Half a Dozen Nest-supported Films at the 2023 SFFILM Festival

Chicken & Egg Pictures is proud to see six Nest-supported and two AlumNest films screening at the 66th San Francisco International Film Festival. The festival will take place from Thursday, April 13 to Sunday, April 23 across theaters in San Francisco, Oakland and Berkeley.  

We are sending special congratulations to the 2022 Critical Issues Fund grantee Sol in the Garden for their World Premiere. 

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 having its California Premiere as a part of the Documentaries: International section. 

Get your tickets here.

graphic of a film reel

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 series and will take part in the “Shorts 3: The Body” section of the festival.

Get your tickets here.

graphic of a film reel

Hummingbirds

dirs. Silvia Del Carmen Castaños, Estefanía “Beba” Contreras

co-dirs. & prods. Jillian Schlesinger, Miguel Drake-McLaughlin, Diane Ng, Ana Rodriguez-Falco

prods. Leslie Benavides, Rivkah Beth Medow

Silvia and Beba smile as they point their middle finger at the fire-work lit sky. There is a red light on Beba's middle finger, and a green light on Silvia's.
Still from Hummingbirds

Hummingbirds is a 2022 (Egg)celerator Lab finalist having its California premiere in the Documentaries: USA and GGA Documentary Competition sections.

Get your tickets here.

graphic of a film reel

Milisuthando

dir. Milisuthando Bongela

prod. Marion Isaacs  

Still from Milisuthando. Aerial shot of a person braiding their hair.
Still from Milisuthando

Milisuthando is a 2019 (Egg)celerator Lab grantee having its California premiere in the Documentaries: International and GGA Documentary Competition sections.

Get your tickets here.

graphic of a film reel

Sol in the Garden

dirs. & prods. Emily Cohen Ibañez and Débora Souza Silva

Still from Sol in the Garden. A woman in profile to the camera is inside a greenhouse, touching the leaves of a guava tree.
Still from Sol in the Garden

Sol in the Garden is a 2022 Critical Issues Fund grantee having its World Premiere as a part of the Bay Area Short Film category as well as a three-part shorts program.

Get your tickets here.

graphic of a film reel

The Tuba Thieves

dir. & prod. Alison O’Daniel

Still from The Tuba Thieves. A person looking up with their hand beside their face holding two fingers. Below them is a text that reads the first evening's stars begin to appear. Black and White photograph.
Still from The Tuba Thieves

The Tuba Thieves is a 2021 (Egg)celerator Lab grantee having its California Premiere as a part of the Documentaries: USA section. 

Get your tickets here.


From the AlumNest


Post written by Spring intern Tess Caldwell

Project: Hatched Grantees at the New Orleans Film Festival

The 32nd annual New Orleans Film Festival will take place from Friday, November 5 through Sunday, November 14, with in-person screenings and a Virtual Cinema accessible worldwide 🌍🐣! At Chicken & Egg Pictures we are egg-cited to see three Project: Hatched 2021 films and a film from the AlumNest as part of their lineup. Take a look at them below and get your tickets with this link.

Fruits of Labor

dir. & prod. Emily Cohen Ibañez

Still from Fruits of Labor

Manzanar, Diverted: When Water Becomes Dust

dir. & prod. Ann Kaneko 

prod. Jin Yoo-Kim

Still from Manzanar, Diverted: When Water Becomes Dust
Still from Manzanar, Diverted: When Water Becomes Dust

On The Divide

dirs. Maya Cueva, Leah Galant

prods. Melanie Miller, Diane Becker, Amanda Spain, Elizabeth Woodward

Still from On The Divide
Still from On The Divide

From the AlumNest

Ale Libre, directed by Project: Hatched 2021 grantee Maya Cueva, prods. Mayra Amaya, Melissa Bueno-Woerner, Daniel Tantalean, is part of the Documentary shorts section.

Post by Communications Intern Mariana Sanson

Announcing Five New Project: Hatched 2021 grantees!

Announced via Women & Hollywood today, Chicken & Egg Pictures is proud to support five new grantees of the 2021 Project: Hatched program for feature-length documentary impact. Each film receives a $10,000 grant and tailored mentorship towards their impact campaigns.

“Each of these films tells a story about racial, economic, or workers justice in the United States and marks a critical moment in our social history,” said Program Director Lucila Moctezuma. “Their directors are uniquely positioned to create change and propel us toward a more equitable future, and Chicken & Egg Pictures is excited to support them with funding and programmatic support to further the impact of these important films.”


Please click the granted film’s titles for more information on each project and give these visionary women directors a warm welcome to the Nest!

Dope is Death

Director: Mia Donovan
Producer: Bob Moore

Dope Is Death tells the story of how radical politics and direct community action birthed the first acupuncture drug detoxification program in America.

Down a Dark Stairwell

Director: Ursula Liang
Producer: Rajal Pitroda 

A Chinese-American police officer kills an unarmed Black man in a dark stairwell of a NYC housing project, igniting a complicated fight for accountability and justice.

Since I Been Down

Director: Gilda Sheppard
Producers: Saman Maydani, June Nho Ivers
Producer and Lead Impact Strategist: Bonnie Benjamin-Phariss
Impact Team: YEA! Impact 

In America’s backyard, a community held captive by policies targeting gangs and drugs sacrifices their youth for a false sense of justice and safety. Nearly forty years later, a true path to justice and healing is led from inside their prison walls.

Unapologetic 

Director: Ashley O’Shay 
Producers: Ashley O’Shay, Morgan Elise Johnson
Impact Producer: Naeema Jamilah Torres 

Meet Janaé and Bella, two fierce abolitionists whose upbringing and experiences shape their activism and views on Black liberation.

Fruits of Labor

Director: Emily Cohen Ibañez
Producer: Emily Cohen Ibañez

A teenage farmworker dreams of graduating high school, when ICE raids in her community threaten to separate her family and force her to become her family’s breadwinner.

*Down a Dark Stairwell was previously supported through out Diversity Fellows Iniative (past program).