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](https://chickeneggpics.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/PH-2022_BEBA_Rebeca-Huntt_Film-Still_03_WEB-1024x679.jpg)
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.](https://chickeneggpics.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Hidden-Letters-Key-Still-1024x576.jpg)
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.](https://chickeneggpics.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/MIJA_1280x720_APPROVED-1024x576.jpg)
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
![](https://chickeneggpics.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Almada_Users_filmstill-Natalia-Almada.jpg)
Users was supported through Natalia Almada’s 2018 Chicken & Egg Award and is nominated for Outstanding Original Music Score and Cinematography.
From AlumNest
- All the Beauty and the Bloodshed
dir. Laura Poitras
prods. Howard Gertler, John Lyons, Laura Poitras, Nan Goldin, Yoni Golijov
Nominated for Outstanding Direction, Outstanding Editing, Outstanding Nonfiction Fiction Film, Outstanding Original Music Score, and is included in The Unforgettables list - Black and Missing
dir. Geeta Gandbhir and Samantha Knowles
prods. Geeta Gandbhir, Jo Honig, Patrick Conway, Soledad O’Brien
Nominated for Outstanding Nonfiction Series - Descendant
dir. & prod. Margaret Brown
prods. Essie Chambers, Kyle Martin
Nominated for Outstanding Direction and Outstanding Original Music Score - Mind Over Murder
dir. Nanfu Wang
prod. Alexander Baertl
Nominated for Outstanding Nonfiction Series - The Martha Mitchell Effect
dir. Anne Alvergue, Debra McClutchy
prod. Beth Levison, Judith Mizrachy
Nominated for Outstanding Non-fiction short
- The Joys and Sorrows of Young Yuguo
dir. Ilinca Călugăreanu
prod. Mara Adina
Included in the Shorts List (Cinema Eye’s Annual List of the Year’s Top Short Documentaries)
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
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
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.
Nest-Supported films at DOC NYC 2022 Film Festival
Chicken & Egg Pictures will be represented in the DOC NYC 2022 line up. The festival will run in-person from Wednesday, November 9 to Thursday, November 17 and online through Sunday, November 27. Take a look at the current Nest-supported films and projects from the AlumNest below that are screening and get your tickets with this link.
BEBA
dir. & prod. Rebeca Huntt
prod. Sofia Geld
![Low angle shot of Beba, placing her arm behind her head and wearing a black top](https://chickeneggpics.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/PH-2022_BEBA_Rebeca-Huntt_Film-Still_03_WEB-1024x679.jpg)
BEBA is a Project: Hatched 2022 grantee and is part of DOC NYC’s 15-film Short List.
Get your tickets with this link.
Mija
dir. & prod. Isabel Castro
prod. Tabs Breese, Yesenia Tlahuel
![Still from Mija](https://chickeneggpics.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/EL-2021_Mija_Isabel-Castro_Film-Still_1-1-1024x576.jpg)
Mija is a 2021 (Egg)celerator Lab grantee and is part of DOC NYC’s 15-film Short List.
Get your tickets with this link.
The Hamlet Syndrome
dirs. Elwira Niewiera, Piotr Rosolowski
prod. Magdalena Kaminska
![In a dimly lit dressing room, a person dresses a mannequin.](https://chickeneggpics.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Niewiera_Elwira_2021_CEA_Hamelt_Syndrom_2_CURRENT-1024x580.jpg)
The Hamlet Syndrome was supported through Elwira Niewira’s 2021 Chicken & Egg Award and is part of the International Competition.
Get your tickets with this link.
The Art of Rebellion
dir. & prod. Libby Spears
prod. Sam Hook
![PC594 Libby Spears](https://chickeneggpics.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/PC594_lydia_brushes-copy-copy-1024x683.jpg)
The Art of Rebellion was supported by Chicken & Egg Pictures in 2014 and 2015 and is part of the Artistic Expressions section.
Get your tickets with this link.
