Leave a comment Mar 29, 2024

Supported Filmmakers at CPH:DOX 2024!

The 21st edition of CPH:DOX took place from Wednesday, March 13 to Sunday, March 24 in Copenhagen, Denmark. We are proud to see that 4 supported films and 13 supported filmmakers were part of the lineup and that many of our supported filmmakers also participated in the CPH:CONFERENCE and CPH: FORUM. Some of our team was also there to participate in person to support our filmmakers. See below for more details.

Stills from Wilfred Buck and Intercepted (Credit: Christopher Nunn)
  • 2023 Chicken & Egg Award Recipient Lisa Jackson’s Wilfred Buck | World Premiere | Dox:Award & BIPOC sections | dir. & prod. Lisa Jackson | prod. Alicia Smith, Lauren Grant
  • 2022 Chicken & Egg Award Recipient Brett Story’s Union | International Premiere | F:act Award & Nine to Five sections | dirs. Brett Story, Stephen Maing | prods. Samantha Curley, Mars Verrone
  • 2019 Chicken & Egg Award Recipient Lana Wilson’s  Look Into My Eyes | International Premiere | Special Premieres & Stranger Than Fiction sections | dir. Lana Wilson | prod. Kyle Martin
  • 2022 Critical Issues Fund Grantee Intercepted | Urgent Matters & Battlefields sections | dir. Oksana Karpovych | prods. Rocío B. Fuentes, Giacomo Nudi

From the AlumNest

CPH: FORUM

At CPH:FORUM, top producers and highly acknowledged directors from all over the world take the stage to pitch 30 carefully selected projects of documentary features and series in the intersection of nonfiction, fiction, visual art, journalism, and science. Seven films from our community of filmmakers were presented.

2023 Research & Development Grant recipient Cinderella Unbound, UK/RO
dir. & prod Ilinca Calugareanu | prod. Anamaria Antoci

Freedom (WT), DK
dir. Camilla Nielsson | prod. Signe Byrge Sørensen

In Praise of Invasive Species, CA
dir. Mila Aung-Thwin | prod. Bob Moore

Powwow People, US
dir. Sky Hopinka (2018 Art of Nonfiction fellow) | prod. John Cardellino

The Dirty Dream, IN
dirs. & prods. Rintu Thomas, Sushmit Ghosh

The Listeners, UK/US/FR
dir. & prod. Lindsey Dryden | prod. Samantha Steele

Victor, US
dir. Stephani Victor | prods. Diane Becker, Melanie Miller, Matt Radecki

CPH: CONFERENCE

A 4-day industry event offering a range of inspiring talks with visionary thinkers, investigating current themes in documentary filmmaking, and creating an interactive and hands-on platform for exchange with other professionals of our documentary community. The theme this year was Re:Building Narratives – Accessibility And Equity In Documentary. Our filmmakers were well represented across the different activities from Tuesday, March 19 to Friday, March 22.

SOCIETY: STORIES OF OUR LIFETIMES

Tuesday, March 19

With Lizzie Gillett and Sigrid Dyekjær, producers of supported film Merkel, as keynote speakers for the Viva Independent Feature Docs section. Clara Vuillermoz, producer of 2020 (Egg)celerator Lab Grantee Polaris was a speaker in the A Conflict of Interest or an Interest in Conflict? section. Lindsey Dryden, supported through the QUEER FUTURES program, also participated in the LGBTQIA panel. Curated by 2023 Development grant recipient Derren Lawford. 

FILM:MAKERS IN DIALOGUE

Wednesday, March 20

With 2022 Chicken & Egg Award Recipient Brett Story, Stephen Maing, producer of supported film Union, and Yance Ford, director of supported film Strong Island.

SCIENCE: WAYS OF KNOWING AND SEEING

Thursday, March 21

With 2023 Chicken & Egg Award recipient Lisa Jackson as a keynote speaker in the Stars: Indigenous Ways of Knowing section, and Mila Aung-Thwin, producer of 2020 (Egg)celerator Lab participant Midwives, as a speaker in the Action: Legacies of science, cinematic justice section.

