Chicken & Egg Pictures at the Hot Docs Forum

Congratulations to Farming the Revolution for taking home the Best International Documentary Feature award at the 31st edition of Hot Docs in Toronto. The film was supported through Nishtha Jain’s 2020 Chicken & Egg Award. The festival also featured six supported films and five films from supported filmmakers in the lineup, multiple of which were premieres, and a spotlight on 2022 Chicken & Egg Award recipient Brett Story.

Our Senior Program Manager Elaisha Stokes and Program Assistant Will Tamura were in attendance at the festival and the Hot Docs Forum. This year’s Forum had “20 projects—represented by 22 filmmakers, 11 of whom are BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Colour) and 16 of whom are women—representing 18 countries” (Business Doc Europe) presenting to key funders, decisionmakers, filmmakers, producers, and observers. There were a total of 58 projects being pitched across the industry events. Among the projects were 2024 (Egg)celerator Lab grantees Anatomy of a Life, Jaripeo, War on Women, Holder of the Sky, and Matininó. There were also films from the following supported filmmakers: Leah Galant, Kelly Duane de la Vega, Mila Turajlić, Chelsi Bullard, Geeta Gandbhir, Mars Veronne, Yvonne Welbon, Carine Chichkowsky, Ina Fichman, Valérie Montmartin, Lorena Luciano, Filippo Piscopo, Diane Becker, Melanie Miller, Kenya Jade Pinto, Brit Fryer, and Sona Jo.

We are extremely proud of 2024 (Egg)celerator Lab grantee Anatomy of a Life on being awarded the Cuban Hat Award. This award, given to the best pitch as decided by Forum attendees, offers funding for powerful and unique projects. The award also includes numerous other gifts, including a feedback call with our very own Elaisha Stokes. 

Learn more about the selected projects here.

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.  

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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.

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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.

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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 +

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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 +.

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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

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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

18 Nominations for the IDA Documentary Awards!

The IDA Documentary Awards recently announced the nominees for the 39th IDA Documentary Awards. We are proud to have 18 nominations and 3 shortlisted films within the Chicken & Egg Pictures community! The awards will be presented virtually on December 12. Congratulations and good luck to all of the nominees.

  • 2021 (Egg)celerator Lab grantee Against the Tide | dir. & prod. Sarvnik Kaur | prods. Koval Bhatia, Quentin Laurent | Nominated for Best Feature Documentary and Best Director
  • QUEER FUTURES project How to Carry Water | dir. Sasha Wortzel | prods. Colleen Cassingham, Jess Devaney, Anya Rous | Nominated for Best Short Documentary
  • 2021 (Egg)celerator Lab grantee Milisuthando | dir. Milisuthando Bongela | prod. Marion Isaacs | Nominated for Best Feature Documentary, Best Director, and Best Writing
  • 2021 (Egg)celerator Lab grantee Q | dir. & prod. Jude Chehab | Nominated for Best Feature Documentary and Best Editing
  • 2022 Chicken & Egg Award Recipient Margreth Olin’s Songs of Earth | dir. & prod. Margreth Olin | Nominated for Best Cinematography and Best Original Music Score
  • Project: Hatched 2023 participant Suddenly TV | dir. & prod. Roopa Gogineni | prods. Reem Haddad, Trevor Snapp, Fiona Lawson-Baker | Nominated for Best Short Documentary
  • 2020 Chicken & Egg Award Recipient Maite Alberdi’s The Eternal Memory | dir. & prod. Maite Alberdi | prods. Juan de Dios Larraín, Pablo Larraín, Rocío Jadue | Nominated for Best Editing
  • QUEER FUTURES | dirs. Brit Fryer, Lindsey Dryden, Noah Schamus, Sasha Wortzel, Twiggy Pucci Garçon | prods. Jess Devaney, Anya Rous, J Wortham, Colleen Cassingham | Nominated for Best Short-Form Series

