks directly at the camera. Portrait in black and white.

Representing Chicken & Egg Pictures, our Program Director Kiyoko McCrae will be in attendance at Hot Docs. While in Toronto shell be attending the Hot Docs Forum, Deal Maker meetings, and attending the Work in Progress program.


Post written by Spring Intern Tess Caldwell

Four Nest-supported films at Atlanta Film Festival 2023

Chicken & Egg Pictures is egg-static to see four Nest-supported films represented in the lineup of the 2023 edition of Atlanta Film Festival, which will take place from Thursday, April 20 to Sunday, April 30 in Atlanta, Georgia.

For our Children

(previously Black Mothers Love & Resist)

dir. & prod. Débora Souza Silva

prod. David Felix Sutcliffe, Adina Luo

Still from For our Children

For our Children is a 2020 (Egg)celerator Lab grantee competing in the ​​Documentary Feature, Noir (Spotlight on Black Filmmakers), and New Mavericks (Women & GNC Directed + Starring) sections.

Get your tickets here.

graphic of a film reel

Eat Bitter

dir. Ningyi Sun, Pascale Appora-Gnekindy

prod. Mathieu Faure

The upper half is characters Luan and Thomas' faces and Thomas prays to the left of their faces; and the lower half is the back of Thomas' head and him getting ready to dive in the yellowish river.
Still from Eat Bitter

Eat Bitter is a 2022 (Egg)celerator Lab finalist competing in the Documentary Feature and Noir (Spotlight on Black Filmmakers) Sections.

Get your tickets here.

graphic of a film reel

It’s Only Life After All

dir. & prod. Alexandria Bombach

prods. Kathlyn Horan, Jess Devaney, Anya Rous

Still from It's Only Life After All
Still from It’s Only Life After All

It’s Only Life After All was supported through Alexandria Bombach’s 2019 Chicken & Egg Award and is competing in the Documentary Feature, New Mavericks (Women & GNC Directed + Starring), and Pink Peach (Spotlight on LGBTQ Stories & Perspectives) sections.

Get your tickets here.

graphic of a film reel

Silent Beauty

dir. Jasmin Mara López 

Still from Silent Beauty

Silent Beauty is a 2019 (Egg)celerator Lab grantee participating in the Documentary Feature, New Mavericks (Women & GNC Directed + Starring), and ¡CineMás! (Spotlight on Latin American Stories and Perspectives) sections.

Get your tickets here.


Written by Spring Intern Tess Caldwell

A Dozen Films Screening at CPH:DOX!

The 20th anniversary of CPH:DOX will take place from Wednesday, March 15 to Sunday, March 26 in Copenhagen, Denmark. We are proud to announce that 12 Nest-supported films are part of the lineup and that our AlumNest is also participating in the CPH:CONFERENCE and CPH:FORUM. If you are attending the festival, please say hi to our team who will participate in person to support our filmmakers. See below for more details. 

  • 2022 (Egg)celerator Lab Finalist Eat Bitter | World Premiere | Dox:Award section | dirs. Ningyi Sun, Pascale Appora-Gnekindy | prod. Mathieu Faure 
  • 2020 Chicken & Egg Award Recipient Tonje Hessen Schei’s Praying for Armageddon | F:act Award section | dir. Tonje Hessen Schei | co-dir. Michael Rowley
  • 2022 Chicken & Egg Award Recipient Margreth Olin’s Songs of Earth | World Premiere | Dox:Award section | dir. & prod. Margreth Olin
  • 2020 Chicken & Egg Award Recipient Maite Alberdi’s The Eternal Memory | Highlights section | dir. & prod. Maite Alberdi | prods. Juan de Dios Larraín, Pablo Larraín, Rocío Jadue
  • 2021 Chicken & Egg Award Recipient Elwira Niewira’s The Hamlet Syndrome | Highlights section | dirs. Elwira Niewiera, Piotr Rosolowski | prod. Magdalena Kaminska
  • 2021 (Egg)celerator Lab grantee The Tuba Thieves | Next:Wave section | dir. & prod. Alison O’Daniel
  • 2021 Chicken & Egg Award Recipient Jialing Zhang’s Total Trust | World Premiere | Dox: Award and Rewriting the Future sections | dir. & prod. Jialing Zhang | prods. Knut Jager, Michael Grotenhoff, Saskia Kress

