Q

dir. & prod. Jude Chehab

Q is a 2021 (Egg)celerator Lab grantee. 

Retrospective: Jeanie Finlay

We were proud to watch one of our 2023 Chicken & Egg Award recipients Jeanie Finlay, a prominent documentary filmmaker hailing from Northern England, getting recognized with a retrospective at this year’s Big Sky Film Festival. Jeanie’s films tell intimate stories that resonate with audiences globally, and this retrospective featured 12 selections from her repertoire, including her most recent feature Your Fat Friend. Explore the full program here.

From the AlumNest

• Troll Storm – World Premiere
  dir. & prod. Eunice Lau
  prods. Brooke Pepion Swaney, Zachary Kerschberg

• American Grail: A Quest for the Ivory-Billed Woodpecker  – World Premiere
  dir. Andy Sarjahani
  prod. Jolene Pinder

• Bring Them Home / Aiskótáhkapiyaaya – World Premiere & Winner of the Big Sky Award
  dirs. Ivan MacDonald, Ivy MacDonald, Daniel Glick
  prods. Daniel Glick, Ivan MacDonald, Sarah Clarke

• Confessions of a Good Samaritan 
  dir. Penny Lane
  prod. Gabriel Sedgwick

• Dark Money
  dir. & prod. Kimberly Reed 
  prod. Katy Chevigny

• Eat Flowers
  dir. River Finlay
  prods. Alison Klayman, Cig Harvey, River Finlay, Sashka Rothchild

• Montana Indigenous Voting Rights – World Premiere
  dir. Ivan MacDonald
  prods. ACLU of Montana, Western Native Vote, Jessica Jane Hart

• Seat 31: Zooey Zephyr – World Premiere & Winner of the Mini-doc Award
  dir. & prod. Kimberly Reed 

• Unseen
  dir. & prod. Set Hernande
  prods. Félix Endara, Diane Quon, Day Al-Mohamed

Against the Tide

dir. Sarvnik Kaur 

prod. Koval Bhatia, Quentin Laurent

Against the Tide is a 2021 (Egg)celerator Lab grantee.

Find about upcoming screenings here.

Bad Press

dirs. Rebecca Landsberry-Baker, Joe Peeler

prods. Conrad Beilharz, Garrett F. Baker, Tyler Graim

Bad Press is a participant of Project: Hatched 2023.

Find out about upcoming screenings here.

Eat Bitter

dirs. Ningyi Sun, Pascale Appora-Gnekindy

prod. Mathieu Faure

Eat Bitter is a 2022 (Egg)celerator Lab finalist.

Find out about upcoming screenings here.

El eco / The Echo

dir. & prod. Tatiana Huezo

prod. Dalia Reyes

El eco / The Echo was supported through Tatiana Huezo’s 2021 Chicken & Egg Award.  

Joonam

dir. Sierra Urich

prod. Keith Wilson

Joonam is a 2022 (Egg)celerator Lab grantee.

Find out about upcoming screenings here.

MnM

dir. Twiggy Pucci Garçon

prods. Colleen Cassingham, Jess Devaney

MnM was supported in partnership with Multitude Films as a part of the QUEER FUTURES (2022) series and is eligible for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Film.

PAY OR DIE

dirs. & prods. Rachael Dyer, Scott Alexander Ruderman

prod. Yael Melamede

PAY OR DIE is a participant of Project: Hatched 2023.

Now streaming on Paramount +. 

Plan C

dir. & prod. Tracy Droz Tragos

Plan C is a 2022 Critical Issues Fund grantee.

Find out about upcoming screenings here or watch on demand here.

Razing Liberty Square

dir. Katja Esson

prods. Ann Bennett, Corinna Sager, Ronald Baez

Razing Liberty Square is a 2022 Critical Issues Fund grantee.

The film will open theatrically in Miami on January 26 and the Broadcast Premiere will be on Independent Lens on January 29.

Reality Winner

dir. & prod. Sonia Kennebeck

prod. Ines Hofmann Kanna

Reality Winner was supported through Sonia Kennebeck’s 2023 Chicken & Egg Award.