From the AlumNest

  • Deadlocked: How America Shaped the Supreme Court | Nominated for Best Multi-Part Documentary
    dir. & prod. Dawn Porter
    prods. Vinnie Malhotra, Aaron Saidman, Eli Holzman
  • Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project | Nominated for Best Feature Documentary and Best Original Music Score
    dirs. & prods. Michèle Stephenson, Joe Brewster
  • King Coal  | Nominated for Best Cinematography
    dir. & prod. Elaine McMillion Sheldon
    prods. Shane Boris, Diane Becker, Peggy Drexler
  • The U.S. and the Holocaust  | Nominated for Best TV Feature or Mini-Series
    dir. Lynn Novick, Ken Burns, Sarah Botstein

Shortlist Shoutouts

  • QUEER FUTURES project The Script | dirs. Brit Fryer, Noah Schamus | prods. Jessica Devaney, Colleen Cassingham  | Shortlisted for Best Short Documentary
  • Project: Hatched 2023 participant Twice Colonized | dir. Lin Alluna | prods. Emile Hertling Péronard, Alethea Arnaquq-Baril, Stacey Aglok, Bob Moore | Shortlisted for Best Feature Documentary
  • AlumNest project How We Get Free | dirs. Geeta Gandbhir, Samantha Knowles | prods. Kathleen Lingo, Sweta Vohra, Jess Devaney | Shortlisted for Best Short Documentary

Post written by Communications Intern Tess Caldwell

13 Emmy Nominations from the Nest!

Chicken & Egg Pictures sends a massive congratulations to the two supported and 11 AlumNest films that received nominations for the 44th Annual News and Documentary Emmy® Awards. The honors will be presented live in two ceremonies, with Documentary Categories taking place on Thursday, September 28, 2023.

The Janes

dir. Tia Lessin, Emma Pildes

prod. Emma Pildes, Daniel Arcana, Jessica Levin

A photograph of 5 women wearing swimsuits and shades, in a sunny day in the'70s.
Still from The Janes

The Janes is a Project: Hatched 2022 finalist nominated for Outstanding Social Issue Documentary, Best Documentary, Outstanding Research: Documentary, Outstanding Direction: Documentary.

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Apart

dir. & prod. Jennifer Redfearn

prod. Tim Metzger

Still from Apart. Tomika and Amanda in the prison yard
Still from Apart

Apart is a 2018 (Egg)celerator Lab grantee nominated for Outstanding Politics and Government Documentary. 


From the AlumNest

  • American Reckoning
    dir. & prod. Yoruba Richen, Brad Lichtenstein
    Nominated for: Outstanding Historical Documentary
  • Art & Krimes by Krimes
    dir. & prod. Alysa Nahmias
    prod. Amanda Spain, Benjamin Murray
    Nominated for: Outstanding Arts and Culture Documentary
  • Delikado
    dir. & prod. Karl Malakunas
    prod. Kara Magsanoc-Alikpala, Michael Collins, Marty Syjuco, Laura Nix
    Nominated for: Outstanding Investigative Documentary
  • How to Change your Mind
    dir. Lucy Walker, Alison Ellwood
    Nominated for: Outstanding Graphic Design and Art Direction: Documentary
  • Lincoln’s Dilemma
    dir. Jacqueline Olive, Barak Goodman
    Nominated for: Outstanding Graphic Design and Art Direction: Documentary
  • Lowndes County and the Road to Black Power
    dir. Geeta Gandbhir
    prod. Jess Devaney
    Nominated for: Outstanding Research Documentary, Outstanding Editing: Documentary
  • The Flagmakers
    dir. & prod. Cynthia Wade, Sharon Liese
    prod. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Carolyn Bernstein, Mark Gordon, Ryan Harrington, Jenna Segal
    Nominated for: Outstanding Short Documentary
  • The U.S. and the Holocaust
    dir. Lynn Novick, Ken Burns, Sarah Botstein
    Nominated for: Outstanding Research Documentary
  • TikTok, Boom
    dir. & prod. Shalini Kantayya
    prod. Danni Mynard, Ross Dinerstein
    Nominated for: Outstanding Business and Economic Documentary
  • Wuhan Wuhan
    dir. Yung Chang
    prod. Diane Quon, Donna Gigliotti, Peter Luo
    Nominated for: Outstanding Current Affairs Documentary
  • 37 Words
    dir. & prod. Dawn Porter, Nicole Newnham
    Nominated for: Outstanding Research Documentary

Post written by Communications Intern Tess Caldwell

Eight Nest-Supported Films at Sheffield DocFest 2023!