QUEER FUTURES

In partnership with Multitude Films, three short documentaries of the QUEER FUTURES series, directed by Brit Fryer & Noah Schamus, Twiggy Pucci Garçon, and Sasha Wortzel that radically imagine future visions of queer life, will have their world premiere. These films expand the boundaries of nonfiction to explore gender affirming care, fat beauty and liberation, and nonbinary ballroom culture. Transcending the rigidity and oppressions of the current moment, these directors locate, build, and inhabit worlds that offer us new ways of being–in the present and the future. 

  • The Script
    dirs. Brit Fryer, Noah Schamus 
    prods. Jessica Devaney, Colleen Cassingham 
  • MnM
    dir. Twiggy Pucci Garçon
    prods. Colleen Cassingham, Jessica Devaney

From the AlumNest

  • Merkel
    dir. & prod. Eva Weber
    prods. Lizzie Gillett, Sigrid Jonsson Dyekjær, Sonja Henrici

CPH: FORUM

At CPH:FORUM, top producers and highly acknowledged directors from all over the world take the stage to pitch 30 carefully selected projects of documentary features and series in the intersection of nonfiction, fiction, visual art, journalism, and science. Eight Nest-supported filmmakers will present their new projects: Brett Story, Iryna Tsilyk, Jessica Kingdon, Meena Nanji and Zippy Kimundu, Mila Turajlić, Oksana Karpovych, and Vaishali Sinha


CPH: CONFERENCE

A 5-day industry event offering a range of inspiring talks with visionary thinkers, investigating current themes in documentary filmmaking, and creating an interactive and hands-on platform for exchange with other professionals of our documentary community. Our Nest is well represented across the different activities from Monday, March 20 to Friday, March 24. 

A DIALOGUE ON CRAFT WITH MAITE ALBERDI AND ANNA HINTS
Monday, March 20
With 2020 Chicken & Egg Award recipient Maite Alberdi

THE TRUST POLICY 
Tuesday, March 21
With Chicken & Egg Pictures CEO Jenni Wolfson, Shanida Scotland (Doc Society), Jess Kwan (Concordia Fellowship), and Sean Flynn (Points North Institute).

A DIALOGUE ON CRAFT WITH ALISON O’DANIEL, AXEL DANIELSON & MAXIMILIEN VAN AERTRYCK
Tuesday, March 21
With 2021 (Egg)celerator Lab recipient Alison O’Daniel

A DIALOGUE ON CRAFT WITH JIALING ZHANG, PUK DAMSGÅRD AND SØREN KLOVBORG
Wednesday, March 22
With 2021 Chicken & Egg Award recipient Jialing Zhang

A DISCUSSION WITH JESSICA KINGDON
Thursday, March 23
With 2019 (Egg)celerator Lab grantee Jessica Kingdon

CITIZEN FILMMAKERS 
Friday, March 24
With 2021 Chicken & Egg Award recipient Elwira Niewira, 2018 Chicken & Egg Award recipient Nanfu Wang, 2022 (Egg)celerator Lab grantee Volia Chajkouskaya, and 2023 Critical Issues Fund recipient Alisa Kovalenko

SONGS OF EARTH – LISTENING TO CARE
Friday, March 24
With 2022 Chicken & Egg Award recipient Margreth Olin, Diego Galafassi, Cara Mertes, Bo Øksnebjerg, and Danielle Turkov Wilson

RISE OF INSTITUTIONS
Friday, March 24
With our Senior Creative Consultant Yvonne Welbon, 2022 (Egg)celerator Lab grantee Volia Chajkouskaya, and Anne Marie Borsboom.


