The Nest at Tribeca Film Festival
We are proud to see three Nest-supported films and five AlumNest films at The Tribeca Film Festival. The festival will run in-person and online from Wednesday, June 8 to Sunday, June 19, in New York City.
If you happen to be around the NYC area don’t miss these screenings:
World Premiere
An Act of Worship
dir. Nausheen Dadabhoy
prods. Sofian Khan, Kristi Jacobson, Heba Elorbany
An Act of Worship is an exploration of the last 30 years of Muslim life in America, weaving together observational footage of three activist women who came of age after 9/11 with news archival footage, community-sourced home videos, and audio interviews along with evocative recollections of individuals impacted by Islamophobic policy. From the perspective of Muslim Americans, he film revisits pivotal moments in US history that have shaped their lives, such as the first Gulf War, 9/11, the Boston Marathon Bombing, and Trump’s travel ban, creating a prismatic counter-narrative and opening a window into their world through collective memory. This is what it means to be a Muslim in America.
An Act of Worship participated in the 2018 Diversity Fellows Initiative (past program) and is a 2019 (Egg)celerator Lab grantee.
Get your tickets with this link.
World Premiere
Hidden Letters
dir. & prod. Violet Feng
prods. Mette Cheng Munthe-Kaas, Jean Tsien, Su Kim
Our story began hundreds of years ago in a secluded village in China where women’s lives were completely controlled by men. They created a secret written language called Nushu that men didn’t understand. They wrote poems and songs to give each other strength and dignity, and vowed to be lifetime sisters in this prose. At the brink of extinction, Nushu is now being commodified in the context of capitalism. Hidden Letters is a film about two young women trying to reclaim the power of Nushu, despite the new threats in a world of revived patriarchy.
Hidden Letters a 2020 (Egg)celerator Lab grantee.
Get your tickets with this link.
And see Violet Feng speak at TRIBECA TALKS: Speaking in Codes: Storytelling that Codifies Gender Equitable Systems in China and the U.S.
Women filmmakers and artists around the world face a parallel challenge in navigating industries that are codified by male decision-makers and storytelling customs. This panel will explore how women and marginalized genders work to support one another to re-codify a more equitable system through investment in storytelling.* Panelists include director Violet Feng, Gloria Steinem, and Robin Morgan. Panel hosted by InMaat, Chicken & Egg Pictures, and Independent Lens.
Get your tickets with this link.
BEBA
dir. & prod. Rebeca Huntt
prod. Sofia Geld
A stunning self-portrait, tough, raw, stubborn, and powerful. Beba stares down the curses of her ancestry, probing the psychic wounds she has inherited, while simultaneously embracing the vastness of her multitudes, occupying many spaces, and demanding to be seen in all of them.
BEBA is a Project: Hatched 2022 grantee.
Get your tickets with this link.
From the AlumNest
- Angola Do You Hear Us? Voices From a Plantation Prison
prod. Catherine Gund
dir. Cinque Northern - Body Parts (World Premiere)
dir. Kristy Guevara-Flanagan
prod. Helen Hood Scheer - Lowndes County and the Road to Black Power (World Premiere)
dirs. Geeta Gandbhir, Sam Pollard
prods. Jessica Devaney, Anya Rous, Dema Paxton Fofang - To The End
dir. Rachel Lears
prod. Sabrina Schmidt Gordon - Unfinished Business (World Premiere)
dir. & prod. Alison Klayman
prods. Julie Goldman, Carolyn Hepburn, Christopher Clements, Nicholas Ma, Mishka Brown
- The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks (World Premiere)
dirs. Yoruba Richen, Johanna Hamilton
prod. Christalyn Hampton
Check out the full line-up with this link.
*Text courtesy of Tribeca Film Festival
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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 filmmakers at CPH:DOX 2022!
We are proud to see three Nest-supported, and two AlumNest films at CPH:DOX 2022! After two years, the festival is returning in-person to the big screen with 200 new films, 76 world premieres, and 59 competition titles across six international categories.
The festival will run in Copenhagen cinemas from Wednesday, March 23 through Sunday, April 3, and stream throughout Denmark from Friday, April 1 to Sunday, April 10.