We are thrilled to announce that eight Nest-supported films and four AlumNest filmmakers are included in this year’s lineup for Sheffield DocFest. The festival will take place between Wednesday, June 14 to Monday, June 19, 2023, and will be attended by two of our staff members. We hope to see you there!

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 UK Premiere in the Journeys section.

Get your tickets here.

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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 UK Premiere in the People & Community section.

Get your tickets here.

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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 UK Premiere in the Journeys section. Director Ella Glendining will also be attending and participating in a conversation about the film.

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 UK Premiere in the Memories section.

Get your tickets here.

graphic of a film reel

Razing Liberty Square

dir. Katja Esson

prod. 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 having its European Premiere in the Debates section.

Get your tickets here.

graphic of a film reel

Praying for Armageddon

dir. Tonje Hessen Schei

co-dir. Michael Rowley

prods. Torstein Parelius, Ingrid G. Aune Falch, Christian Aune Falch

Still from Praying for Armageddon
Still from Praying for Armageddon

Praying for Armageddon was supported through Tonje Hessen Shei’s 2020 Chicken & Egg Award and is having its UK Premiere in the Debates 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 UK Premiere in the Rebellions section. It was nominated for the Tim Hetherington Award at the festival. 

Get your tickets here.

graphic of a film reel

Q

dir. & prod. Jude Chehab

Still from Q
Still from Q

Q is a 2021 (Egg)celerator Lab Grantee having its International Premiere in the International First Feature Competition.
Get your tickets here


From the AlumNest

dir. Penny Lane
prod. Gabriel Sedgwick

dir. & prod. Jeanie Finlay
prod. Suzanne Alizart

Dreamcatcher Kim LonginottoBAFTA-Winning and Nest-supported filmmaker Kim Longinotto is a 2023 festival edition Jury Member.


MeetMarket Projects

The 18th edition of Sheffield DocFest’s flagship pitching forum, the MeetMarket, will take place on Thursday 15, and Friday 16 of June 2023. The slate includes 48 documentary projects, in development or at production stage, to be pitched in one-to-one meetings to international and UK industry representatives and experts.

Please take a look at the Nest-supported and AlumNest projects below.

  • Untitled Teesside Project
    dir. & prod. Jeanie Finlay
    prod. Charlie Phillips
    Supported through Jeanie Finlay’s 2023 Chicken & Egg Award

  • #WhileBlack
    dir. Sidney Fussell, Samantha Knowles, Geeta Gandbhir
    prod. Ann Shin, Geeta Gandbhir, David Otelowo

 


Meet Our Team at Sheffield DocFest

Mariana Sanson headshot Will Tamura looks directly at the camera and smiles. Portrait in black and white.

Representing Chicken & Egg Pictures, our Communications Manager Mariana Sanson and Program Assistant Will Tamura will be in attendance at this year’s Sheffield DocFest. They will both be participating in the MeetMarket and watching as many docs as they can!

Announcing our 2022 Critical Issues Fund Grantees!