Songs of Earth

dir. & prod. Margreth Olin

prod. Lena Faye-Lund Sandvik

Songs of Earth was supported through Margreth Olin’s 2022 Chicken & Egg Award.

The Eternal Memory

dir. & prod. Maite Alberdi

prod. Juan de Dios Larraín, Pablo Larraín, Rocío Jadue

The Eternal Memory was supported through Maite Alberdi’s 2020 Chicken & Egg Award.

Now streaming on Paramount +.

Total Trust

dir. Jialing Zhang

prod. Knut Jäger

Total Trust was supported through Jialing Zhang’s 2021 Chicken & Egg Award.

Check out their list of upcoming New York screenings here. 

Twice Colonized

dir. Lin Alluna

prods.  Emile Hertling Péronard, Alethea Arnaquq-Baril, Stacey Aglok, Bob Moore

Twice Colonized is a participant of Project: Hatched 2023.

Find out about upcoming screenings here.

Alumni filmmakers eligible for Best Documentary Feature

• AKA Mr. Chow
  dir. Nick Hooker
  prod. Diane Quon

• Anonymous Sister
  dir. & prod. Jamie Boyle
  prods. Marilyn Ness, Elizabeth Westrate

• Another Body
  dirs. & prods. Sophie Compton, Reuben Hamlyn
  prod. Elizabeth Woodward

• Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project
  dirs. & prods. Michèle Stephenson, Joe Brewster 

• King Coal 
  dir. & prod. Elaine McMillion Sheldon
  prods. Shane Boris, Diane Becker, Peggy Drexler

• Mourning In Lod
  dir. & prod. Hilla Medalia

• The Lady Bird Diaries 
  dir. & prod. Dawn Porter
  prod. Kim Reynolds

• Victim/Suspect
  dir. & prod. Nancy Schwartzman
  prods. Julie Goldman, Christopher Clements, Alice Henty, Rachel de Leon, Amanda Pike

• Who I Am Not
  dir. Tunde Skovran
  prods. Andrei Zinca, Danielle Turkov, Paul Cadieux, Patrick Hamm, Amy Shepherd, Edith Weil, Daniel Szandtner, Janos Kovacs 

• Your Fat Friend
  dir. & prod. Jeanie Finlay
  prod. Suzanne Alizart

• You Were My First Boyfriend
  dirs. Cecilia Aldarondo, Sarah Enid Hagey
  prod. Ines Hofmann Kanna (prod. of Reality Winner)

Alumni filmmakers eligible for Best Documentary Short Film

• A Mouthful of Petrol
  dir. & prod. Jess Kohl
  exec. prod. Lindsay Poulton

• Bone Black: Midwives vs the South 
  dir. Rebecca Richman Cohen
  prod. Yoruba Richen

• Heart of an Astronaut
  dir. Jennifer Rainsford
  prods. Costanza Julia Bani

• How We Get Free
  dirs. Geeta Gandbhir, Samantha Knowles
  prods. Kathleen Lingo, Sweta Vohra, Jess Devaney

• Rest Stop
  dir. Crystal Kayiza
  prods. Brit Fryer, Jalena Keane-Lee

• The Recall
  dir. Imani Dennison (POV Shorts Co-Production Fund Grantee)
  prod. Flor Tejada

• The Feeling of Being Close to You
  dir. & prod. Ash Goh Hua

Post written by Communications Intern Tess Caldwell

Bad Press

dirs. Rebecca Landsberry-Baker, Joe Peeler

prods. Conrad Beilharz, Garrett F. Baker, Tyler Graim

Bad Press is a participant of Project: Hatched 2023 having its NYC Premiere in the Winners Circle Section.

Get your tickets here.

Eat Bitter

dirs. Ningyi Sun, Pascale Appora-Gnekindy

prod. Mathieu Faure

Eat Bitter is a 2022 (Egg)celerator Lab finalist having its New York Premiere in the Investigations section.

Get your tickets here.

How To Have An American Baby

dir. & prod. Leslie Tai

prods. Jillian Schultz, Chocho Tang, Elivia Shaw, Yan Cong, Xinyi “Leila” Lin

How to Have an American Baby participated in the former 2017 Diversity Fellows Initiative and is having its New York Premiere in the Investigations section.