Electric Malady
dir. Marie Lidén
prod. Aimara Reques, Lorna Jane Ferguson
Allergic to electronics and isolated in the Swedish wilderness in a homemade turtle shell of thick blankets. Meet 40-year-old William, whose mysterious condition is not recognised by the world.
Electric Malady is a 2018 (Egg)celerator Lab grantee. As well as having its world premiere at the festival, the film will also be participating in the Nordic:Dox Award Competition.
Get your tickets with this link.
Midwives
dir. & prod. Snow Hnin Ei Hlaing
prods. Bob Moore, Ulla Lehmann, Mila Aung-Thwin
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 its first screening at the festival will mark its European premiere. It is participating in the Dox:Award Competition.
Get your tickets with this link.
Mija
dir. & prod. Isabel Castro
prods. Tabitha Breese, Yesenia Tlahuel
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.
Mija is a 2021 (Egg)celerator Lab grantee, and its screenings at the Sound & Vision section will mark its international premiere.
Get your tickets with this link.
AlumNest Films
dir. & prod. Shalini Kantayya (Coded Bias)
prods. Ross M. Dinerstein, Danni Mynard
dir. Rachel Lears (The Hand That Feeds)
prod. Sabrina Schmidt Gordon
Meet Our Team at CPH:DOX 2022
Filmmaker Engagement Manager Jaad Asante will be attending CPH:FORUM from Thursday, March 28 through Friday, April 1. If you are visiting CPH:DOX and would like to meet Jaad, please feel free to contact her to hatch a plan.
📧 Jaad Asante
jaad@chickeneggpics.org
Take a look at the 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
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
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.
Nest Screenings at DOC NYC
This year’s DOC NYC runs Wednesday, November 6 to Friday, November 15 at the IFC Center in Greenwich Village and Chelsea’s SVA Theatre and Cinépolis Chelsea. The 10th edition of the all-documentary film festival brings the New York premiere of (Egg)celerator Lab grantee Mr Toilet: The World’s #2 Man, screenings of two other Nest-supported films (One Child Nation, American Factory), plus five films AlumNest filmmakers screening throughout the fest.
Read more about these women-helmed films and get your tickets below:
Mr. Toilet: The World’s #2 Man
2016 (Egg)celerator Lab
Jack Sim wants to talk to you about your toilet. When the charismatic Singaporean millionaire learned that nearly a third of the world doesn’t have access to proper sanitation, he set out to make a difference through his World Toilet Foundation. Cleverly using humor to get attention for his cause, Sim highlights the need for investment in this basic public health issue. Now he’s ready to plunge into his biggest challenge—securing six million toilets as part of India’s sanitation initiative.
Directed by Lily Zepeda; Produced by Tchavdar Georgiev, Lily Zepeda, and Eugene Efuni
Thursday, November 14 at 7:30 pm | tickets here
One Child Nation
2017 (Egg)celerator Lab
China’s one-child policy ended in 2015, but it has had a haunting impact on several generations of Chinese families. After the birth of her own child, filmmaker Nanfu Wang returns to her village, where she begins an investigation into the controversial population control program. Posing difficult questions to family members, local party officials, journalists and activists, she and co-director Jialing Zhang uncover troubling secrets that have long been kept hidden.
Directed by Nanfu Wang (2018 Chicken & Egg Award) and Jialing Zhang; Produced by Nanfu Wang, Jialing Zhang, Julie Goldman, Christoph Jörg, Christopher Clements, and Carolyn Hepburn
Friday, Nov. 8 at 11:00am and Thursday, Nov 15 at 6:55pm | tickets here
American Factory
2016 Chicken & Egg Award
When Dayton, Ohio’s General Motors plant closed in 2008, thousands of blue-collar workers lost their livelihood in a community hard hit by the recession. Eight years later, a Chinese billionaire opens a new factory on the same site, bringing back jobs and inspiring newfound hope—until Chinese labor practices clash with the expectations of a formerly unionized American workforce.
Directed by Julia Reichert, Steve Bognar; Produced by Steven Bognar, Chicken & Egg Pictures Co-Founder Julie Parker Benello, Jeff Reichert, and Julia Reichert
Saturday, Nov. 9 at 6:15pm & Monday Nov. 11 at 3:45pm | tickets here
Plus directors Julia and Steve will be receiving the Robert and Anne Drew Award for Documentary Excellence, which honors a mid-career filmmaking team that excels in observational filmmaking!