Graphic with eight stills from films of the Critical Issues Fund

We are proud to present the twelve grantees selected for the 2022 Critical Issues Fund. The Critical Issues Fund supports filmmakers, with more than $250,000 in funding, whose work is focused on important and topical issues that are currently having a decided and material impact on communities domestically and internationally. The 2022 grant awardees have projects exploring some of the most pressing issues of the moment: the war in Ukraine, gun violence, reproductive justice, and climate emergencies

“Through the Critical Issues Fund, we have identified films that have the potential to drive social change by sharing these stories with the world now—not years down the line. Chicken & Egg Pictures cares deeply about these issues and believes that a more equitable and just world can be shaped by the power of documentary films. Our hope is that through highlighting these stories told by talented women filmmakers, others will be motivated to action to support the films and the issues they highlight,” said CEO of Chicken & Egg Pictures, Jenni Wolfson. “We live in a world that’s not doing enough to prevent war, gun violence, climate change, or advance reproductive justice. We firmly believe these films can help in the fight for these issues.” 

We are thrilled to give these filmmakers a warm welcome to the Nest. The 2022 Critical Issues Fund grantees are: 

After Roe (Working title)
Directors: Amber Fares, Geeta Gandbhir (US/CANADA)
After Roe explores the ongoing nationwide battle playing out after the Supreme Court left the fate of tens of millions of women in the hands of politicians across the country.

Breaking the News
Directors: Heather Courtney, Chelsea Hernandez, Princess Hairston (US)
Producer: Diane Quon
Breaking the News follows a group of women and non-binary journalists, bucking the white male status quo, to launch The 19th*—a digital news startup that asks who has been omitted from mainstream coverage and how they can be included.

Displaced 
Director: Olha Zhurba (UKRAINE)
Producer: Darya Bassel 
Displaced captures a collective portrait of Ukrainians fleeing the grindstones of war, and those who stayed and are forced to adapt to life under constant shelling.

Frontline 
Director: Alisa Kovalenko (UKRAINE)
Producer: Katarzyna Kuczyńska 
Co-producers: Monica Hellström, Valeryi Kalmykov
Frontline is a diary from the frontline of the Russian invasion of Ukraine by a director and mother turned soldier.

Hollywood Does Abortion (Working title)
Directors & Producers: Barbara Attie, Mike Attie, Janet Goldwater (US)
Producer: Eliza Licht 
Hollywood Does Abortion explores descriptions of abortion in film and television, revealing how Hollywood both reflects and distorts this safe but controversial medical procedure.

Intercepted 
Director: Oksana Karpovych (UKRAINE/CANADA)
Producer: Les Films Cosmos
Intercepted is a journey through Ukraine that reveals the banality of evil behind the Russian invasion.

Plan C
Director & Producer: Tracy Droz Tragos (US)
Plan C follows the journey of a grassroots network, with a controversial visionary at the helm, as they fight to expand access to abortion pills across the United States, and keep hope alive during a global pandemic and the fall of Roe v. Wade.

Razing Liberty Square 
Director: Katja Esson (GERMANY/US)
Razing Liberty Square features Miami as ground zero for sea level rise. When residents of the Liberty Square public-housing community learn about a $300-million revitalization project in 2015, they soon discover that this sudden interest comes from the fact that their neighborhood is located on the highest and driest ground in the city. Now they must prepare to fight a new form of racial injustice: climate gentrification.

Red Zone
Director: Iryna Tsilyk (UKRAINE)
Producer: Darya Bassel 
Red Zone shares Tsilyk’s very intimate and female perspective on the question—what does it mean to be a woman in the war times?

Sol in the Garden 
Directors: Emily Cohen Ibañez, Débora Souza Silva (US/COLOMBIA/BRAZIL)
Sol in the Garden features Sol—who is released from prison after 16 years of incarceration—and follows her journey as she discovers that coming into her own freedom can be as challenging as living behind bars. Through a community gardening collective of formerly incarcerated horticulturalists in East Oakland, Sol strives to recover her humanity and sense of self.

Untitled Baby Doe Film 
Director: Jessica Earnshaw (CANADA)
Producer: Holly Meehl Chapman
Untitled Baby Doe Film intimately explores the phenomena of pregnancy denial through the stories of two women, a generation apart, given life sentences for the deaths of their newborns.

