Supported Films at Sheffield DocFest 2024
We are thrilled to see four Nest-supported films in this year’s lineup for Sheffield DocFest and four supported films in the MeetMarket selection. There were also seven films from supported filmmakers across the festival. Among others, 2020 (Egg)celerator Lab grantee The Boy and the Suit of Lights is having its World Premiere. The festival will take place between Wednesday, June 12 to Monday, June 17, 2024, and will be attended by two of our staff members, Kiyoko McCrae and Tobi Phang-Lyn. We hope to see you there!
In the Festival
Farming the Revolution
dir. & prod. Nishtha Jain, Akash Basumatari
prod. Valérie Montmartin
![Women at farmers' protest](https://chickeneggpics.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/CEA-2020_Farming-The-Revolution_Film-Still_1-1024x768.jpeg)
Farming the Revolution was supported through Nishtha Jain’s 2020 Chicken & Egg Award and is having its UK Premiere in the Rebellions section.
Get your tickets here.
![graphic of a film reel](https://chickeneggpics.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/small-icons-04.jpg)
The Boy and the Suit of Lights
dir. Inma de Reyes
prod. Aimara Reques
![A still from The Boy and the Suit of Lights. A close-up shot of a young boy wearing a grey suit and a yellow cloth draped over his left shoulder. Behind him, a crowd of people sits in stadium seating. He has short brown hair and brown eyes.](https://chickeneggpics.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/EL-2020_The-Boy-and-the-Suit-of-Lights_Inma-de-Reyes_Me_llaman_torero_1_Film-Still-1024x576.png)
The Boy and the Suit of Lights was a participant of the 2020 (Egg)celerator Lab and is having its World Premiere in the International First Feature Competition.
Get your tickets here.
![graphic of a film reel](https://chickeneggpics.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/small-icons-04.jpg)
Our Land, Our Freedom
dir. & prods. Meena Nanji, Zippy Kimundu
![Our Land, Our Freedom (formerly testament) film still](https://chickeneggpics.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/EL-2021_Testament_Zippy-Kimundu_Meena-Nanji_Film-Still_2-1024x634.jpg)
Our Land, Our Freedom was a participant of the 2021 (Egg)celerator Lab having its UK Premiere in the Strands section.
Get your tickets here.
![graphic of a film reel](https://chickeneggpics.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/small-icons-04.jpg)
Union
![](https://chickeneggpics.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/FILM_STILL_MARCH-1024x546.png)
dir. & prods. Brett Story, Stephen Maing
prod. Samantha Curley, Mars Verrone, Martin Dicicco
Union was supported through Brett Story’s 2023 Chicken & Egg Award.
Get your tickets here.
In the MeetMarket
The 19th edition of Sheffield DocFest’s flagship pitching forum, the MeetMarket, will take place on Thursday 13 and Friday 14 of June 2024. The slate includes 50 documentary projects, in development or at production stage, to be pitched in one-to-one meetings to international and UK industry representatives and experts. In this year’s lineup, there are three 2024 (Egg)celerator Lab grantees as well as a Research & Development Grantee. Learn more:
Jaripeo
dirs. Efraín Mojica, Rebecca Zweig
prods. Sarah Strunin
![A cowboy looks at his phone in a cornfield at dusk.](https://chickeneggpics.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/EL-2024_Jaripeo-Milpa_Efrain-Mojica_Main-Still-1024x576.jpg)
Jaripeo is a 2024 (Egg)celerator Lab grantee and is participating in the MeetMarket.
![graphic of a film reel](https://chickeneggpics.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/small-icons-04.jpg)
Vena Acuática
dir. Amada Torruella
prods. Seth Gadsden, Brenda Avila-Hanna
![A woman stands in the middle of a greenhouse filled with growing crops. The woman is giving her back to the camera, she is wearing pants, a t-shirt, a blue backpack and she has her hands in her pockets.](https://chickeneggpics.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/EL-2024_Vena-Acuatica_Amada-Torruella_Main-Still-1024x576.jpg)
Vena Acuática is a 2024 (Egg)celerator Lab grantee and is participating in the MeetMarket.
