Nest-Supported and AlumNest Films on the Oscars® Shortlist!
Congratulations to the Nest-supported and AlumNest films on the 95th Academy Awards® shortlist for documentary features and documentary short films! The Oscars® nominations will be announced on Tuesday, January 24, so stay tuned for more updates!
Nest-supported Films on the Documentary Feature Short List
Hidden Letters
dirs. Violet Feng, Zhao Qing
prods. Violet Feng, Mette Cheng Munthe-Kaas, Jean Tsien, Su Kim
Hidden Letters is a 2020 (Egg)celerator Lab grantee.
The Janes
dirs. Tia Lessin, Emma Pildes
prods. Emma Pildes, Daniel Arcana, Jessica Levin
The Janes is a Project: Hatched 2022 finalist.
AlumNest Films on the Documentary Feature Shortlist
- All the Beauty and the Bloodshed
dir. Laura Poitras
prods. Howard Gertler, John Lyons, Laura Poitras, Nan Goldin, Yoni Golijov - Descendant
dir. & prod. Margaret Brown
prods. Essie Chambers, Kyle Martin
AlumNest Films on the Documentary Short Films Shortlist
- Angola Do You Hear Us? Voices from a Plantation Prison
dir. Cinque Northern
prod. Catherine Gund - The Flagmakers
dirs. & prods. Sharon Liese, Cynthia Wade
- The Martha Mitchell Effect
dirs. Anne Alvergue, Debra McClutchy
prods. Beth Levison, Judith Mizrachy
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
Maia Lekow: Dozen Days of Filmmakers — Day 3
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.
Maia von Lekow is an acclaimed Kenyan filmmaker, musician, and co-director of The Letter with Chris King. Filmed with a gentle pace and incredible closeness, The Letter is a gripping family drama about a 95 year-old Grandmother with a fearless spirit who must overcome dangerous accusations of witchcraft that are coming from within her own family.
The Letter made its world premiere at IDFA in 2019 and screened at DOC NYC, DocsBarcelona, and AFI DOCS festivals. The film is Kenya’s official submission to the 93rd Academy Awards® for Best International Film and is currently streaming in Kenyan cinemas nationwide. In addition to being co-director, Maia composed a poignant original score for the film along with Emmy-winning Toronto-based composer Ken Myhr.
Maia has also worked as director, producer, and sound recordist for several film and music projects since founding Circle and Square Productions in 2009. She has performed on stages across the world and continues to compose music for films. She received an African Movie Academy Award for her song Uko Wapi, and was named a goodwill ambassador for UNHCR on World Refugee Day 2013.
Laura Nix and Julia Reichert Nominated for 92nd Academy Awards
Egg-citing news! Announced today, filmmakers Laura Nix and Julia Reichert received Oscar nominations for their nonfiction films Walk Run Cha-Cha and American Factory, respectively.
Walk Run Cha-Cha
Directed by Laura Nix (2018 Chicken & Egg Award);
Produced by Colette Sandstedt
Nominated for Documentary Short
American Factory
Directed by Julia Reichert (2016 Chicken & Egg Award) and Steve Bognar; Produced by Julia Reichert, Steve Bognar, Jeff Reichert, and Chicken & Egg Pictures Co-Founder Julie Parker Benello
Nominated for Documentary Feature
We are so proud to have supported Laura and Julia through our Chicken & Egg Award program and wish them the best of luck! You can stream American Factory on Netflix and Walk Run Cha-Cha on New York Times Op-Docs.
The 92nd Academy Awards will take place on Sunday, February 9, 2020. A full list the full list of nominees can be seen here.
Dark Money and On Her Shoulders on the 91st Oscars® Documentary Shortlist
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences recently announced their shortlist for documentary features in consideration for the 91st Oscars® and two Nest-supported films are on the list: Dark Money, directed by Kimberly Reed and On Her Shoulders, directed by Alexandria Bombach. We were egg-static to see these projects included, and that eight out of the fifteen films listed are women-directed docs.
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.
Dark Money screened at the AFI Docs Film Festival last summer, had its broadcast premiere on POV on PBS, and was also featured on the International Documentary Association’s shortlist for top feature of 2018 as well.
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.
On Her Shoulders is the 2018 SXSW LUNA/Chicken & Egg Pictures Award recipient. On Her Shoulders was also listed as a top award contender for the documentary feature category on the DOC NYC shortlist and received the 2018 Harrell Award for Best Documentary Feature at the 2018 Camden International Film Festival (CIFF).
In addition to being included with the top documentaries of the year, Dark Money and On Her Shoulders will be featured in the OSCARS Spotlight: Documentary Feature Shortlist theatrical release, an opportunity to see all the Academy’s nominations shortlist.
The films will screen theatrically in 13 cities across the United States through Monday, January 21. See here to find a screening.
Nominations for the 91st Academy Awards will be announced Tuesday, January 22, and the Oscars will be held Sunday, February 24 at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, televised live by ABC.
Chicken & Egg Pictures Oscar Nominees!
Two Nest-supported filmmakers’ films have been nominated for the 90th Academy Awards®, and we could not be more excited!
First-time filmmaker Yance Ford’s Nest-supported film Strong Island is nominated for Best Documentary (Feature).
Set in the suburbs of the black middle class, Strong Island seeks to uncover how—in the year of the Rodney King trial and the Los Angeles riots—the murder of the filmmaker’s older brother went unpunished. The film is an unflinching look at homicide, racial injustice, and the corrosive impact of grief over time.
2016 Breakthrough Filmmaker Award Recipient Elaine McMillion Sheldon‘s film Heroin(e) is nominated for Documentary (Short Subject).
“Once a bustling industrial town, Huntington, West Virginia has become the epicenter of America’s modern opioid epidemic, with an overdose rate 10 times the national average. This flood of heroin now threatens this Appalachian city with a cycle of generational addiction, lawlessness, and poverty. But within this distressed landscape, Peabody Award-winning filmmaker Elaine McMillion Sheldon (Hollow) shows a different side of the fight against drugs—one of hope.”*
Many joyful congratulations, and best of luck, to Yance and Elaine!
Check out a full list of all Oscar nominees here. We will be watching the 90th Academy Awards® on Sunday, March 4, 2018, at 8pm EST. Join us as we tune in!
*Synopsis from the Heroin(e) webpage.
The Lion’s Mouth Opens getting awards season buzz
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences released the shortlist of contenders for the Academy Award® for Best Documentary Short Subject. On the list was I Believe in You grant recipient Lucy Walker and her film The Lion’s Mouth Opens.
Eight films out of 58 eligible entries were named to the shortlist. Three to five will receive nominations. The full list can be found here.
Chicken & Egg Pictures congratulates Lucy and her team. We are thrilled and proud to be supporters of this film and to have Lucy in our nest. For more information on the film, visit our film page for The Lion’s Mouth Opens.