Untitled Uvalde Documentary 
Director & Producer: Anayansi Prado (PANAMA/US)

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

Four Nest-supported Films Nominated for the 2023 Cinema Eye Honors

Chicken & Egg Pictures is proud to see four Nest-supported filmmakers and four AlumNest filmmakers nominated for the 2023 Cinema Eye Honors. The 16th Annual Awards Ceremony will take place on Thursday, January 12, 2023 and celebrates outstanding artistry and craft in nonfiction filmmaking. 

Check out the nominated Nest-supported films including:

BEBA

dir. & prod. Rebeca Huntt

prod. Sofia Geld

Low angle shot of Beba, placing her arm behind her head and wearing a black top
Still from BEBA

Project: Hatched 2022 grantee BEBA is nominated for Outstanding Debut Feature and is included in The Unforgettables list. Director Rebeca Huntt is nominated for Outstanding Direction.


Hidden Letters

dirs. Violet Feng, Zhao Qing

prods. Violet Feng, Mette Cheng Munthe-Kaas, Jean Tsien, Su Kim

Two Chinese women sit next to each other. The young wan inclines her head to read what the elderly woman has in her hands: a yellow paper. The sunlight illuminates part of the room.
Still from Hidden Letters

2020 (Egg)celerator Lab grantee Hidden Letters is nominated for the Spotlight Award


Mija

dir. & prod. Isabel Castro

prod. Tabs Breese, Yesenia Tlahuel

Two young women rest on a blanket on the grass while looking up.
Still from Mija

2021 (Egg)celerator Lab grantee Mija is nominated for the Audience Choice Award and is included in The Unforgettables list.


Users

dir. Natalia Almada

prod. Josh Penn

Still from Users

Users was supported through Natalia Almada’s 2018 Chicken & Egg Award and is nominated  for Outstanding Original Music Score and Cinematography.


From AlumNest

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.

The Nest at 2022 CIFF this Week

The 18th edition of Camden International Film Festival will take place in person in Maine this Thursday, September 15 through Sunday, September 18, and online through Sunday, September 25 for audiences across North America. Chicken & Egg Pictures is egg-cited to participate in the market, and we are also excited to see screenings of two 2020 (Egg)celerator Lab films, All of Our Heartbeats Are Connected Through Exploding Stars and Polaris, as well as two AlumNest films at the festival. 

Please take a look at the films below:

All of Our Heartbeats Are Connected Through Exploding Stars

dir. Jennifer Rainsford

prods. Mirjam Gelhorn, David Herdies, Michael Krotkiewski

Still from All of Our Heartbeats Are Connected Through Exploding Stars

The 2011 Japan tsunami triggers this staggering essay about loss that connects human and environmental trauma using astonishing juxtapositions. Humans breathe out and the oceans breathe in, so that we are constantly breathing together and becoming our planet. If we admit that our human experiences of pain and the Earth’s are just different versions of the same destruction, will recovery come, be it in ripples or waves?*

All of Our Heartbeats Are Connected Through Exploding Stars is a 2020 (Egg)celerator Lab grantee and is part of the Cinematic Vision Competition.

Get your tickets + more info with this link.  

*Text courtesy of Cineuropa.


Polaris

dir. Ainara Vera

prod. Clara Vuillermoz

Still from Polaris

After overcoming her painful childhood in France, 36-year-old Hayat has managed to become an expert skipper in the Arctic. Her biggest passion is to navigate in between icebergs and spot whales. While she experiences this pureness, her 28-year-old sister Leila tries to integrate into society after coming out of jail in France. Their life went by independently until a year ago when Leila fell pregnant. Polaris explores the inner battle that we all have to undertake to find a balance between the light and the darkness and how the beauty of nature can help us. 

Polaris is a 2020 (Egg)celerator Lab grantee and is part of the Harrel Competition

Get your tickets + more info with this link.


From the AlumNest


Meet Our Team at CIFF

In the left Sabine Fayoux Cantillo smiles at the camera, to the right Iva Dimitrova smiles at the camera. Portraits in black and white.
Left to right: Program Manager Sabine Fayoux-Cantillo and Program Coordinator Iva Dimitrova

Program Manager Sabine Fayoux Cantillo and Program Coordinator Iva Dimitrova will attend the festival. They will be taking meetings and watching lots of films!