2022 Chicken & Egg Award Recipient Margreth Olin is also considered an expert at the conference.

Meet our Team at CPH:DOX

Our Senior Program Manager Elaisha Stokes and Program Director Kiyoko McCrae attended and took 1:1 meetings with filmmakers.

We are proud to congratulate a longtime collaborator and advisor in our labs, Carla Gutierrez, for the international premiere of her new documentary, Frida.

Post written by Communications Assistant Tess Caldwell

Leave a comment Oct 30, 2023

15 Chicken & Egg Supported films at IDFA!

We are extremely proud to see 15 Chicken & Egg Supported films and 17 films from our community of alumni featured in the lineup and Forum sections of this year’s International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA). The festival will take place between Wednesday, November 8 to Sunday, November 19 in Amsterdam. If you are attending the festival, feel free to say hi to our team who will participate in person to support our filmmakers. See below for more details. 

  • 2021 (Egg)celerator Lab Participant Against The Tide | Dutch Premiere | Best of Fests | dir. & prod. Sarvnik Kaur | prod. Koval Bhatia
  • 2022 (Egg)celerator Lab Finalist Alis | Online Program | dirs. & prods. Clare Weiskopf, Nicolas van Hemelryck
  • Project: Hatched 2023 Participant Bad Press | Dutch Premiere | Best of Fests | dir. & prod. Rebecca Landsberry-Baker, Joe Peeler | prods. Conrad Beilharz, Garrett Baker, Tyler Graim
  • Nest-supported film Blue ID | School Program | dirs. & prods. Burcu Melekoglu, Vuslat Karan
  • 2020 (Egg)celerator Lab Grantee Machtat | Dutch Premiere | Best of Fests | dir. Sonia Ben Slama | prods. Tania el Khoury, Elise Hug, Cécile Lestrade
  • 2022 Chicken & Egg Award Recipient Margreth Olin’s Songs of Earth | Dutch Premiere | Signed | dir. & prod. Margreth Olin | prod. Lena Faye-Lund Sandvik 
  • 2021 Chicken & Egg Award Recipient Tatiana Huezo’s The Echo | Dutch Premiere | Signed | dir. & prod. Tatiana Huezo Sánchez | prods. Dalia Rocío Reyes Campos, Viviana Zuñiga
  • 2020 Chicken & Egg Award Recipient Maite Alberdi’s The Eternal Memory | Dutch Premiere | Signed | dir. & prod. Maite Alberdi | prods. Juan de Dios Larraín, Pablo Larraín, Rocío Jadue
  • 2021 (Egg)celerator Lab grantee The Tuba Thieves | Dutch Premiere | Best of Fests |  dir. & prod. Alison O’Daniel | prods. Su Kim, Maya E. Rudolph

IDFA Forum

At the IDFA Forum, innovators, including filmmakers, creators, producers, and industry professionals, unite to present their pioneering creative feature documentaries and new media projects. Over its 30-year history, this event has evolved into a global hub for discussing co-production, co-financing, and distribution strategies. The IDFA Forum offers backing to film and XR production teams at various production stages across four presentation categories. We take pride in having Chicken & Egg Pictures Supported films featured in three out of these four categories.

  • 2022 Critical Issue Fund Grantee Displaced (working title) | Rough Cut Project | In Production | dir. Olha Zhurba | prods. Darya Bassel, Anne Köhncke, Kerstin Übelacker
  • 2022 Critical Issue Fund Grantee Red Zone | Producers Connection Project | Development | dir. Darya Bassel | prod. Iryna Tsilyk
  • 2022 (Egg)celerator Lab Finalist There Was, There Was Not | Rough Cut Project | In Post-Production | dir. & prod. Emily Mkrtichian | prod. Brock Williams

From the AlumNest

In the program: 

In the forum:

Meet our Team at IDFA

Our Program Director Kiyoko McCrae and Senior Program Manager Elaisha Stokes will be in attendance at the festival. They will be speaking at the IDFA academy (a training program for 110 selected emerging filmmakers coming to IDFA), taking 1:1 meetings and giving presentations on our programs and funding opportunities at the Industry Hub. They will also be hosting an IDFA industry lunch as an opportunity for us to celebrate our 2023 Chicken & Egg Award recipients. 