AlumNest Films
Hungry to Learn
Directed by Geeta Gandbhir (2016 Chicken & Egg Award); Produced by Rose Arce and Soledad O’Brien
Saturday, Nov. 9 at 2:15 pm and Sunday, Nov. 10 at 12:40 pm | tickets and more information here
Shoofting the Mafia
Directed by AlumNest filmmaker Kim Longinotto (Dreamcatcher); Produced by Niamh Fagan
Saturday, Nov. 9 at 5:15 pm | tickets and more information here
Narrowsburg
Directed by AlumNest filmmaker Martha Shane (After Tiller); Produced by Beck Kitsis and Martha Shane
Sunday, Nov. 10 at 4:20 pm | tickets and more information here
Knock Down the House
Directed by AlumNest filmmaker Rachel Lears (The Hand That Feeds); Produced by Robin Blotnick, Rachel Lears, and Sarah Olson
Thursday, Nov. 7 at 2:45pm & Monday, Nov. 11 at 8:50 pm | tickets and more information here
The Great Hack
Directed by AlumNest filmmaker Jehane Noujaim (The Square) and Karim Amer; Produced by Karim Amer, Geralyn White Dreyfous, Judy Korin, and Pedro Kos
Tuesday, Nov. 12 at 6:15pm & Thursday, Nov. 14 at 11:00am | tickets and more information here
Desert One
Directed by AlumNest filmmaker Barbara Kopple (A Murder in Mansfield); Produced by Barbara Kopple, David Cassidy, and Eric Forman
Friday, Nov. 8, 2019 at 8:35 pm & Wednesday, Nov. 13 at 2:25 pm | tickets and more information here
See you at DOC NYC, and look out for our supported filmmakers and team members at the DOC NYC PRO conference!
AlumNest Filmmakers are DOC NYC PRO’s
The line-up for the 2019 DOC NYC PRO conference was recently released, and the eight day industry conference will feature documentary panels, master classes, and an expanded initiative to support works-in-progress called “Only in New York”, co-presented by SHOWTIME® Documentary Films. This year features a record number of AlumNest filmmakers and Nest industry friends sharing their insight and expertise at the conference from Thursday, November 7 to Friday, November 15.
Check out the Nest-full DOC NYC PRO line-up below:
DOC NYC PRO: First-Time Filmmaker
Thursday, Nov. 7 from 10:00 AM to 5:30 PM | Cinepolis Chelsea
Panels such as “Developing Your Story” and “Funding an Independent Documentary” feature Malika Zouhali-Worrall (2019 Chicken & Egg Award), Chelsi Bullard (2017 (Egg)celerator Lab grantee for Kids Can Spit), and former Chicken & Egg Pictures Program Intern Netsanet Negussie (now Creative Development & Production Associate at Catalyst Films, helmed by 2016 Chicken & Egg Award recipient Kristi Jacobson).
DOC NYC PRO: The Short List: Features
Friday, Nov. 8 from 9:00 AM to 5:30 PM | IFC Center
2017 Chicken & Egg Award recipient Nanfu Wang will discuss politics in One Child Nation, with directors of The Edge of Democracy, The Kingmaker and For Sama. Plus AlumNest filmmakers Steve Bognar (co-director of American Factory) and Rachel Lears (Knock Down the House) discuss the art of observation in documentary.
DOC NYC PRO: Editing
Saturday, Nov. 9 from 9:00 AM to 5:30 PM | Cinepolis Chelsea
Hear from AlumNest filmmaker (The Hand That Feeds) and Knock Down the House director Rachel Lears and the film’s editor Robin Blotnick on the “Anatomy of a Scene: Knock Down the House” panel.
DOC NYC PRO: Cinematography
Saturday, Nov. 9 from 9:00 AM to 5:30 PM | Cinepolis Chelsea
AlumNest filmmaker Alison Klayman, whose subjects span Ai Weiwei and Steve Bannon will discuss the art of observation in intimate settings on the “Building Rapport” panel. An Act of Worship director Nausheen Dadabhoy (2019 (Egg)celerator Lab) will share her insights on building a career on cinematography, and Nanfu Wang will speak on her experience as a director and cinematographer in the “In-depth with Nanfu Wang” panel.