![graphic of a film reel](https://chickeneggpics.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/small-icons-04.jpg)
War on Women
dir. Maris Salumets
prods. Elina Litvinova, Volia Chajkouskaya
![Close up to a pair of eyes.](https://chickeneggpics.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/EL-2024_War-on-Women_Maris-Salumets_Main-Still-1024x608.png)
War on Women is a 2024 (Egg)celerator Lab grantee and is participating in the MeetMarket.
![graphic of a film reel](https://chickeneggpics.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/small-icons-04.jpg)
Green is the Fire’s Tint
dirs. & prods. Arya Rothe, Cristina Hanes, Isabella Rinaldi
![Still from Green Is The Fire's Tint](https://chickeneggpics.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Untitled_MainStill-1024x682.jpg)
Green is the Fire’s Tint was supported through our 2023 Research & Development Grant and is participating in the MeetMarket.
From the AlumNest
- Bread & Roses | Festival Lineup
dir. Sahra Mani
prods. Jennifer Lawrence, Justine Ciarrocchi
- My Sweet Land | Festival Lineup
dir. Sareen Hairabedian
prods. Azza Hourani, Sareen Hairabedian, David Rane, Julie Paratian, Beth Levison, Rintu Thomas, Sushmit Ghosh
- Mountain Queen: The Summits of Lhakpa Sherpa | Festival Lineup
dir. Lucy Walker
prods. Charlie Corwin, Michael D. Ratner, Miranda Sherman, Dalia Burde, Christopher Newman
- The Age of Water | MeetMarket
dirs. Isabel Alcántara, Alfredo Alcántara
prods. Lindsay Perna, Joe Brewster, Michèle Stephenson
- The Noble Half (working title) | MeetMarket
dir. Khaula Malik
prods. Brit Fryer, Afnahn Khan
- The Shape of Blue | MeetMarket
dir. Sybilla Patrizia
prod. Ina Fichman
- Widow Champion | MeetMarket
dir. & prod. Zippy Kimundu
prod. Heather Courtney
Meet the Team at the Fest!
![](https://chickeneggpics.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/kiyokotobi-1024x581.png)
Program Director Kiyoko McCrae and Industry & Artist Development Manager Tobi Phang-Lyn are going to be in attendance at the festival. They will be taking meetings with filmmakers, watching supported films, participating in roundtable discussions, and hosting an alumni happy hour.
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.
![](https://chickeneggpics.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/HotDocs24-1-917x1024.png)
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.
Six Supported Films at Verzió Film Festival!
We are thrilled to announce that six Chicken & Egg-supported films and one AlumNest film were included in this year’s lineup for the Verzió International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival! The festival took place between Wednesday, November 22 to Wednesday, November 29, 2023 in Budapest, Hungary.
Against the Tide
dir. & prod. Sarvnik Kaur
prods. 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.](https://chickeneggpics.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/EL-2021_Against-the-Tide_Sarvnik-Kaur_Film-Still_ATT-Rakesh-plastic-1024x576.png)
Against the Tide is a 2021 (Egg)celerator Lab grantee that had its Hungarian Premiere in the Anthropocene section.
![graphic of a film reel](https://chickeneggpics.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/small-icons-04.jpg)
Cine Guerrillas: Scenes From the Labudović Reels
dir. & prod. Mila Turajlić
prod. Carine Chichkowsky
![Stevan Labudović in the archives of the Yugoslav Newsreels surrounded by reels of films he shot during the Algerian Liberation War.](https://chickeneggpics.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/ScenesFromTheLabudovicReels_MainStill-1024x576.jpeg)
Cine-Guerrillas: Scenes From the Labudović Reels was supported through Mila Turajlić’s 2020 Chicken & Egg Award and had its Hungarian Premiere in the Viewfinder section.
![graphic of a film reel](https://chickeneggpics.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/small-icons-04.jpg)
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](https://chickeneggpics.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/EL-2021_Is-There-Anybody-Out-There_Ella-Glendining_Film-Still_2-e1614701382999-1024x669.jpg)
2021 (Egg)celerator Lab grantee Is There Anybody Out There? had its Hungarian Premiere in the Student Verzió section.
