2 (Egg)celerator Lab Films to Watch at BlackStar Film Festival

BlackStar Film Festival is an annual celebration of the visual and storytelling traditions of the African diaspora and of global communities of color, showcasing films by Black, Brown and Indigenous artists from around the world.

BlackStar Film Festival

BlackStar Film Festival takes place Wednesday, August 4 to Sunday, August 8 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and online. (Egg)celerator Lab grantee films Between Fire and Water and Writing With Fire are available to stream and to see in-person. Plus Nest-supported filmmakers such as Michèle Stephenson and Lyric R. Cabral are participating in online sessions at the fest. 🖤 ⭐

Between Fire and Water (Entre Fuego y Agua)

Paths of Fire and Water Viviana Gómez Echeverry
Still from Between Fire and Water, photo by Anton Wenzel

dir. Viviana Gómez Echeverry & Anton Wenzel
prod. Sonia Barrera Gutiérrez

Watch the trailer here, and stream the full film here here (available August 8 – 9).


Writing With Fire

Writing With Fire, directed by Rintu Thomas and Sushmit Ghosh 2018 Accelerator Lab
Still from Writing With Fire

dir. Rintu Thomas & Sushmit Ghosh
prod. Rintu Thomas & Sushmit Ghosh

Watch the trailer here, and stream the full film here here (available August 7 – 8).


AlumNest Films

A special shoutout to Chicken & Egg Award recipients Malika Zouhali-Worrall and Michèle Stephenson on their new short films screening in the same Shorts: Antumbra program. Watch here on Saturday, August 7 at 4:00 pm ET (virtual screening).

Elena
dir. Michèle Stephenson
prod. Joe Brewster

Video Visit
dir. Malika Zouhali-Worrall

Announcing our 2019 (Egg)celerator Lab!


Chicken & Egg Pictures is proud to announce the fourth cohort of our (Egg)celerator Lab—previously known as Accelerator Lab—for emerging filmmakers. The (Egg)celerator Lab program is focused on identifying and supporting women and gender non-conforming nonfiction directors working on their first or second feature-length documentary.

This year’s (Egg)celerator Lab cohort is made up of 90% women directors of color; six first-time filmmakers and four second-time filmmakers; includes three directors telling LGBTQ stories; hails from seven different countries, including Colombia, Pakistan, and South Africa; and consists of women who have worked across the documentary landscape—from audio producers to cinematographers.

Loglines of the 2019 (Egg)celerator Lab grantees’ projects are below. Click on the project title to get to know these filmmakers and the projects they will be working on during their program year.

 

Milisuthando (Working Title) Milisuthando Bongela

Milisuthando (Working Title), directed by Milisuthando Bongela (SOUTH AFRICA)

In this coming-of-age story, Milisuthando—a black South African unaware of apartheid until it ended—explores how blacks and whites first lived together after 342 years of racial segregation.

 

Nausheen Dadabhoy An Act of Worship Chicken & Egg Pictures Diversity Fellows Initiative 2018 unnamed-5.jpgAn Act of Worship, directed by Nausheen Dadabhoy (US/PAKISTAN)

An Act of Worship follows a new generation of Muslim-American women activists who have been galvanized into action while anti-Muslim sentiments are on the rise.

 

#Mickey Betzabé García 2019 Accelerator Lab#Mickey, directed by Betzabé García (MEXICO)

Born in Sinaloa, Mickey found in internet a platform where she can explore her transgender identity and deal with her homophobic environment.

 

 

Paths of Fire and Water, directed by Viviana Gómez Echeverry (COLOMBIA)

Camilo is a young black man adopted by an indigenous family, who is now looking for his biological mother to understand who he really is.

 

We Are Inside Farah Kassem 2019 Eggcelerator LabWe Are Inside, directed by Farah Kassem (LEBANON)

Returning to Mustapha’s house in radicalised Tripoli, Farah decides to join her father’s all male poetry club: a living memorial of past times.

 

 

Untitled PRC Project Jessica Kingdon 2019 Accelerator LabUntitled PRC Project, directed by Jessica Kingdon (US)

Untitled PRC Project is a kaleidoscopic journey through China’s industrial supply chain, revealing paradoxes born from prosperity of the world’s emergent superpower.

 

MAMA BEARS DARESHA KYI 2019 Eggcelerator LabMama Bears, directed by Daresha Kyi (US)

Mama Bears explores the many ways in which the lives of conservative, Christian mothers are utterly transformed when they decide to accept their LGBTQ children.

 

Silent Beauty Jasmin Mara LópezSilent Beauty, directed by Jasmin López (MEXICO/US)

Silent Beauty is an autobiographical exploration of one woman’s family history with child sexual abuse and a culture of silence.

 

 

PRAY AWAY Kristine StolakisPray Away, directed by Kristine Stolakis (US)

Pray Away tells the story of the history and continuation of the “pray the gay away” or ex-gay movement.

 

 

Sara: A Fearless Dream Sara Khaki Mohammad Reza Eyni (Egg)celerator Lab 2019

 

Sara: A Fearless Dream, co-directed by Sara Khaki (pictured above) and Mohammad Reza Eyni (pictured below) (IRAN/US)

 

 

Sara takes the first council seat as the first female in her native male-dominated Iranian village. Sara: A Fearless Dream captures her as she takes a dangerous road to success.

 

 

Our next Open Call for the (Egg)celerator Lab will take place in the spring of 2020. For additional information on the program, including application criteria, please visit our Programs page.

* The parentheses next to the directors’ names indicate the directors’ country or countries of origin.