DOC NYC PRO: Distribution and Audience Impact
Sunday, Nov. 10 from 9:00 AM to 5:30 PM | Cinepolis Chelsea
Join Nancy Schwartzman (Roll Red Roll) at “Impact Case Studies: Eating Animals and Roll Red Roll.”
DOC NYC PRO: Pitch Perfect
Monday, Nov. 11 9:00 AM | Cinepolis Chelsea
Eight filmmakers with works-in-progress selected from DOC NYC’s Only in New York, including Silent Beauty director Jasmin Lopez (2019 Egg)celerator Lab), will pitch to industry professionals from A&E IndieFilms, ESPN Films, Impact Partners, NEON, and TIME Studios. The session will be moderated by our Co-Founder and Senior Creative Consultant Judith Helfand and will include our Program Director Lucila Moctezuma.
DOC NYC PRO: Producing
Tuesday, Nov. 12 9:00 AM | Cinepolis Chelsea
Beth Levison, producer of Made in Boise, will participate in the “Creative Producing Panel”, plus Julie Goldman (producer on One Child Nation) and 2016 Chicken & Egg Award recipient Kristi Jacobson discuss career-building.
DOC NYC PRO: Funding a Documentary
Wednesday, Nov. 13 9:00 AM | Cinepolis Chelsea
Chicken & Egg Pictures Executive Director Jenni Wolfson is on the Funder + Filmmaker Relationships panel from 10:00 – 11:10 AM.
DOC NYC PRO: Legal for Docs
Thursday, Nov. 14 9:00 AM | Cinepolis Chelsea
Nicole Page of Reavis Page Jump LLP, our legal team at Chicken & Egg Pictures, will educate audience members on topics like defamation and privacy claims, relating to true crime documentary films.
Nest-supported World Premieres at Hot Docs
Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Film Festival is coming up —Thursday, April 25 to Sunday, May 5 in Toronto, CA—and with it comes some huge news pertaining to the Nest!
Not only will women will comprise 54% of directors at the Canadian festival; three Nest-supported films (Mr. Toilet: The World’s #2 Man, The Guardian of Memory, and Buddha In Africa) will be making their world premieres; and 2016 Chicken & Egg Award recipient Julia Reichert will receive the 2019 Outstanding Achievement Award, coupled with a curated retrospective of her work throughout the festival, including new documentary American Factory.
Mr. Toilet: The World’s #2 Man, directed by Lily Zepeda (2016 Diversity Fellows Initiative [past program]) — World Premiere
To a stranger, he’s quirky, but to those who know the famed Mr. Toilet, he’s the leader of the global sanitation revolution. He grew up in the slums of Singapore with a bucket for a toilet and knows the agonies first hand of what it’s like to go through life without having a proper loo.
- Saturday, April 27 at 5:45 PM — Scotiabank Theatre 3
- Sunday, April 28 1:00 PM — Isabel Bader Theatre
- Saturday, May 4 8:30 PM — Fox Theatre
The Guardian of Memory, directed by Marcela Arteaga (2017 (Egg)celerator Lab grantee) — World Premiere
The Juarez Valley, a region once known for cotton production, is now nothing more than burned down houses, empty towns, and memories. Carlos Spector, an immigration lawyer born in El Paso, TX, fights to obtain political asylum for Mexicans fleeing from violence. This is the story of Mexican men, women, and children seeking a respite from their tragedies by heading to their neighboring country, the US. It is also a story about the kindness and hope that still exists in people who have gone through hell, and about Carlos Spector’s tireless efforts to keep memory alive
- Sunday, April 28 at 8:15 PM — TIFF Bell Lightbox 3
- Tuesday, April 30 at 12:45 PM — Scotiabank Theatre 8
- Saturday, May 4 at 1:00 PM — TIFF Bell Lightbox 2
Buddha In Africa, directed by Nicole Schafer — World Premiere
In a Chinese Buddhist orphanage in Africa, the film follows Enock Alu, a Malawian boy from a rural village growing up between the contrasting worlds of his traditional African culture and the strict discipline of the Confucian, Buddhist value system of the Chinese. Once the star performer with dreams of becoming a martial arts hero like Jet Li, Enock, in his final year at school, has to make some tough decisions about his future and finds himself torn between returning to his relatives in the village or going abroad to study in China. Against the backdrop of China’s expanding global influence, the film evokes some of the tensions surrounding the growing relationship between China and Africa.
