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) at Sheffield Doc/Fest.

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.

Look Out For the Nest at the 2018 Seattle International Film Festival!

Chicken & Egg-supported filmmakers Julia Bacha, Alexandria Bombach, Christina King and Elizabeth Castle, Amy Ziering, Lorena Luciano, Laura Nix, and Chicken & Egg Pictures Board of Directors member, Alexandra Shiva, will all have documentary features at the 2018 Seattle International Film Festival!

The 44th annual event will take place May 17th-June 10th. Tickets are on sale now.

Warrior Women,  by Christina D. King and Elizabeth Castle (2017 Diversity Fellows Initiative) at the Seattle International Film Festival.

Warrior Women,  by Christina D. King and Elizabeth Castle (2017 Diversity Fellows Initiative)

The women of the American Indian Movement fight from a vulnerable place only matriarchs can understand—it is a battle for their children and the culture they hope to preserve for them. Warrior Women chronicles the struggle of Madonna Thunder Hawk and Marcy Gilbert, a Lakota mother and daughter whose fight for indigenous rights started in the 1970s and continues today at Standing Rock.

Through archival footage, verité, and video art, we experience Thunder Hawk’s dedication to Red Power and come to understand that activism is necessary for the very survival and success of Native culture and values for the next generation.

Warrior Women will have its US premiere at the Seattle International Film Festival.

Showtimes:
Monday, May 21 at 7:00 PM
Saturday, May 26 at 6:30 PM
Sunday, May 27 at 1:00 PM

Buy tickets here.

It Will Be Chaos, directed by Lorena Luciano and Filippo Piscopo at Seattle International Film Festival.

 

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.

It Will Be Chaos will have its US premiere at the Seattle International Film Festival.

Showtimes:
Saturday, May 26 at 8:30 PM
Monday, May 28 at 12:30 PM
Buy tickets here.

Note: Chicken & Egg Pictures has not directly supported the following films but has supported the filmmakers and directors in the past.

Naila and the Uprising, 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.

Showtimes:
Thursday, June 7 at 6:30 PM
Sunday, June 10 at 12:00 PM

Buy tickets here.

* Chicken & Egg Pictures did not support Naila and the Uprising but supported director Julia Bacha’s film, Budrus

On Her Shoulders, 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:
Tuesday, May 22 at 6:00 PM
Wednesday, May 23 at 3:30 PM

Buy tickets here.

The Bleeding Edge, directed by Kirby Dick and produced by Amy Ziering*

Investigative filmmakers Kirby Dick and Amy Ziering present a searing exposé of modern medical devices, a billion dollar industry whose technological advancements have lead to unparalleled innovations, yet is rife with lax regulations, corporate cover-ups, and profit driven incentives that have lead to deadly risks for unsuspecting patients.

Showtimes:
Monday, May 28 at 1:00 PM
Wednesday, May 30 at 9:15 PM

Buy tickets here.

* Chicken & Egg Pictures did not supportThe Bleeding Edge but supported co-director Amy Ziering’s film, The Invisible War

Inventing Tomorrow, by Laura Nix (2018 Breakthrough Film Awards recipient)* at Seattle International Film Festival.

Inventing Tomorrow, by Laura Nix (2018 Breakthrough Filmmaker Award recipient)*

Meet the passionate teen innovators from around the globe who dedicate their blood, sweat, and Bunsen burners to craft cutting-edge solutions to the world’s environmental threats and present their findings at the world’s largest high school science competition, the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair.

Showtimes:
Friday, May 18 at 4:30 PM
Friday, June 1 at 6:30 PM
Saturday, June 2 at 11:30 AM

Buy tickets here.

* Chicken & Egg Pictures did not support Inventing Tomorrow but supports director Laura Nix through our 2018 Breakthrough Filmmaker Award program.

This Is Home, by Alexandra Shiva (Chicken & Egg Pictures Board of Directors)*

Alexandra Shiva’s stirring, empathetic documentary chronicles the travails of four Syrian refugee families as they arrive in Baltimore with just eight months’ time allowed to find jobs, learn English, and adapt to life in the U.S. when the sudden 2017 travel ban imposed by the Trump administration further complicates their situation.