Leave a comment Jul 13, 2023

Academy Invitations to AlumNest Filmmakers

Chicken & Egg Pictures is extremely proud to share some big news: Five AlumNest filmmakers have been invited to become members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The new members include Project: Hatched 2020 grantee Erika Cohn (Belly of the Beast), 2022 Critical Issues Fund grantee Katja Esson (Razing Liberty Square), 2020 (Egg)celerator Lab grantee Violet Du Feng (Hidden Letters), 2023 Chicken & Egg Award recipient Sonia Kennebeck, and Nest-supported filmmaker Nancy Schwartzman (Roll Red Roll, One Shot One Kill). 

We also want to congratulate Lindsey Dryden (producer of Nest-supported Unrest) and Melanie Miller (producer of Project: Hatched 2021 grantee On The Divide) for their invitations!   

Of the 2023 Class, 40% identify as women, 34% belong to underrepresented ethnic/racial communities, and 52% are from 50 countries and territories outside the United States.

Congratulations to the Class of 2023!

Leave a comment Jan 04, 2023

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

Two Chinese women sit next to each other. The young wan inclines her head to read what the elderly woman has in her hands: a yellow paper. The sunlight illuminates part of the room.
Still from Hidden Letters

Hidden Letters is a 2020 (Egg)celerator Lab grantee.

The Janes

dirs.  Tia Lessin, Emma Pildes

prods. Emma Pildes, Daniel Arcana, Jessica Levin

A photograph of 5 women wearing swimsuits and shades, in a sunny day in the'70s.
Still from The Janes

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
Leave a comment Dec 07, 2022

Four Nest-supported Films Nominated for the 2023 Cinema Eye Honors

Chicken & Egg Pictures is proud to see four Nest-supported filmmakers and four AlumNest filmmakers nominated for the 2023 Cinema Eye Honors. The 16th Annual Awards Ceremony will take place on Thursday, January 12, 2023 and celebrates outstanding artistry and craft in nonfiction filmmaking. 

Check out the nominated Nest-supported films including:

BEBA

dir. & prod. Rebeca Huntt

prod. Sofia Geld

Low angle shot of Beba, placing her arm behind her head and wearing a black top
Still from BEBA

Project: Hatched 2022 grantee BEBA is nominated for Outstanding Debut Feature and is included in The Unforgettables list. Director Rebeca Huntt is nominated for Outstanding Direction.

Hidden Letters

dirs. Violet Feng, Zhao Qing

prods. Violet Feng, Mette Cheng Munthe-Kaas, Jean Tsien, Su Kim

Two Chinese women sit next to each other. The young wan inclines her head to read what the elderly woman has in her hands: a yellow paper. The sunlight illuminates part of the room.
Still from Hidden Letters

2020 (Egg)celerator Lab grantee Hidden Letters is nominated for the Spotlight Award. 

Mija

dir. & prod. Isabel Castro

prod. Tabs Breese, Yesenia Tlahuel

Two young women rest on a blanket on the grass while looking up.
Still from Mija

2021 (Egg)celerator Lab grantee Mija is nominated for the Audience Choice Award and is included in The Unforgettables list.

Users

dir. Natalia Almada

prod. Josh Penn

Still from Users

Users was supported through Natalia Almada’s 2018 Chicken & Egg Award and is nominated  for Outstanding Original Music Score and Cinematography.

From AlumNest

Leave a comment May 20, 2022

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 Nausheen Dadabhoy Diversity Fellows Initiative 2018 Accelerator Lab 2019
Still from An Act of Worship

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

Still from Hidden Letters

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

Low angle shot of Beba, placing her arm behind her head and wearing a black top
Still from BEBA

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