Meet our Team at CPH:DOX

Three black and white headshots. Left to right: Jenni Wolfson, Tereza Simikova, Sabine Fayoux Cantillo

Our CEO Jenni Wolfson is participating in the CPH: CONFERENCE, and our Associate Director of Program Sabine Fayoux Cantillo will be taking 1:1 meetings with filmmakers.

We are sending huge congratulations to our International Program Consultant Tereza Simikova, CPH:DOX Head of Industry & Training, and to her team, for putting together this fantastic edition. 

Announcing our 2022 (Egg)celerator Lab grantees!

A collage of photos with stills of the ten projects supported by the 2022 (Egg)celerator Lab

Announced via Variety today, we are proud to present the ten grantees selected for the 2022 (Egg)celerator Lab, who will each receive $40,000 towards the production of their documentary. Additionally, for the first time ever, ten projects have been selected to receive Egg)celerator Lab Finalist Grants of $15,000 each. The 20 projects, directed by emerging filmmakers, will collectively receive a total of $550,000 in grants, marking the largest sum that Chicken & Egg Pictures has ever directed towards the support of an (Egg)celerator Lab cohort and finalists of emerging filmmakers in a single year.

This year, the cohort includes directors hailing from countries such as the US, Chile, Costa Rica, Mexico, Romania, and Belarus. Filmmaker grantees include Volia Chajkouskaya, the founder of the Northern Lights Nordic-Baltic Film Festival, Lina Vdovîi and Radu Ciorniciuc, award-winning independent reporters, Contessa Gayles, an Emmy nominated producer. The films center women reclaiming their stories, and explore similar themes through vastly different subjects: In Matryoshka and TATA, filmmakers illustrate portraits of their parents that connect with their own personal narratives. Here, the Silence is Heard and Joonam explore intimate intergenerational memories in the context of complex political histories, and the search for an identity. 

Click on the film’s titles for more information on each project. We are thrilled to give these filmmakers a warm welcome to the Nest.

The 2022 (Egg)celerator Lab Grantees are:

7 Beats Per Minute
Director: Yuqi Kang (CANADA / CHINA / INNER MONGOLIA)
Producers: Ina Fichman, Anita Lee
7 Beats Per Minute is an intimate and unyielding journey with female freediving champion, Jessea Lu, as she faces her biggest fear and attempts to dive over 100 meters in one single breath.

Here, the Silence is Heard
Director: Gabriela Pena (CHILE / SPAIN)
Co-director: Picho García (CHILE) 
Producers: Gabriela Pena, Picho García
After arriving in Chile at the old house that my family abandoned in exile, ghosts of an unstoppable family spell begin to appear at night.

Joonam
Director: Sierra Urich (US)
Producer: Keith Wilson
A filmmaker uncovers her family’s lost Iranian past, and with it the complex relationships between mother and daughter, Iran and America, and displacement and identity.

Life + Life
Director: Contessa Gayles (US)
Producer: Contessa Gayles
An incarcerated musician struggles for healing and peace as he comes of age in this documentary-musical odyssey composed behind bars.

Matryoshka
Director: Maricarmen Merino Mora (COSTA RICA) 
Producers: Karla Bukantz, Paulina Villegas
Matryoshka is an intimate portrait of a mother through her daughter’s eyes, following the complex journey of a woman finding her own voice.

Olimpia
Director: Indira Cato (MEXICO)
Producer: Jessica Rito
After being a victim of sexual virtual violence, Olimpia Coral Melo sought the enactment of a groundbreaking law to protect women against cyberviolence, but now she’s still looking for a way to heal her internal wounds.

Our Daughters (working title)
Director: Chithra Jeyaram (US / INDIA)
Producers: Chithra Jeyaram, Jonna McKone
For the sake of their twin daughters, an Indian adoptive mother and a white birth mother venture into uncharted territory with an open adoption, crossing racial and cultural lines.