Showtimes:
Wednesday, May 30 at 6:00 PM
Thursday, May 31 at 3:30 PM

Buy tickets here.

*Chicken & Egg Pictures did not support This is Home but director Alexandra Shiva is a member of the Chicken & Egg Pictures Board of Directors.

For a list of all films, screening dates and times, check out the Seattle International Film Festival Guide here.

Post by 2018 Spring Programs Intern Dinayuri Rodriguez.

Ten Nest-supported films at Hot Docs 2018!

Showcasing over 200 films and hosting over 200 thousand people each year, Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival is North America’s largest documentary film festival. Chicken & Egg Pictures is excited to announce that ten Nest-supported films will be gracing this year’s line-up!

The 2018 Hot Docs festival will run April 26-May 6 in Toronto. You can view the schedule here and purchase festival passes and packages here.

Blowin’ Up, directed by Stephanie Wang-Breal
Roll Red Roll, directed by Nancy Schwartzman
Recovery Boys, directed by Elaine McMillion Sheldon (2017 Breakthrough Filmmaker Award Recipient)
The Devil We Know, directed by Stephanie Soechtig and Jeremy Seifert (co-director)
The Feeling of Being Watched, directed by Assia Boundaoui (2015-16 Accelerator Lab)
A Thousand Girls Like Me, directed by Sahra Mani (2016 Diversity Fellow Initiative)
United Skates, directed by Dyana Winkler and Tina Brown (2016 Diversity Fellow Initiative)
Tree, directed by Milica Zec and Winslow Turner Porter
Warrior Women, directed by Christina King and Elizabeth Castle (2017 Diversity Fellows Initiative)
On Her Shoulders directed by Alexandria Bombach (2018 SXSW LUNA / Chicken & Egg Pictures Award recipient)

***

In addition to the Nest-supported films that will be screening at the 2018 Hot Docs Festival, keep an eye out for the following films by directors whose work Chicken & Egg Pictures has supported and recognized in the past.

Grit directed by Cynthia Wade (Freeheld, 2007 and 2008) and Sasha Friedlander (Mudflow, 2013)
Inventing Tomorrow directed by Laura Nix (2018 Breakthrough Filmmaker Award recipient)
Skywards directed by Eva Weber (Black Out, 2007)

And a special shout out to Barbara Kopple (2011 Chicken & Egg Pictures Celebration Award) who has a few films playing at Hot Docs!

Chicken & Egg Pictures wants to wish these Nest-supported films and filmmakers luck with their participation in the Hot Docs Forum on May 1st and 2nd of the festival.

Born In China directed by Nanfu Wang and Lynn Zhang
The Rashomon Effect directed by Lyric Cabral
Nobody Loves Me, directed by Farihah Zaman and Jeff Reichert, co-directores of the Nest-supported documentary Remote Area Medical.

Congratulations everyone!

Post by 2018 Spring Programs Intern Dinayuri Rodriguez.

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)

***

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!

Still from Inventing Tomorrow, directed by Laura Nix

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.

The Nest at the 2018 San Francisco International Film Festival

Chicken & Egg Pictures is happy to share that the Nest-supported film, Tre Maison Dasan, will be featured at the 2018 San Francisco International Film Festival!

The festival will run from April 4-17. For more information on the programming, schedule, and tickets, visit the SFFILM website.

Tre Maison Dasan, directed by Denali Tiller

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.

The following films directed by filmmakers who have been supported by the Nest in the past will also be screening at the 2018 San Francisco International Film Festival!

Still from Inventing Tomorrow, directed by Laura Nix

Inventing Tomorrow directed by Laura Nix (2018 Breakthrough Filmmaker Award recipient)
The Pushouts directed by Katie Galloway (director of the Nest-supported film, The Return)
Skywards directed by Eva Weber (director of the Nest-supported film, Black Out)

Post by 2018 Spring Programs Intern Dinayuri Rodriguez.

The Nest at Tribeca

Left to right: Blowin’ Up, The Feeling of Being Watched, Roll Red Roll, and United Skates

Four Chicken & Egg Pictures-supported films are heading to the Tribeca Film Festival (April 18-29) this year. Congratulations to all the filmmakers for their exciting premieres!