- Saturday, April 27 at 6:00 PM — TIFF Bell Lightbox 3
- Monday, April 29 at 1:00 PM — Scotiabank Theatre 8
- Sunday, May 5 at 10:15 AM — Scotiabank Theatre
One Child Nation (2017 (Egg)celerator Lab grantee), directed by Nanfu Wang (also a 2018 Chicken & Egg Award recipient) and Jialing Zhang
How much control does a person have over their own life? In China, state control begins before a child is even born.
- Wednesday, May 1 at 6:30 PM — Isabel Bader Theatre
- Friday, May 3 at 1:00 PM — TIFF Bell Lightbox 1
Always In Season (2018 (Egg)celerator Lab), directed by Jacqueline Olive
When 17-year-old Lennon Lacy is found hanging from a swing set in rural North Carolina in 2014, his mother’s search for justice and reconciliation begins while the trauma of more than a century of lynching African Americans bleeds into the present.
- Sunday, April 28 at 6:15 PM — Hart House Theatre
- Tuesday, April 30 at 12:45 PM — TIFF Bell Lightbox 2
- Saturday, May 4 at 6:30 PM — Hart House Theatre
American Factory, directed by Julia Reichert (2016 Chicken & Egg Award recipient) and Steve Bognar*
Dizzying, hilarious and devastating, this tale of two factories makes for a landmark story of workplace anxiety. Directors Reichert and Bognar have spent a decade documenting the plight of Ohio’s factory workers, and their dedication pays off when they are given astonishing access to Fuyao, a Chinese auto glass manufacturer, as it revives a shuttered General Motors plant in Dayton.
- Tuesday, April 30 at 6:00 PM — Isabel Bader Theatre
- Thursday, May 2 at 10:30 AM — TIFF Bell Lightbox 1
- Saturday, May 4 at 6:00 PM — Isabel Bader Theatre
- Sunday, May 5 at 4:15 PM — TIFF Bell Lightbox 1
In addition to American Factory, the Outstanding Achievement Retrospective of Julia Reichert’s work which will screen throughout the festival will include Growing Up Female, considered the first feature documentary of the modern women’s movement; Union Maids, in which women look back on the Depression-era trade unionist crusade; and A Lion in the House, the Emmy-winning film which follows five children battling cancer over the course of six years, as well as others.
The following films directed by Nest-supported filmmakers will also be featured at Hot Docs: Knock Down the House, directed by Rachel Lears (director of Nest-supported film The Hand That Feeds with Robin Blotnick) and Shooting the Mafia, directed by Kim Longinotto (director of Nest-supported film Dreamcatcher).
*Chicken & Egg Pictures did not directly support American Factory but supported director Julia Reichert during her Chicken & Egg Award year.
Nine Women-directed Films to See at Full Frame Documentary Film Festival
The Full Frame Documentary Film Festival kicks off their 22nd annual festival today, which will take place in Durham, North Carolina from Thursday, April 4 to Sunday, April 7.
The festival’s opening night film is American Factory, the Sundance 2019 Directing – US Documentary Competition award winner directed by Julia Reichert (2016 Chicken & Egg Award recipient) and Steven Bognar, screening Thursday, April 4 — 7:30 pm at Fletcher. In addition, we were egg-static to see Julia and her long-time directing partner Steven honored by Full Frame in a tribute and curated retrospective of their work, which will screen throughout the festival, including Union Maids, directed by Jim Klein, Miles Mogulescu, and Julia Reichert (Thursday, April 4 — 1:30 at Cinema Three and Sunday, April 7 — 5:10 pm at Cinema Four), as well as eight other films.
Full Frame’s lineup includes work by a total of nine Nest-supported women filmmakers:
El Velador (The Night Watchman), directed by Natalia Almada (also a 2018 Chicken & Egg Award recipient)
From dusk to dawn, El Velador (The Night Watchman) accompanies Martin, a guard who watches over the extravagant mausoleums of some of Mexico’s most notorious drug lords. In the labyrinth of the cemetery, this film about violence without violence reminds us that, amid the turmoil of a drug war that has claimed more than 50,000 lives, ordinary existence persists in Mexico and quietly defies the dead.