Get your tickets here.

Is There Anybody Out There?

dir. Ella Glendining

prod. Janine Marmot

Is There Anybody Out There? is a 2021 (Egg)celerator Lab grantee and is having its NYC Premiere in the Fight The Power section. 

Get your tickets here.

MnM

dir. Twiggy Pucci Garçon

prod. Colleen Cassingham, Jess Devaney

MnM was supported in partnership with Multitude Films as a part of the QUEER FUTURES (2022) series and is having its NYC Premiere in the “Shorts: Family Matters” program. 

Get your tickets here.

Songs of Earth

dir. & prod. Margreth Olin

prod. Lena Faye-Lund Sandvik

Songs of Earth was supported through Margreth Olin’s 2022 Chicken & Egg Award and is participating in the Winners Circle section. 

Get your tickets here.

Suddenly TV

dir. & prod. Roopa Gogineni

prods. Reem Haddad, Trevor Snapp, Fiona Lawson-Baker

Suddenly TV is a participant of Project: Hatched 2023, and is participating in the “Shorts: The People vs” program.

Get your tickets here.

The Eternal Memory

dir. & prod. Maite Alberdi

prod. Juan de Dios Larraín, Pablo Larraín, Rocío Jadue

The Eternal Memory was supported through Maite Alberdi’s 2020 Chicken & Egg Award and is participating in the Short List: Features section. 

Get your tickets here.

Total Trust

dir. Jialing Zhang

prod. Knut Jäger

Total Trust is supported through Jialing Zhang’s 2021 Chicken & Egg Award and is having its US Premiere in the International Competition section. 

Get your tickets here.

DOC NYC PRO

DOC NYC PRO FALL 2023 will take place from Thursday, November 9 through Thursday, November 16. The activities are comprised of several panels and pitches designed to empower filmmakers at different stages of their careers.

CINEMATOGRAPHY DAY

Saturday, November 11

DOCUMENTARY ETHICS AND THE LAW
Featuring Jess Devaney, director of Chicken & Egg-supported film Love the Sinner and producer of The Script, MnM, How to Carry Water, and It’s Only Life After All. 

EDITING DAY

Sunday, November 12

CASE STUDY: GOING TO MARS: THE NIKKI GIOVANNI PROJECT
Featuring 2016 Chicken & Egg Award recipient Michèle Stephenson

JOURNALISM AND DOCUMENTARY DAY

Monday, November 13

WHEN JOURNALISTS BECOME DOCUMENTARY VISIONARIES
Featuring Becca Landsberry-Baker, director and producer of Project: Hatched 2023 participant Bad Press.

CREATIVE DISTRIBUTION DAY

Thursday, November 16

HOPE
Featuring 2017 Chicken & Egg Award recipient Dawn Porter.

THE POWER OF EDUCATIONAL DISTRIBUTION
Featuring Chithra Jeyaram, director and producer of 2022 (Egg)celerator Lab participant Our Daughters (working title). 

WHERE WILL YOUR FILM BE IN 20 YEARS?
Featuring our Board member Susan Margolin.

From the AlumNest

• Between Life & Death | New York Premiere
  dir. Nick Capote
  prod. Kimberley Ferdinando, Melissa Leardi, Amanda Spain

• Black Girls Play: The Story Of Hand Games 
  dirs. & prods. Michéle Stephenson, Joe Brewster

• Candace Parker: Unapologetic  | World Premiere
  dir. Joie Jacoby
  prod. Carolyn Hepburn, Giselle Rodriguez, Julie Lilleby, Paige Bethmann

• Confessions of a Good Samaritan | NYC Premiere
  dir. Penny Lane
  prod. Gabriel Sedgwick

• Dalton’s Dream  | North American Premiere
  dirs. Kim Longinotto, Franky Murray Brown
  prod. Lorine Plagnol

• Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project
  dirs. & prods. Michèle Stephenson, Joe Brewster 