Blowin’ Up 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.

The Feeling of Being Watched by Assia Boundaoui
In the Arab-American neighborhood outside of Chicago where director Assia Boundaoui grew up, most of her neighbors think they have been under surveillance for over a decade. While investigating their experiences, Assia uncovers hundreds of pages of declassified FBI documents that prove her hometown was the subject of one of the largest counterterrorism investigations ever conducted in the U.S. before 9/11––code-named “Operation Vulgar Betrayal.” With unprecedented access, The Feeling of Being Watched weaves the personal and the political as it follows the filmmaker’s examination of why her community fell under blanket government surveillance. Assia struggles to disrupt the government secrecy shrouding what happened to her neighborhood in the 90’s and probes why her community feels like they’re still being watched today. In the process, she confronts long-hidden truths about the FBI’s relationship to her community. The Feeling of Being Watched follows Assia as she pieces together this secret FBI operation, while grappling with the effects of a lifetime of surveillance on herself and her family.

Roll Red Roll by Nancy Schwartzman
Go behind the headlines of notorious high school sexual assault to witness the social media fueled “boys will be boys” culture that let it happen.

In small-town Ohio, at a pre-season football party, a horrible incident took place. What transpired would garner national attention and result in the sentencing of two key offenders. As amateur crime blogger Alex Goddard uncovers disturbing evidence on Facebook, Youtube, and Twitter, documenting the assault of a teenage girl by members of the beloved high school football team, questions linger around the collusion of teen and adult bystanders. Roll Red Roll explores the complex motivations of both perpetrators and bystanders in this story, to unearth the attitudes at the core of their behavior. The Steubenville story acts as a cautionary tale of what can happen when adults look the other way and deny that rape culture exists. With unprecedented access to police documents, exhibits and evidence, the documentary feature unflinchingly asks: “why didn’t anyone stop it?”

United Skates by Tina Brown and Dyana Winkler
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.

And a special congratulations to filmmaker Madeleine Sackler for It’s a Hard Truth Ain’t It, who was previously supported by Chicken & Egg Pictures for her film, Dangerous Acts Starring the Unstable Elements of Belarus.

The Tribeca Film Festival’s full program will be available March 15.

The Nest at Sheffield Doc/Fest, June 9-14, 2017

Even When I Fall, directed by Kate McLarnon

Congratulations to all Nest-supported filmmakers at Sheffield Doc/Fest this year! Our programs team will be there with the 2017 Accelerator Lab cohort for first- and second-time filmmakers so if you’re around, come say hello.

Chicken & Egg Pictures-supported films and filmmakers at 2017 Sheffield:

*Chicken & Egg pictures did not support Armed With Faith, Do Donkeys Act?, and Insha’Allah Democracy, but did support Geeta Gandhbir for A Journey of a Thousand Miles: Peacekeepers, Love the Sinner, and A Conversation with Police on Race (NY Times Op-Doc); Ashley Sabin for Girl Model; and Mohammed Maqvi’s film Among the Believers. And, as a 2017 Breakthrough Filmmaker Award recipient, Geeta has received support from Chicken & Egg Pictures in the forms of a $50,000 unrestricted grant, individualized mentorship, and creative and professional workshops.

Go to the Sheffield Doc/Fest website for more information and the full lineup.

In New York instead? Check out Nest-supported films and filmmakers at the Human Rights Watch Film Festival (June 9-18).

Congratulations to Nanfu at SXSW 2017!

We’re so proud of our Accelerator Lab grantee Nanfu Wang and her film, I Am Another You, for winning the LUNA Chicken & Egg Pictures Award at SXSW Film Festival this year!

For more information about the film, and the award, check out some of these articles:

“Show Her The Money: Why Financing Really Matters for Women Directors” by Ally Fleming, SXSW blog

“‘I Am Another You’ Uncovers an American Dreamer From the Inside Out” by Eric Kohn, Indiewire

“SXSW Film Review: ‘I Am Another You’” by Owen Gleiberman, Variety