![graphic of a film reel](https://chickeneggpics.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/small-icons-04.jpg)
The Mind Game
dirs. & impact prods. Eefje Blankevoort, Els van Driel, Sajid “SK” Khan Nasiri
prod. Laura Verduijn
![We see a young man (Sajid Khan) on his bed, in the sunlight, eating a meal by himself.](https://chickeneggpics.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/PH-2023_The-Mind-Game_Main-Still-1024x576.jpg)
Project: Hatched 2023 participant The Mind Game had its Hungarian Premiere in the Student Verzió section.
![graphic of a film reel](https://chickeneggpics.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/small-icons-04.jpg)
The Golden Thread
dir. Nishtha Jain
prod. Irena Taskovski
![A workers hand on jute threads as they pass through the spinning machine](https://chickeneggpics.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/The-Golden-Thread-Main-Still-1024x576.jpg)
The Golden Thread was supported through Nishtha Jain’s 2020 Chicken & Egg Award that had its Hungarian Premiere in the Work/Dream/Work section.
![graphic of a film reel](https://chickeneggpics.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/small-icons-04.jpg)
Songs of Earth
dir. & prod. Margreth Olin
prod. Lena Faye-Lund Sandvik
![](https://chickeneggpics.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/CEA-2022_Margreth-Olin_Songs-of-Earth_Film-Still-1-1024x576.jpeg)
Songs of Earth was supported through Margreth Olin’s 2022 Chicken & Egg Award and had its Hungarian Premiere in the Anthropocene section.
From the AlumNest
- We Will Not Fade Away
dir. Alisa Kovalenko
prods. Valery Kalmykov, Oleksiy Kobelev
Post written by Communications Intern Tess Caldwell
Nest-supported Films at IDFA 2022
The International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam will take place from Wednesday, November 9 through Sunday, November 20. We are proud to see five Nest-supported films and seven AlumNest films in the line-up, and a retrospective dedicated to AlumNest filmmaker Laura Poitras. Multiple supported projects are also participating in the IDFA Forum from Saturday, November 12 to Wednesday, November 16.
IDFA is home to the second and last Chicken & Egg Award program retreat of the year, where 2022 Award recipients will be taking meetings about their films, which are currently in development and production.
Check out the Nest-supported films screening at IDFA including:
Alis
dirs. & prods. Clare Weiskopf, Nicolas van Hemelryck
prods. Alexandra Galvis, Radu Stancu
![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)
Alis is a 2022 (Egg)celerator Lab finalist and is part of the Best of Fests section.
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 the Best of Fests section.
Get your tickets with this link.
Blue Id
dirs. & prods. Burcu Melekoglu, Vuslat Karan
![Blue ID Vuslat Karan & Burcu Melekoglu](https://chickeneggpics.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/BlueID.jpg)
Blue Id is a Nest-supported film and is having its World Premiere in the Luminous section.
Get your tickets with this link.
Dear Mother, I Meant to Write about Death
dir. & prod. Siyi Chen
![People’s Hospital Siyi Chen Accelerator Lab 2018](https://chickeneggpics.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Peoples-Hospital_2-1024x683.jpg)
Dear Mother, I Meant to Write about Death is a 2018 (Egg)celerator Lab grantee.
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 Best of Fests section.
Get your tickets with this link.
Midwives
dir. & prod. Snow Hnin Ei Hlaing
prods. Bob Moore, Ulla Lehmann, Mila Aung-Thwin
![Still from Midwives. A young boy sleeps on the shoulder of a woman wearing a headscarf.](https://chickeneggpics.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/EL-2020_Midwives_-Snow-Hnin-Ei-Hlaing_baby-patient_Film-Still-1024x567.jpg)
Midwives is a 2020 (Egg)celerator Lab grantee and is part of the Best of Fests section.
Get your tickets with this link.
Non-Aligned: Scenes from the Labudović Reels
dir. & prod. Mila Turajlić
prod. Carine Chichkowsky
![Poster of Non-Aligned: Scenes from the Labudović Reels. An overlapped image of a photography of journalists taking photographs to men behind a table, and a man holding a film reel inside of a metallic box.](https://chickeneggpics.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/scenesfromthelabudovicreels-diptych-poster.png)
Non-Aligned: Scenes from the Labudović Reels was supported through Mila Turajlić’s 2020 Chicken & Egg Award and is having its World Premiere in the International Competition.