• How We Get Free  | NYC Premiere
  dirs. Geeta Gandbhir, Samantha Knowles
  prods. Kathleen Lingo, Sweta Vohra, Jess Devaney

• Obsessed With Light | North American Premiere
  dirs. Sabine Krayenbühl, Zeva Oelbaum
  prods. Zeva Oelbaum, Sabine Krayenbühl, Christian Popp, Susan Margolin

• The Cost of Inheritance  | World Premiere
  dir. Yoruba Richen
  prods. Mehret Mandefro, Lacey Schwartz Delgado, Iris Samson 

• The Dads 
  dir. & prod. Luchina Fisher
  co-prods. Eric Miclette, Shan Shan Tam

• The Lady Bird Diaries 
  dir. Dawn Porter
  prod. Kim Reynolds

• The Minister of Defense  | World Premiere
  dir. Ken Rodgers, Courtland Bragg
  prods. Carolyn Hepburn, Courtland Bragg, Nick Mascolo, Ken Rodgers, Chip Swain, Kobi Theiler

• Time Bomb Y2K | NYC Premiere
  dirs. Brian Becker, Marley McDonald
  prods. Penny Lane, Brian Becker, Peter Nauffts, Shelby Fintak

• Unseen | NYC Premiere 
  dir. & prod. Set Hernandez
  prods. Félix Endara, Day Al-Mohamed, Diane Quon, Dorian Gomez Pestaña, Josaen Ronquillo, Cheryl Green, Thomas Reid, Qudsiya Naqui, Conchita Hernandez

• We Are Fire (Draw For Change) | World Premiere 
  dir. Karen Vázquez Guadarrama
  prods. Hanne Phlypo, Estelle Robin You, Marion Guth, François Le Gall, Heino Deckert, Femke Wolting, Bruno Felix, Julie Goldman

• Who I Am Not | New York Premiere 
  dir. Tunde Skovran
  prods. Andrei Zinca, Danielle Turkov, Paul Cadieux, Patrick Hamm, Amy Shepherd, Edith Weil, Daniel Szandtner, Janos Kovacs

A Special Congratulations

• I Told You So
  dirs. & prods. Malak AlSayyad, Amaan Stewartprods. Judith Helfand (Founder and Consultant), Loren Townsley

Meet Our Team at DOC NYC

Since the festival is on our home turf, we are excited for many of our team members to have opportunities to attend screenings and events for our filmmakers. We are also incredibly excited to announce that our very own Program Director, Kiyoko McCrae, was honored by the Documentary New Leaders program. Learn more about this honor here. Come say hi! 

We are delighted to provide you with a discount code on tickets (capacity permitting) for our supported films.

Just enter the code at checkout: DOCNYC_PTNR_23
This code will unlock the following discounts:
Opening Night / Centerpiece / Closing Screenings: $25 (Regular price: $30)
Regular Screenings: $17 (Regular price: $20)
DOC NYC U, Short List, Weekday Matinees (M-F before 12pm): $11 (Regular Price: $13)
Online screenings: $13 (Regular Price: $10)

Post written by Communications Intern Tess Caldwell

The Janes

dir. Tia Lessin, Emma Pildes

prod. Emma Pildes, Daniel Arcana, Jessica Levin

The Janes is a Project: Hatched 2022 finalist nominated for Outstanding Social Issue Documentary, Best Documentary, Outstanding Research: Documentary, Outstanding Direction: Documentary.

Apart

dir. & prod. Jennifer Redfearn

prod. Tim Metzger

Apart is a 2018 (Egg)celerator Lab grantee nominated for Outstanding Politics and Government Documentary. 