The Janes
dirs. Tia Lessin, Emma Pildes
prods. Emma Pildes, Daniel Arcana, Jessica Levin
![A photograph of 5 women wearing swimsuits and shades, in a sunny day in the'70s.](https://chickeneggpics.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/PH-2022-Finalist_The-Janes_Tia-Lessin_Emma-Pildes_Film-Still_01_MAIN-1024x727.jpeg)
The Janes is a Project: Hatched 2022 finalist and is part of DOC NYC’s 15-film Short List.
Get your tickets with this link.
From the AlumNest
- A Witch Story
dir. & prod. Yolanda Pividal
prod. Ruth Somalo - All the Beauty and the Bloodshed
dir. & prod. Laura Poitras
prods. Howard Gertler, John Lyons, Nan Goldin, Yoni Golijov - Cirque du Soleil: Without a Net
dir. & prods. Dawn Porter
prods. Summer Damon, Sadie Bass, Mark Burnett, Barry Poznick - Descendant
dir. & prod. Margaret Brown
pros. Kyle Martin, Essie Chambers - Gumbo Coalition
dir. & prod. Barbara Kopple
prods. David Cassidy, Williams Cole, Ray Nowosielski - In Search of Bengali Harlem
dirs. Vivek Bald, Alaudin Ullah
editor. Beyza Boyacioglu - Jeanette Lee Vs.
dir. Ursula Liang
prod. Cora Atkinson
The Nest at 2022 Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival
We are egg-static to see eight supported films, and seven AlumNest films in the 29th Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival line-up. This edition will take place in-cinemas in Toronto and will stream across Canada from Thursday, April 28 to Sunday, May 8.
The festival stated that 49% of the official selections were directed by women, maintaining its commitment to a roughly 50-50 gender split.
World Premiere
Silent Beauty
dir. & prod. Jasmin Lopez
![Silent Beauty Jasmin Mara López](https://chickeneggpics.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/9e054e2b-e9f0-4e3d-9ed5-c22afbe33c85-1024x540.jpg)
A personal documentary that follows Director Jasmin López as she works to heal from child sexual abuse she endured at the hands of her grandfather, Gilberto, a Baptist minister, almost thirty years ago. In the process of sharing her own trauma with her large family, she learns that generations of children in her family were victims of the same abuse. Told from the director’s perspective, Silent Beauty is a film about confronting and accepting difficult truths while finding beauty in the process.
Silent Beauty is a 2019 (Egg)celerator Lab grantee and is having its World Premiere in the Persister section.
Get your tickets + more info with this link.
Alis
dirs.& prods. Clare Weiskopf, Nicolas van Hemelryck
prods. Radu Stancu, Alexandra Galvis
![A young woman is on her knees, with her hands on top of them, her eyes are closed and behind here there are shelfs](https://chickeneggpics.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/EL-2022-Finalist_ALIS_Clare-Weiskopf_Nicolas-van-Hemelryck_Film-Still_MAIN_01-1024x554.jpeg)
In a Colombian shelter for teenage girls, filmmakers ask a group of young women to close their eyes and imagine the life story of a fictional classmate named Alis. As reality prevails and fiction fades, the innocent game becomes a descent into hell, where their luminous faces guide the audience to the depths of the dark world they once inhabited, only to emerge with new skin. How to imagine a different life, break the cycle of violence, and embrace a brighter future?
Alis is a 2022 (Egg)celerator Lab finalist and is part of Made In Chile: A spotlight on docs from Chile
Get your tickets + more info with this link.
All of Our Heartbeats Are Connected Through Exploding Stars
(previously titled Stories From Debris)
dir. Jennifer Rainsford
prods. Mirjam Gelhorn, David Herdies, Michael Krotkiewski
![](https://chickeneggpics.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/EL-2020_Stories-from-the-Debris_Jennifer-Rainsford_debris_still2_Film-Still-MAIN-1024x530.jpg)
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 World Showcase section.
Get your tickets + more info with this link.
Boycott
dir & prod. Julia Bacha
prod. Suhad Babaa, Daniel J. Chalfen
![](https://chickeneggpics.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Bahia_Press-Conference_Court_Credit_-Jonah-Candelario-1024x683-1.jpg)
When a news publisher in Arkansas, an attorney in Arizona and a speech therapist in Texas are told to choose between their jobs and their political beliefs, they launch legal battles that expose an attack on freedom of speech in 33 states in America.
