Ascension Soars at Cinema Eye Honors!
Huge congratulations to the Ascension team for picking up three awards at the 15th Annual Cinema Eye Honors: Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography, Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Score, and Outstanding Achievement in a Debut Feature Film.
Plus a special shoutout to AlumNest filmmakers Nanfu Wang, Jialing Zhang, and the In the Same Breath team for their win in the award for Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Film For Broadcast.
Ascension
dir. & prod. Jessica Kingdon
prods. Kira Simon-Kennedy, Nathan Truesdell

Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography
Jessica Kingdon and Nathan Truesdell
Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Score
Dan Deacon
Outstanding Achievement in a Debut Feature Film
Jessica Kingdon
Ascension examines the contemporary “Chinese Dream” through staggering observations of labor, consumerism and wealth. In cinematically exploring the aspiration that drives today’s People’s Republic of China, the film plunges into universal paradoxes of economic progress.
Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Film For Broadcast
In the Same Breath
dir. Nanfu Wang
prods. Jialing Zhang, Carolyn Hepburn, Sara Rodriguez, Julie Goldman, and Christopher Clements
Take a look at the complete list of award winners by visiting this link.
Ascension and Writing With Fire Nominated for the 94th Academy Awards!

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences revealed their 2022 Oscar® nominations list on Tuesday, February 8. We are egg-static and sending massive congratulations to the two (Egg)celerator Lab grantees nominated for Best Documentary Feature: Ascension and Writing With Fire.
The in-person ceremony will take place on Sunday, March 27 at Hollywood’s Dolby Theatre, and will be televised on ABC. Please join us and celebrate these films and filmmakers!
Ascension
dir. & prod. Jessica Kingdon
prods. Kira Simon-Kennedy, Nathan Truesdell

Ascension examines the contemporary “Chinese Dream” through staggering observations of labor, consumerism and wealth. In cinematically exploring the aspiration that drives today’s People’s Republic of China, the film plunges into universal paradoxes of economic progress.
Ascension participated in the 2019 (Egg)celerator Lab.
Writing With Fire
dirs. & prods. Rintu Thomas & Sushmit Ghosh

In a cluttered news landscape dominated by men, emerges India’s only newspaper run by Dalit women. Armed with smartphones, Chief Reporter Meera and her journalists break traditions, be it on the frontlines of India’s biggest issues or within the confines of their homes, redefining what it means to be powerful.
Writing With Fire participated in the 2018 (Egg)celerator Lab.
Check out a video of the filmmakers receiving the news with this link.
Read the full nomination list visiting this link.
Ascension, Simple As Water & Writing With Fire on the 94th Oscars® shortlist

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced on Tuesday, December 21 their shortlist for documentary features and documentary short subject. At Chicken & Egg Pictures we are sending massive congratulations to the 3 Nest-supported films on the list: Ascension, Simple As Water, and Writing With Fire, as well as to the 5 films from the AlumNest.
We are egg-cited to see these films on these lists and look forward to the Nominations list, which will be announced on Tuesday, February 8. Nominations voting begins on Thursday, January 27 and concludes on Tuesday, February 1.
The 94th Oscars® will be held on Sunday, March 27 and will be televised live on ABC and in more than 200 territories worldwide. Take a look at the shortlisted films below and checkout the full list with this link.
Ascension
Directed by Jessica Kingdon
Produced by Jessica Kingdon, Kira Simon-Kennedy, and Nathan Truesdell

Simple As Water
Directed by Megan Mylan
Produced by Robin Hessman & Megan Mylan

Writing With Fire
Directed and produced by Rintu Thomas & Sushmit Ghosh

From the AlumNest
Documentary Feature
President
dir. Camilla Nielsson
prods. Joslyn Barnes, Signe Byrge Sørensen
In the Same Breath
dir. Nanfu Wang
prods. Jialing Zhang, Carolyn Hepburn, Sara Rodriguez, Julie Goldman, and Christopher Clements
Documentary Short Subject
Águilas
dir. & prod. Kristy Guevara-Flanagan
co-dir. & prod. Maite Zubiaurre
Terror Contagion
dir. & prod. Laura Poitras
prods. Anonymous, Yoni Golijov
International Feature Film
Prayers for the Stolen
dir. Tatiana Huezo
prods. Nicolás Celis, Jim Stark
Ascension, Simple As Water & Writing With Fire nominated for 2022 PGA Awards
Congratulations to the Nest producers who were selected as 2022 Documentary Motion Picture nominees; their films—Ascension, Simple As Water, and Writing With Fire—will advance to the final round of voting for the 33rd Annual Producers Guild Awards. The Awards ceremony is on Saturday, February 26, so stay tuned and root for the following Chicken & Egg Pictures-supported projects.
Ascension
Produced by Jessica Kingdon, Kira Simon-Kennedy, and Nathan Truesdell
Directed by Jessica Kingdon

Simple As Water
Produced by Robin Hessman & Megan Mylan
Directed by Megan Mylan

Writing With Fire
Produced and directed by Rintu Thomas & Sushmit Ghosh

A special congratulations to 2021 Chicken & Egg Award recipient Jialing Zhang for her nomination as producer of 2018 Chicken & Egg Award recipient Nanfu Wang’s film In The Same Breath. In The Same Breath is also produced by Christopher Clements, Carolyn Hepburn, Sara Rodriguez, and Nanfu Wang.
Congratulations to Jessica Kingdon on her two Tribeca Film Festival Awards!
The 2021 Tribeca Film Festival awards were announced last Thursday, June 17, and Chicken & Egg Pictures is proud to celebrate 2019 (Egg)celerator Lab grantee Jessica Kingdon’s two Awards! Her film Ascension received the Award for Best Documentary Feature, and Jessica received the 2021 Albert Maysles Award for Best New Documentary Director. Congratulations Jessica!
Ascension

Dir. Jessica Kingdon
Prod. Kira Simon-Kennedy, Jessica Kingdon, Nathan Truesdell
Ascension examines the contemporary “Chinese Dream” through staggering observations of labor, consumerism and wealth. In cinematically exploring the aspiration that drives today’s People’s Republic of China, the film plunges into universal paradoxes of economic progress.
Post by 2021 Summer Communications Intern Mariana Sanson.