Get your tickets with this link.
The Golden Thread
dir. & prod. Nishtha Jain
prods. Irena Taskovski, Irena Taskovski
![Still from The Golden Thread.](https://chickeneggpics.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/the-golden-thread-edited.jpeg)
The Golden Thread was supported through Nishtha Jain’s 2020 Chicken & Egg Award and is having its World Premiere in the Masters section.
Get your tickets with this link.
Polaris
dir. Ainara Vera
prod. Clara Vuillermoz
![](https://chickeneggpics.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/EL-2020_Polaris_Ainara-Vera_Polaris_iceberg_Film-Still-1024x576.jpeg)
Polaris is a 2020 (Egg)celerator Lab grantee and is part of the Best of Fests section.
Get your tickets with this link.
From the AlumNest
Nest-supported and Academy Award®-winning director Laura Poitras was named Guest of Honor at IDFA. She will be honored in the Retrospective and the Top 10 programs. The retrospective includes all seven films directed by Poitras from 2003 to today, and the Top 10 program includes Laura’s curation of ten films key to the human condition.
- Ciné-Guerrillas: Scenes from the Labudović Reels
dir. & prod. Mila Turajlić
prod. Carine Chichkowsky
- Merkel
dir. & prod. Eva Weber
prods. Lizzie Gillett, Sonja Henrici, Sigrid Jonsson Dyekjær - Non-Aligned Newsreels: Fragments #2 – New Voices from the Summit
dirs. Mila Turajlić, Maja Medić - Gumbo Coalition
dir. & prod. Barbara Kopple
prods. Ray Nowosielski, Williams Cole, David Cassidy
IDFA Forum
The IDFA Forum gathers some of the strongest documentary projects currently being developed and produced globally, and presents them in a five-day program of public presentations and one-on-one meetings.
Chicken & Egg Pictures is proud to co-host the IDFA Forum Lunch.
Check out the list of Nest-supported projects below:
The Tuba Thieves
dir. Alison O’Daniel
![](https://chickeneggpics.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/EL-2021_The-Tuba-Thieves_Alison-ODaniel_Film-Still__06-2-1024x575.jpg)
Between 2011 and 2013, tubas were stolen from high schools across Southern California. The Tuba Thieves begins with one of the heists, but it is not a mystery about the thefts. Nyke, a Deaf drummer and Geovanny, a hearing marching band student, play fictionalized versions of their lives within a Los Angeles soundscape: helicopters hover, highway tunnels absorb radio signals, and working-class neighborhoods are overwhelmed by the cacophony of highways and airplane flight paths. Finally, three historical ‘silent’ concerts are re-enacted. By the end of the film, as the last tubas are stolen, portraits of Nyke and Geovanny emerge from all the noise.
The Tuba Thieves is a 2021 (Egg)celerator Lab grantee.
Learn more about the film with this link.
The Eternal Memory
dir. & prod. Maite Alberdi
![](https://chickeneggpics.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/CEA-2020_Maite-Alberdi_Captura-de-pantalla-2019-07-09-a-las-4.43.49-p.m.-1024x537.png)
The Eternal Memory was supported through Maite Alberdi’s 2020 Chicken & Egg Award.
Learn more about the film with this link.
The Phantom Pain of Rojava
dir. Maryam Ebrahimi
prod. Stina Gardell
![A woman in a military uniform and colorful headdress gazes into the scope of a gun leaning on a cement barrier. There are other people behind her doing the same thing.](https://chickeneggpics.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Ebrahimi_Maryam_2021_CEA_CURRENT-1-1024x576.jpg)
The Phantom Pain of Rojava was supported through Maryam Ebrahimi’s 2021 Chicken & Egg Award.
Learn more about the film with this link.
Meet our Team at IDFA
![Yvonne Welbon & Tereza Simikova look directly at the camera and smile. Portraits in black and white.](https://chickeneggpics.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/yvonnetereza.jpg)
Senior Creative Consultant Yvonne Welbon and International Program Consultant Tereza Simikova will coordinate the Chicken & Egg Award retreat, organize meetings with filmmakers, and attend the IDFA Forum Lunch.