From the AlumNest

• American Reckoning
  dir. & prod. Yoruba Richen, Brad Lichtenstein
  Nominated for: Outstanding Historical Documentary

• Art & Krimes by Krimes
  dir. & prod. Alysa Nahmias
  prod. Amanda Spain, Benjamin Murray
  Nominated for: Outstanding Arts and Culture Documentary

• Body Parts
  dir. Kristy Guevara-Flanagan
  prod. Helen Hood Scheer
  Nominated for: Outstanding Music Composition

• Delikado
  dir. & prod. Karl Malakunas
  prod. Kara Magsanoc-Alikpala, Michael Collins, Marty Syjuco, Laura Nix
  Nominated for: Outstanding Investigative Documentary

• How to Change your Mind
  dir. Lucy Walker, Alison Ellwood
  Nominated for: Outstanding Graphic Design and Art Direction: Documentary

• Lincoln’s Dilemma
  dir. Jacqueline Olive, Barak Goodman
  Nominated for: Outstanding Graphic Design and Art Direction: Documentary

• Lowndes County and the Road to Black Power
  dir. Geeta Gandbhir
  prod. Jess Devaney
  Nominated for: Outstanding Research Documentary, Outstanding Editing: Documentary

• The Flagmakers
  dir. & prod. Cynthia Wade, Sharon Liese
  prod. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Carolyn Bernstein, Mark Gordon, Ryan Harrington, Jenna Segal
  Nominated for: Outstanding Short Documentary

• The U.S. and the Holocaust
  dir. Lynn Novick, Ken Burns, Sarah Botstein
  Nominated for: Outstanding Research Documentary

• TikTok, Boom
  dir. & prod. Shalini Kantayya
  prod. Danni Mynard, Ross Dinerstein
  Nominated for: Outstanding Business and Economic Documentary

• Wuhan Wuhan
  dir. Yung Chang
  prod. Diane Quon, Donna Gigliotti, Peter Luo
  Nominated for: Outstanding Current Affairs Documentary

• 37 Words
  dir. & prod. Dawn Porter, Nicole Newnham
  Nominated for: Outstanding Research Documentary

Post written by Communications Intern Tess Caldwell

Breaking the News

dirs. Chelsea Hernandez, Heather Courtney, Princess A. Hairston

prod. Diane Quon

Breaking the News a 2022 Critical Issues Fund Grantee had its DC Premiere.

How to Carry Water

dir. Sasha Wortzel

prod. Jess Devaney, Anya Rous, Colleen Cassingham

How to Carry Water was supported in partnership with Multitude Films as a part of the QUEER FUTURES (2022) series and had its DC Premiere in the “Shorts Program 3: Out/Spoken” section.

It’s Only Life After All

dir. & prod. Alexandria Bombach

prods. Kathlyn Horan, Jess Devaney, Anya Rous

It’s Only Life After All was supported through Alexandria Bombach’s 2019 Chicken & Egg Award and had its DC Premiere.

MnM

dir. Twiggy Pucci Garçon

prod. Colleen Cassingham, Jess Devaney

MnM was supported in partnership with Multitude Films as a part of the QUEER FUTURES (2022) series and had its North American Premiere in the “Shorts Program 3: Out/Spoken” section.

The Eternal Memory

dir. & prod. Maite Alberdi

prod. Juan de Dios Larraín, Pablo Larraín, Rocío Jadue

The Eternal Memory was supported through Maite Alberdi’s 2020 Chicken & Egg Award and had its DC Premiere.

The Script

dir. Brit Fryer, Noah Schamus

prod. Colleen Cassingham, Jess Devaney

The Script was supported in partnership with Multitude Films as a part of the QUEER FUTURES series and had its East Coast Premiere in the “Shorts Program 3: Out/Spoken” section.

From the AlumNest

• Confessions of a Good Samaritan
  dir. Penny Lane
  prod. Gabriel Sedgwick
  
  
• Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project
  dirs. & prods. Michèle Stephenson, Joe Brewster 
  
  
• Kim’s Video
  dirs. & prods. David Redmon, Ashley Sabin
  prods. Deborah Smith, Dale Smith, Francesco Galavotti, Rebecca Tabasky
  
  
• Your Fat Friend
  dir. & prod. Jeanie Finlay
  prod. Suzanne Alizar

Post written by Spring Intern Tess Caldwell

We are proud to present the twelve grantees selected for the 2022 Critical Issues Fund. The Critical Issues Fund supports filmmakers, with more than $250,000 in funding, whose work is focused on important and topical issues that are currently having a decided and material impact on communities domestically and internationally. The 2022 grant awardees have projects exploring some of the most pressing issues of the moment: the war in Ukraine, gun violence, reproductive justice, and climate emergencies. 