Boycott was supported through Julia Bacha’s 2019 Chicken & Egg Award, and is a Hot Docs Special Presentation.
Get your tickets + more info with this link.
Eskape
dir. Neary Adeline Hay
prods. Jasmin Basic
![](https://chickeneggpics.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/EL-2020_Eskape_Neary-Adeline-Hay_IMG_2294_Film-Still-1024x436.jpg)
The survival story of a mother and her daughter, the filmmaker, through the desperate flight from a crumbling Cambodia after the collapse of the Khmer Rouge regime. Faced with the silence brought by trauma and time, the longing to understand her mother today resonates in an abysmal echo, while reviving the memories as a political refugee in Europe.
Eskape is a 2020 (Egg)celerator Lab grantee and is having its North American premiere in the Hidden Stories section.
Get your tickets + more info with this link.
Midwives
dir. & prod. Snow Hnin Ei Hlaing
prods. Bob Moore, Ulla Lehmann, Mila Aung-Thwin
![](https://chickeneggpics.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/EL-2020_Midwives_-Snow-Hnin-Ei-Hlaing_baby-patient_Film-Still-1024x567.jpg)
A tale of the complicated relationship between Rohingya and Buddhists in Myanmar, told over five years through the eyes of two midwives from either side of the divide.
Midwives is a 2020 (Egg)celerator Lab grantee and is having its Canadian premiere as a HotDocs Special Presentation.
Get your tickets + more info with this link.
Mija
dir. & prod. Isabel Castro
prod. Tabs Breese, Yesenia Tlahuel
![Close up to the face of Doris singing](https://chickeneggpics.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Screen-Shot-2022-04-07-at-12.55.34-PM-1024x623.png)
With Doris’ voice as our guide, Mija uses VHS archive, verité footage, and camcorder vlogging to tell the story of two young women’s coming-of-age journeys as they look for success and belonging. The film is an immensely emotional and intimate portrait honoring the resilience of immigrants and their children.
Mija is a 2021 (Egg)celerator Lab grantee and is part of the Artscapes section.
Get your tickets + more info with this link.
Once Upon a Time in Uganda
dir. Cathryne Czubek, co-dir. Hugo Perez
prods. Gigi Dement, Cathryne Czubek, Matt Porwoll, Hugo Perez, Kyaligamba Ark Martin
![2017 Accelerator Lab Cathryne Czubek Hugo Perez Lights Camera Uganda](https://chickeneggpics.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/2017-Accelerator-Lab_Czubek_Lights-Camera-Uganda_cooming-soon-picture_lowres-1024x577.jpg)
Against all odds, former bricklayer and teacher Isaac Nabwana has turned his small home in the slums of Uganda’s capital city into the Wakaliwood action movie studio. After 10 years and 40+ films, Wakaliwood has become an overnight international media sensation, inspiring others around the world to follow in his footsteps. When New York film nerd Alan Hofmanis shows up on his doorstep one day, everything is bound to change.
Once Upon a Time in Uganda is a 2017 (Egg)celerator Lab grantee and is part of the Nightvision section.
Get your tickets + more info with this link.
From the AlumNest
-
A Peculiar Silence
prod. Catherine Gund, dir. Cinque Northern -
Angels of Sinjar
dir. & prod. Hanna Polak, prod. Simone Baumann - Don’t Come Searching
prods. Michelle Serieux, Sherien Barsoum, dir. & prod. Andrew Moir - The Martha Mitchell Effect
prods. Beth Levison, Judith Mizrachy, dirs. Anne Alvergue, Debra McClutchy - The Mole Agent
dir. Maite Alberdi, prod. Marcela Santibanez - TikTok, Boom.
dir. & prod. Shalini Kantayya, prods. Ross Dinerstein, Danni Mynard - To The End
dir. Rachel Lears, prod. Sabrina Schmidt Gordon
Check out the full line-up with this link.
*Language courtesy of Hot Docs.
Nest-supported films at San Francisco International Film Festival!