Thursday, April 4 — 4:00 pm at Cinema One (as part of the Some Other Lives of Time program curated by Hale County This Morning, This Evening director Ramell Ross)
Hail Satan?, directed by Penny Lane (2017 Chicken & Egg Award recipient)
With humor and searing insight, director Penny Lane debunks misrepresentations about the Satanic Temple. Drawing on extensive access to the organization’s participants, this unflinching examination reveals the controversial religious movement’s aim to shine a light on the hypocrisy around America’s separation of church and state.*
Friday, April 5 — 10:00 pm at Fletcher
The Changing Same, directed by Impact & Innovation Initiative (past program) grantees Michèle Stephenson (also a 2016 Chicken & Egg Award recipient) and Joe Brewster
Poet Lamar Wilson remembers reading Anatomy of a Lynching as a young man and immediately asking his grandmother if she knew Claude Neal. The book recounts the heinous 1934 murder and mutilation of Neal, a 23-year-old African American, at the hands of a mob of white men.*
Saturday, April 6 at 1:00 pm at Cinema One
Always in Season (2018 (Egg)celerator Lab grantee), directed by Jacqueline Olive
When 17-year-old Lennon Lacy is found hanging from a swing set in rural North Carolina in 2014, his mother’s search for justice and reconciliation begins while the trauma of more than a century of lynching African Americans bleeds into the present.
Friday, April 5 — 7:20 pm at Cinema Three
One Child Nation (2017 (Egg)celerator Lab grantee), directed by Nanfu Wang (also a 2018 Chicken & Egg Award recipient) and Jialing Zhang
How much control does a person have over their own life? In China, state control begins before a child is even born.
Friday, April 5 — 7:00 pm at Cinema One
Grit, directed by Cynthia Wade and Sasha Friedlander
Grit is the story of a huge, toxic mudflow in Indonesia widely believed to be caused by shoddy drilling practices. The mud volcano has been erupting violently for the past eight years, burying 17 villages and permanently displacing 60,000 people. Grit follows ordinary Indonesians seeking justice for this disaster during a national election where one presidential candidate has promised restitution — and the other has not.
Thursday, April 4 — 10:00 am at Cinema One
A Thousand Girls Like Me, directed by Sahra Mani (2016 Diversity Fellows Initiative — past program)
In Afghanistan where systematic abuses of girls rarely come to light, and seeking justice can be deadly, one young woman says “Enough.” Khatera was brutally raped by her father since the age of nine and today she raises two precious and precocious children whom he sired. Against her family’s and many Afghanis’ wishes, Khatera forces her father to stand trial. This is her incredible story of love, hope, bravery, forgiveness, and truth.
Thursday, April 4 — 4:20 pm at Cinema Four
Knock Down the House, directed by Rachel Lears (former Nest grantee for The Hand That Feeds)
In the run up to the 2018 U.S. midterms, four political newcomers challenge their Democratic incumbents in the primary elections that lead ultimately to a seat in Congress. Fearless and determined, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Paula Jean Swearengin, Cori Bush, and Amy Vilela introduce their grassroots platforms to the communities in which they are deeply ingrained.*
Friday, April 5 — 7:20 pm at Fletcher
*Synopses courtesy of Full Frame.
Supported Filmmakers are Soaring at the 62nd Annual SFFILM
The San Francisco International Film Festival (SFFILM), among the longest running film festivals in the US, unveiled the line-up yesterday for its 62nd annual showcase. Congratulations to the Nest-supported filmmakers who will be soaring to the Bay Area for the festival, which takes place from Wednesday, April 10 to Tuesday, April 23:
American Factory, directed by Julia Reichert (2016 Chicken & Egg Award recipient) and Steve Bognar
Dizzying, hilarious and devastating, this tale of two factories makes for a landmark story of workplace anxiety. Directors Reichert and Bognar have spent a decade documenting the plight of Ohio’s factory workers, and their dedication pays off when they are given astonishing access to Fuyao, a Chinese auto glass manufacturer, as it revives a shuttered General Motors plant in Dayton.*
One Child Nation, directed by Nanfu Wang (also a 2018 Chicken & Egg Award recipient) and Jialing Zhang (2017 (Egg)celerator Lab grantee)
How much control does a person have over their own life? In China, state control begins before a child is even born.
