The Nest at the New York Human Rights Watch Film Festival
The 33rd edition of the New York Human Rights Watch Film Festival will feature two Nest-supported films! The festival will run from Friday, May 20 to Thursday, May 26 with both in-person and online screenings.
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.
Get your tickets + more info with this link.
The Janes
dirs. Tia Lessin, Emma Pildes
prods. Emma Pildes, Daniel Arcana, Jessica Levin
The Janes is the story of an underground network of women in Chicago in the ‘60s and early ‘70s who provided safe, affordable, illegal abortions.
The Janes is a Project: Hatched 2022 grantee.
Get your tickets + more info with this link.
From the AlumNest
- Delikado
Writer and Executive Producer 2018 Chicken & Egg Award Recipient Laura Nix, dir. Karl Malakunas, prods. Marty Syjuco, Michael Collins, Kara Magsanoc-Alikpala
Check out the full line-up with this link.
Announcing our Project: Hatched 2022 Grantees and Finalists!
Chicken & Egg Pictures proudly announced via Women & Hollywood six new grantees of our 2022 Project: Hatched program. Each film will receive $30,000 toward its completion and impact campaign and will participate in a seven-month program with tailored mentorship for impact strategy and professional development. Additionally, two films will each receive a $15,000 finalist grant.
This year, Chicken & Egg Pictures invited previously supported filmmakers in our alumni community, AlumNest, to participate in the Project: Hatched selection process.
“These processes are always complex and we receive more applications worthy of consideration than we can support. Sharing the power and responsibility that comes with making these selections with our AlumNest filmmakers was a very special and illuminating experience.”
Said Program Director Lucila Moctezuma.
Please click the film titles for more information on each project, and give these passionate and committed directors a warm welcome to the Nest!
Project: Hatched 2022 grantees:
A Woman on the Outside
Directors: Lisa Riordan Seville, Zara Katz
Producers: Kiara C. Jones, Lisa Riordan Seville, Zara Katz
Kristal is a young ambitious Philadelphian driven to keep families connected to their incarcerated loved ones. But when her father and brother return from prison, she confronts the ultimate question: can she reunite her own family?
Any Given Day
Director: Margaret Byrne
Producer: Margaret Byrne
Producer/Impact Producer: Latesha Dickerson
A filmmaker and three Chicagoans navigate the complexities of living with mental illness.
BEBA
Director: Rebeca Huntt
Producers: Rebeca Huntt, Sofia Geld
Impact Producer: Mia Bruno
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.
Crossings
Director: Deann Borshay Liem
Producers: Deann Borshay Liem, Ramsay Liem, Sarah Kim, Gay Dillingham
Thirty women peacemakers, including Gloria Steinem, undertake a risky crossing of the demilitarized zone (DMZ), from North to South Korea, to end America’s longest-running war.
Mama Has a Mustache
Director: Sally Rubin
Producer: Sally Rubin
Impact Producer: Nick Kelso
Mama Has a Mustache is a short animated documentary about identity and family outside of the traditional gender binary, as seen through children’s eyes.
Takeover
Director: Emma Francis-Snyder
Producer: Tony Gerber
In 1970, the Young Lords, a group of activists, took over a decrepit hospital in the South Bronx, launching a battle for their lives, their community, and healthcare for all.
Project: Hatched 2022 finalists
Powerlands
Director: Ivey Camille Manybeads Tso
Producers: Jordan Flaherty, Emily Faye Ratner, Ewa Jasiewicz
A Navajo filmmaker investigates the global displacement of Indigenous people and the devastation of the environment by corporations that have exploited the land where she was born.
The Janes
Directors: Tia Lessin, Emma Pildes
Producers: Emma Pildes, Daniel Arcana, Jessica Levin
The Janes is the story of an underground network of women in Chicago in the ‘60s and early ‘70s who provided safe, affordable, illegal abortions
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
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.
Black Mothers Love & Resist
dir. & prod. Débora Souza Silva
prod. David Felix Sutcliffe
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.
Black Mothers Love & Resist 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
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.
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.