TATA
Co-directors: Lina Vdovîi and Radu Ciorniciuc (MOLDOVA / ROMANIA)
Producer: Monica Lazurean Gorgan
A journalist estranged from her violent father discovers that he’s become a victim of exploitation at work. When she agrees to help him expose the injustice, it reopens the wounds of their past.

The Wife Of
Director: Volia Chajkouskaya (BELARUS / ESTONIA)
Producers: Volia Chajkouskaya, Ivo Felt, Christian Popp, and Marius Markevicius
Undisclosed project.

Undisclosed Project
Details to be announced later this year.


The 2022 (Egg)celerator Lab Finalists are:

Alis 
Directors: Clare Weiskopf, Nicolas van Hemelryck (COLOMBIA)
Producers: Clare Weiskopf, Nicolas van Hemelryck, Radu Stancu, Alexandra Galvis
Teenage girls, who lived on the streets of Bogota, dream up a fictional classmate. Their soulful narrative reveals their perseverance to break the cycle of violence and embrace a brighter future.

Eat Bitter 
Directors: Pascale Appora-Gnekindy, Ningyi Sun (CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC / CHINA)
Producer: Mathieu Faure
Eat Bitter is a character-driven vérité film set in the Central African Republic, one of the poorest countries in the world. During the civil war, a Chinese immigrant construction manager and a local African laborer work on opposite ends of the spectrum to construct a sparkling new bank. As deadlines loom, they don’t hesitate to strip the earth and destroy their family lives for a seat at the table of prosperity.

How to Build a Library 
Co-directors: Maia Lekow, Christopher King (KENYA / AUSTRALIA) 
Producers: Maia Lekow, Christopher King
Two tenacious Kenyan women are transforming a dilapidated, junk-filled library in downtown Nairobi into a hub for the city’s population and creatives. But first they must wrangle with the local government, raise several million dollars for the reconstruction, and confront the ghosts of a problematic colonial history still trapped within the library walls.

Hummingbirds 
Directors: Silvia Castaños, Estefanía Contreras (US / MEXICO)
Producers: Leslie Benavides, Miguel Drake-McLaughlin, Ana Rodriguez-Falco, Jillian Schlesinger
Co-directors: Miguel Drake-McLaughlin, Diane Ng, Ana Rodriguez-Falco, Jillian Schlesinger
Best friends Silvia and Estefanía emerge at night to escape the cruel heat of summer in their Texas border town, wandering empty streets in search of inspiration, adventure, and a sense of belonging. When forces threaten their shared dreams, they take a stand and hold onto what they can—the moment and each other.

Light of the Setting Sun 
Director: Vicky Du (US)
Producer: Danielle Varga
A Taiwanese-American filmmaker confronts her family’s silence around the cycles of violence that have persisted since the Chinese Communist Revolution of 1949.

River of Grass 
Director: Sasha Wortzel (US)
Producer: Danielle Varga 
Co-producer: Houston Cypress
River of Grass unfolds as a voyage through the past, present, and precarious future of the iconic and imperiled Florida Everglades; told through the writings of the late environmentalist Marjory Stoneman Douglas, and those who today call the region home.

There Was, There Was Not 
Director: Emily Mkrtichian (US / ARMENIA) 
Producer: Mara Adina
There Was, There Was Not tells the collective myth of a homeland nearly lost to war and four women’s resistance to that loss.

We Are Volcanoes 
Co-directors: Sharon Yeung, Natalie A. Chao (HONG KONG)
Producer: Sharon Yeung
Undisclosed project.

When They Were Here 
Director: Ivy MacDonald (US / BLACKFEET TRIBE)
Co-director: Ivan MacDonald (US / BLACKFEET TRIBE)
Producer: Jessica Jane Hart
Told through the memory and lives of those left behind–families, When They Were Here examines the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW) crisis and its legacy on the Blackfeet Reservation in Northern Montana. 

Untitled Project 
Directors: Shirley Abraham, Amit Madheshiya (INDIA) 
Producers: Shirley Abraham, Amit Madheshiya
Undisclosed project.

Note: The parentheses next to the directors’ names indicate the directors’ country or countries of origin.