Check out the full line-up with this link.

Eight Nest-supported Films Receive Emmy® Nominations!

Chicken & Egg Pictures sends massive congratulations to the eight Nest-supported films that received a nomination for the 43rd Annual News and Documentary Emmy® Awards. The honors will be presented live in two ceremonies, with Documentary Categories taking place on Thursday, September 29, 2022, at 7:30 pm EDT.

“Through our mission to advance gender equity in the documentary film industry, Chicken & Egg Pictures is proud to support women and nonbinary filmmakers whose work expands our collective consciousness. We congratulate all Nest-supported filmmakers for their tremendous achievements, and for crafting stories that advance social change.” -Jenni Wolfson, Executive Director of Chicken & Egg Pictures.

Check out each nomination below and celebrate the filmmakers and their teams with us:

A Thousand Cuts

dir. & prod. Ramona S. Diaz

prods. Christopher Clements, Julie Goldman, Carolyn Hepburn, Leah Marino

Reflection of Maria Ressa talking on the phone on a rearview mirror.
Still from A Thousand Cuts via Variety

Nominated for: 

  • Outstanding Social Issue Documentary
  • Best Documentary

Supported through Ramona’s 2018 Chicken & Egg Award


Coded Bias

dir. & prod. Shalini Kantayya

Still from Coded Bias

Nominated for: 

  • Outstanding Science and Technology Documentary 

Coded Bias was a Project: Hatched 2020 grantee


Picture a Scientist

dirs. & prods. Sharon Shattuck & Ian Cheney

prod. Manette Pottle

Still from Picture a Scientist

Nominated for: 

  • Outstanding Science and Technology Documentary 

Picture a Scientist was a Project: Hatched 2020 grantee


Pray Away

dir. & prod. Kristine Stolakis

prod. Jessica Devaney and Anya Rous

Still from Pray Away

Nominated for:

  • Outstanding Social Issue Documentary 

Pray Away was a 2019 (Egg)celerator Lab grantee


Simple As Water

dirs. & prod. Megan Mylan

prod. Robin Hessman

Simple As Water still
Still from Simple As Water  

Nominated for:

  • Outstanding Direction: Documentary 

Simple As Water was a 2018 Nest-supported project


Storm Lake

dirs. Beth Levison & Jerry Risius

prod. Beth Levison

Still from Storm Lake

Nominated for:

  • Outstanding Business and Economic Documentary

Storm Lake was a Project: Hatched 2021 grantee


Takeover

dir. Emma Francis-Snyder

prod. Tony Gerber

A photography of a demonstration, there are men an women, some of them wear berets, some raise their fists up, some hold signs, many are screaming something
Still from Takeover

Nominated for:

  • Outstanding Short Documentary 

Takeover is a Project: Hatched 2022 grantee


The Changing Same: An American Pilgrimage

dirs. Michèle Stephenson, Joe Brewster

prods. Scatter, Rada Studio

A digitally constructed environment in which a cabin is surrounded by enlightened particles. A woman in a bigger scale than the house is in the back.
VR still from The Changing Same: An American Pilgrimage via Creative Capital

Nominated for: 

  • Outstanding Interactive Media: Innovation 

The Changing Same: An American Pilgrimage was supported through the 2017 Impact and Innovation Grant


From the AlumNest  

  • In the Same Breath
    dir. Nanfu Wang
    prods. Jialing Zhang, Carolyn Hepburn, Sara Rodriguez, Julie Goldman, and Christopher Clements 
    Nominated for: Outstanding Current Affairs Documentary, Best Documentary  

  • Through Our Eyes: Apart  
    dirs. Geeta Gandbhir, Rudy Valdez
    prods. Beth Miranda Botshon, Jessica Devaney, Lisa Diamond, Anya Rous
    Nominated for: Best Short Documentary

Check out the full nominations list with this link.