Always In Season, directed by Jacqueline Olive (2018 (Egg)celerator Lab grantee)
When 17-year-old Lennon Lacy is found hanging from a swing set in rural North Carolina in 2014, his mother’s search for justice and reconciliation begins while the trauma of more than a century of lynching African Americans bleeds into the present.
- Thursday, April 18 at 6:00 pm at SFMOMA
- Friday, April 19 at 6:00 pm at Grand Lake Theatre
- Saturday, April 20 at 3:30 pm at Creativity Theater
Hail Satan?, directed by Penny Lane (2017 Chicken & Egg Award recipient)
A look at the intersection of religion and activism, tracing the rise of The Satanic Temple: only six years old and already one of the most controversial religious movements in American history. The Temple is calling for a Satanic revolution to save the nation’s soul. But are they for real?**
Nest-supported Filmmakers at True/False 2019
The True/False Film Festival offers a four-day weekend of creative placemaking in which filmmakers, artists, musicians and others remake the mid-sized college town of Columbia, Missouri.
And we have some egg-cellent news! Four documentaries by Nest-supported filmmakers will be screening at the festival, happening from Thursday, February 28 to Sunday, March 3.
American Factory, directed by Julia Reichert (2016 Chicken & Egg Award recipient) and Steve Bognar
Dizzying, hilarious and devastating, this tale of two factories makes for a landmark story of workplace anxiety. Directors Reichert and Bognar have spent a decade documenting the plight of Ohio’s factory workers, and their dedication pays off when they are given astonishing access to Fuyao, a Chinese auto glass manufacturer, as it revives a shuttered General Motors plant in Dayton.
- Friday, Mar. 1 / 2:30PM / Jesse Auditorium
- Friday, Mar. 1 / 9:15PM / The Globe
- Saturday, Mar. 2 / 6:30PM / Missouri Theatre
- Sunday, Mar. 3 / 6:00PM / The Picturehouse
One Child Nation, (2017 (Egg)celerator Lab grantee), directed by Nanfu Wang (also a 2018 Chicken & Egg Award recipient) and Jialing Zhang
How much control does a person have over their own life? In China, state control begins before a child is even born.
- Friday, Mar. 1 / 4:30PM / Forrest Theater
- Saturday, Mar. 2 / 3:15PM / The Picturehouse
- Saturday, Mar. 2 / 7:00PM / Jesse Auditorium
- Sunday, Mar. 3 / 9:30AM / Missouri Theatre
The Changing Same, directed by Impact & Innovation Initiative grantees Michèle Stephenson (also a 2016 Chicken & Egg Award recipient) and Joe Brewster
In the Florida Panhandle lies the provincial town of Marianna, Florida, where one native resident runs a particular marathon in hopes of lifting the veil of racial terror caused by the town’s buried history.
Chicken & Egg Pictures is supporting the immersive, room-scale virtual reality experience based on their short film. In Changing Same: The Untitled Racial Justice Project, the participant travels through time and space to witness the connected historical experiences of racial terror in America.
Screens before The Commons:
- Thursday, Feb. 28 / 7:30PM / Showtime Theater
- Friday, Mar. 1 / 1:45PM / Forrest Theater
- Sunday, Mar. 3 / 12:00PM / Showtime Theater
- Sunday, Mar. 3 / 4:00PM / Jesse Auditorium
Knock Down the House, directed by Rachel Lears (former Nest grantee for The Hand That Feeds)
What’s more important: charismatic political candidates or the behind-the-scenes machine that works to elect them? Knock Down the House gives us both, breathlessly following a new breed of politician alongside a tireless collective of activists enraged by the state of American governance.
- Thursday, Feb. 28 / 7:00PM / Missouri Theatre
- Friday, Mar. 1 / 1:30PM / Showtime Theater
- Friday, Mar. 1 / 10:00PM / Jesse Auditorium
- Saturday, Mar. 2 / 9:30AM / Showtime Theater
And if you’re not in Columbia, Missouri this weekend, we have some egg-cellent news regarding these women directed documentaries. Netflix has acquired American Factory and Knock Down the House, and Amazon acquired One Child Nation; the three films will be available to stream soon.