“Through the Critical Issues Fund, we have identified films that have the potential to drive social change by sharing these stories with the world now—not years down the line. Chicken & Egg Pictures cares deeply about these issues and believes that a more equitable and just world can be shaped by the power of documentary films. Our hope is that through highlighting these stories told by talented women filmmakers, others will be motivated to action to support the films and the issues they highlight,” said CEO of Chicken & Egg Pictures, Jenni Wolfson. “We live in a world that’s not doing enough to prevent war, gun violence, climate change, or advance reproductive justice. We firmly believe these films can help in the fight for these issues.” 

We are thrilled to give these filmmakers a warm welcome to the Nest. The 2022 Critical Issues Fund grantees are: 

After Roe (Working title)
Directors: Amber Fares, Geeta Gandbhir (US/CANADA)
After Roe explores the ongoing nationwide battle playing out after the Supreme Court left the fate of tens of millions of women in the hands of politicians across the country.

Breaking the News
Directors: Heather Courtney, Chelsea Hernandez, Princess Hairston (US)
Producer: Diane Quon
Breaking the News follows a group of women and non-binary journalists, bucking the white male status quo, to launch The 19th*—a digital news startup that asks who has been omitted from mainstream coverage and how they can be included.

Displaced 
Director: Olha Zhurba (UKRAINE)
Producer: Darya Bassel 
Displaced captures a collective portrait of Ukrainians fleeing the grindstones of war, and those who stayed and are forced to adapt to life under constant shelling.

Frontline 
Director: Alisa Kovalenko (UKRAINE)
Producer: Katarzyna Kuczyńska 
Co-producers: Monica Hellström, Valeryi Kalmykov
Frontline is a diary from the frontline of the Russian invasion of Ukraine by a director and mother turned soldier.

Hollywood Does Abortion (Working title)
Directors & Producers: Barbara Attie, Mike Attie, Janet Goldwater (US)
Producer: Eliza Licht 
Hollywood Does Abortion explores descriptions of abortion in film and television, revealing how Hollywood both reflects and distorts this safe but controversial medical procedure.

Intercepted 
Director: Oksana Karpovych (UKRAINE/CANADA)
Producer: Les Films Cosmos
Intercepted is a journey through Ukraine that reveals the banality of evil behind the Russian invasion.

Plan C
Director & Producer: Tracy Droz Tragos (US)
Plan C follows the journey of a grassroots network, with a controversial visionary at the helm, as they fight to expand access to abortion pills across the United States, and keep hope alive during a global pandemic and the fall of Roe v. Wade.

Razing Liberty Square 
Director: Katja Esson (GERMANY/US)
Razing Liberty Square features Miami as ground zero for sea level rise. When residents of the Liberty Square public-housing community learn about a $300-million revitalization project in 2015, they soon discover that this sudden interest comes from the fact that their neighborhood is located on the highest and driest ground in the city. Now they must prepare to fight a new form of racial injustice: climate gentrification.

Red Zone
Director: Iryna Tsilyk (UKRAINE)
Producer: Darya Bassel 
Red Zone shares Tsilyk’s very intimate and female perspective on the question—what does it mean to be a woman in the war times?

Sol in the Garden 
Directors: Emily Cohen Ibañez, Débora Souza Silva (US/COLOMBIA/BRAZIL)
Sol in the Garden features Sol—who is released from prison after 16 years of incarceration—and follows her journey as she discovers that coming into her own freedom can be as challenging as living behind bars. Through a community gardening collective of formerly incarcerated horticulturalists in East Oakland, Sol strives to recover her humanity and sense of self.

Untitled Baby Doe Film 
Director: Jessica Earnshaw (CANADA)
Producer: Holly Meehl Chapman
Untitled Baby Doe Film intimately explores the phenomena of pregnancy denial through the stories of two women, a generation apart, given life sentences for the deaths of their newborns.

Untitled Uvalde Documentary 
Director & Producer: Anayansi Prado (PANAMA/US)

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