We are egg-cited to see three Nest-supported filmmakers, and two AlumNest filmmakers participating at the 65th San Francisco Film Festival, taking place from Thursday, April 22 through Sunday May 1, with a full in-person lineup.
Mija
dir. & prod. Isabel Castro
prod. Tabs Breese, Yesenia Tlahuel
![Close up to the face of Doris singing](https://chickeneggpics.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Screen-Shot-2022-04-07-at-12.55.34-PM-1024x623.png)
With Doris’ voice as our guide, Mija uses VHS archive, verité footage, and camcorder vlogging to tell the story of two young women’s coming-of-age journeys as they look for success and belonging. The film is an immensely emotional and intimate portrait honoring the resilience of immigrants and their children.
Mija is a 2021 (Egg)celerator Lab grantee and is part of the McBaine Documentary Feature Competition.
For our Children
(previously Black Mothers Love & Resist)
dir. & prod. Débora Souza Silva
prod. David Felix Sutcliffe
![](https://chickeneggpics.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/EL-2020_Black-Mothers_Débora-Souza-Silva_Black_Mothers_Still_Film-Still-1024x577.jpg)
Wanda Johnson and Angela Williams, mothers of young Black men victimized by police brutality, come together and build a network of community-led support, mutual aid, and healing in this trenchant documentary.
For our Children is a 2020 (Egg)celerator Lab grantee and is part of the Documentaries: USA section.
Midwives
dir. & prod. Snow Hnin Ei Hlaing
prods. Bob Moore, Ulla Lehmann, Mila Aung-Thwin
![](https://chickeneggpics.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/EL-2020_Midwives_-Snow-Hnin-Ei-Hlaing_baby-patient_Film-Still-1024x567.jpg)
A tale of the complicated relationship between Rohingya and Buddhists in Myanmar, told over five years through the eyes of two midwives from either side of the divide.
Midwives is a 2020 (Egg)celerator Lab grantee and is part of the Documentaries: USA section.
From the AlumNest
- The Janes
dirs. Tia Lessin and Emma Pildes
prods. Emma Pildes, Daniel Arcana, Jessica Levin - TikTok, Boom.
dir. & prod. Shalini Kantayya
prods. Ross M. Dinerstein, Danni Mynard
A special shout out to our Co-Founder & Board President Julie Parker Benello, producer of Sell/Buy/Date (dir. & prod. Sarah Jones, prods. David Goldblum, Julie Parker Benello), screening in the Documentaries: USA section.
Check out the full line-up with this link.
Nest-supported films at Full Frame Documentary Film Festival
We are proud to see two Nest-supported and two AlumNest films at the 25th Annual Full Frame Documentary Film Festival, which will be held online from Thursday, April 7 through Sunday, April 10.
Full Frame’s lineup includes 19 films, out of 37, directed or co-directed by women or nonbinary filmmakers.
Mama Bears
dir. & prod. Daresha Kyi
prod. Laura Tatham
![MAMA BEARS DARESHA KYI 2019 Eggcelerator Lab](https://chickeneggpics.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/YOU-R-LOVED-1024x587.png)
Mama Bears is an intimate exploration of two “mama bears”—conservative, Christian mothers who have become fierce advocates for LGBTQ+ people—and a young lesbian whose struggle for self-acceptance exemplifies why the mama bears are so important.
Mama Bears is a 2019 (Egg)celerator Lab grantee.
We are egg-cited to announce that the tickets for this film are sold out!
Sign up for the Mama Bears doc newsletter to receive updates from the film team.
This film is only available to viewers in the United States.
Mija
dir. & prod. Isabel Castro
prod. Tabs Breese, Yesenia Tlahuel
![Still from Mija](https://chickeneggpics.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/EL-2021_Mija_Isabel-Castro_Film-Still_1-1-1024x576.jpg)
With Doris’ voice as our guide, Mija uses VHS archive, verité footage, and camcorder vlogging to tell the story of two young women’s coming-of-age journeys as they look for success and belonging. The film is an immensely emotional and intimate portrait honoring the resilience of immigrants and their children.
Mija is a 2021 (Egg)celerator Lab grantee.