Nishtha Jain: Dozen Days of Filmmakers — Day 12
Chicken & Egg Pictures is celebrating the holiday season and saying farewell to 2020 by featuring a dozen Nest-supported women and gender nonconforming filmmakers. For more Dozen Days of Filmmakers, see here.
Nishtha Jain is a multi-award-winning filmmaker based in Mumbai. She’s best known for her films Gulabi Gang (2012), Lakshmi and Me (2007), and City of Photos (2004). She’s been exploring the human condition in its myriad states. Politics of image making and self-representation, complexities of social hierarchies, women’s movements, and workers’ struggles have been some of the themes that her films have dealt with. She’s a graduate of the Film and Television Institute of India, Pune and A.J.K. Mass Communication Research Centre, New Delhi. She’s a Fulbright Scholar (2019), Global Media Maker (2019) at Film Independent, Los Angeles, and Chicken & Egg Award Recipient (2020).
![](https://chickeneggpics.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/CEA-2020_Nistha-Jain_Gulabi-Gang-Photo-by-Torstein-Grude-1024x510.jpeg)
A recipient of two Indian National Film Awards and over 23 international awards, her films have been extensively shown in international film festivals and art-house cinemas and broadcast on international TV networks. She has served as a juror at several international festivals including IDFA and Zurich Film Festival. In 2020, Nishtha joined the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
She has given master classes and/or made artist presentations at universities including Stanford, NYU, Wellesley, Cambridge, St. Andrews, University of London, Heidelberg, Concordia, Danish Film School, and Film and Television Institute of India, Pune. When she’s not making films, she’s teaching, writing, and actively participating in social and political movements in India.
Announcing our 2020 Chicken & Egg Award Recipients!
![](https://chickeneggpics.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/CEA-2020-Announcement-Graphic-1024x691.jpg)
Chicken & Egg Pictures is proud to announce the fifth cohort of our Chicken & Egg Award, which recognizes and elevates five experienced documentary makers. This is the first year the Award has been opened to internationally-based filmmakers, and the six recipients hail from Canada, Chile, India, Serbia, Norway, and the US and have explored such diverse subjects as aging, artificial intelligence, and Indigenous rights.
In addition to a $50,000 unrestricted cash award and a year-long mentorship program, recipients also receive dedicated support from the Chicken & Egg Pictures creative team geared toward the development of new documentary projects.
Maite Alberdi is a Chilean director whose particular style is characterized by an intimate portrait of small worlds. She is one of the most important voices in Latin American documentaries. Her films include The Lifeguard (2011), Tea Time (2014), I Am Not From Here (2016), The Grown-Ups (2016), and The Mole Agent (2020).
Tonje Hessen Schei is an award-winning Norwegian filmmaker and director of iHuman (2019), Drone (2014), Play Again (2010), and Independent Intervention (2005)—films that have received awards like The Golden Nymph Award and Norway’s national film awards, the Amanda and Gullruten awards for best documentary.
Nishtha Jain is a multi-award-winning filmmaker best known for her films Saboot (2019), Gulabi Gang (2012), Lakshmi and Me (2007) and City of Photos (2004); her films are self-reflexive and explore the political in the personal, a recurring theme in her films being work or travail. She is a 2019 Fulbright Scholar and Film Independent Global Media Make.
Michelle Latimer is a Métis/Algonquin filmmaker, actor, and producer; her goal is to use film and new media as a tool for social change. Her recent projects include Rise (Viceland, Sundance 2017) and Nuuca (TIFF, Berlinale, Sundance 2017). Her Indigenous heritage informs her filmmaking perspective.
Kimberly Reed is the director of Dark Money and Prodigal Sons, the first documentary by a transgender filmmaker to be theatrically released, which won 14 international awards. She is one of Filmmaker’s “25 New Faces of Independent Film” and a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Mila Turajlić is an award-winning director and archive scholar born in Belgrade, Yugoslavia. Her films include The Other Side of Everything and Cinema Komunisto. In 2018, she was commissioned by MoMA to create archive-based video installations for their landmark exhibition on Yugoslav modernist architecture.