Get your tickets with this link.
This film is only available to viewers in the United States.
AlumNest Films
dir. & prod. Malika Zouhali-Worrall (2019 Chicken & Egg Award recipient)
prods. Beth Levison (2021 Project: Hatched grantee for the film Storm Lake) and Judith Mizrachy, dirs. Anne Alvergue, Debra McClutchy
Check out Full Frame’s full line up with this link.
Gender Parity & Nest-supported Films at at Sundance
At Chicken & Egg Pictures we are egg-static to see two (Egg)celerator grantees and feature documentary debuts on the 2022 Sundance Film Festival program: Mija and Midwives, as well as six films by the AlumNest. The festival will come back with a hybrid format, with in-person activities in Park City, Salt Lake City and the Sundance Mountain Resort in Utah and with online events from Thursday, January 20 to Sunday, January 30. We are also excited to see that nonfiction films are once again one of the strongest sections of the festival’s program.
Last week, Director Tabitha Jackson and Director of Programming Kim Yutani, announced this edition’s details. Yutani and Jackson shared important statistics about women filmmakers in their program selection:
“Of the submissions to Sundance this year, only 28 percent were from women. Yet among all the features selected, 52 percent were directed by women. When asked whether the programmers decided to boost women auteurs over men, they steered around the question, saying they are always looking to promote female filmmakers. Jackson added: “The slightly depressing fact is that the figure of 28 percent submissions from women has remained pretty static across the years. It is a figure that we would wish to see higher because of what it indicates about the state of the industry. It’s surprising that so few are submitting.”
Sundance Film Festival Unveils 2022 Lineup That Reflects ‘Age of Reckoning’, Nicole Sperling
Learn more about Mija, Midwives, and AlumNest films below:
Mija
dir. Isabel Castro
prod. Tabs Breese, Isabel Castro, Yesenia Tlahuel
![](https://chickeneggpics.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/EL-2021_Mija_Isabel-Castro_Film-Still_1-1-1024x576.jpg)
Selected as part of the Next category
Premiering on Friday, January 21
Get your tickets
With Doris’ voice as our guide, Mija uses VHS archive, verité footage, and camcorder vlogging to tell the story of two young women’s coming-of-age journeys as they look for success and belonging. The film is an immensely emotional and intimate portrait honoring the resilience of immigrants and their children.
Midwives
dir. & prod. Snow Hnin Ei Hlaing
prods. Bob Moore, Ulla Lehmann, Mila Aung-Thwin
![Still from Midwives](https://chickeneggpics.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/EL-2020_Midwives_-Snow-Hnin-Ei-Hlaing_Midwives-Project-still2_Film-Still-scaled-e1583434682449-1024x529.jpg)
Selected as part of the World Cinema Documentary Competition
Premiering on Monday, January 24
Get your tickets
Hla and Nyo Nyo are two midwives that work side by side in a makeshift medical clinic in western Myanmar, where the Rohingya (a Muslim minority community) are persecuted and denied basic rights. Filmed over three tumultuous years, their remarkable relationship reveals both tensions and the hope inherent in their common cause.
From the AlumNest
AlumNest filmmakers are soaring into Sundance’s program in the U.S. Documentary Competition to the World Cinema Documentary Competition:
- Descendant, directed by Margaret Brown, prods. Essie Chambers, Kyle Martin
- The Janes, directed by Tia Lessin and Emma Pildes, prods. Emma Pildes, Daniel Arcana, Jessica Levin
- TikTok, Boom., directed by Shalini Kantayya, prods. Ross M. Dinerstein. Shalini Kantayya, Danni Mynard
- To The End, directed by Rachel Lears, prod. Sabrina Schmidt Gordon
- The Martha Mitchell Effect, produced by Beth Levison, Judith Mizrachy, dirs. Anne Alvergue, Debra McClutchy
A special shoutout to 2018 Chicken & Egg Award recipient Natalia Almada, whose 2002 short documentary film All Water Has a Perfect Memory, will screen online as part of the “From the Collection” program, a line-up of 40 short films selected to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Sundance Institute. Ticket sales start Friday, December, 17.