What a week for Chicken & Egg Executive Produced Films!

Congratulations to Chicken & Egg Executive Produced Semper Fi: Always Faithful and The Barber of Birmingham for a fantastic week on the festival circuit!

Semper Fi took home the Audience Award for Best Documentary at the 12th Annual Woodstock Film Festival! Read more about the festival and Semper Fi's win at Indiewire!

Meanwhile on the other side of the country, The Barber of Birmingham received the award for "Honoring Historic and Artistic Courage" at the 12th Annual Port Townsend Film Festival in Washington. To read more about this festival, check out the write-up in Peninsula Daily News.

Congratulations to these great documentaries as they continue to reach audiences and make their voices heard!

Celebrating Julia Reichert at IFW 2011!

Julia Reichert, a 2011 Celebration Grantee, was honored for her great filmmaking and mentorship. Julia brought forth her wisdom and warmth in a speech addressed to her young colleagues who attended the IFW party with her. Her speech echoed Chicken & Egg’s Mother Wit sentiment towards women filmmakers; dedicated to expanding the definition of human rights to include the basic human right to eat, play, work, love and learn in peace. She discussed how important it is to THRIVE, and to connect with people, subjects, issues, and joy. This is something that we truly want to celebrate and it is an honor to have her as part of the nest.

Here is her speech:


As Julia says, it is the job of filmmakers to hear and tell the truth, and to face it with courage. These are incredible tasks to ask of anyone, and that is why it is so important to provide support to these women filmmakers in mentorship, funds, collaboration, resources, and respect. So thank you Julia, for your inspiring words!

Julia, a three-time Academy Award nominee, and a Prime-time Emmy winner, continues to shape and support the world around her. As a professor at Wright State University in Ohio, Julia is not only a great filmmaker, but also a master teacher and beloved mentor whose generosity of spirit is inspiring a new generation of women filmmakers to find their voice.

Here is a compilation reel of her work:

GRANITO receives AN EXTENDED NYC RUN!

Have you been trying to check out the fabulous documentary GRANITO: How to Nail a Dictator all week but couldn't make it to IFC? Well, now's your chance! -- GRANITO has extended their NYC run, moving over to Cinema Village for the next two weeks!

GRANITO: How to Nail a Dictator, presented in association with Chicken & Egg Pictures’ MOTHER WIT Human Rights Fund, is part political thriller and part memoir, shadowing a haunting crime across four decades. As activists, experts and lawyers build an international human rights case against a Guatemalan military dictator, Pamela Yates’s 1982 film When the Mountains Trembl emerges as forensic evidence—a witness to the genocide it documented. Recording the search for truth and accountability, her latest work captures the arc of history as it bends towards justice.

GRANITO will begin screening at Cinema Village on September 23rd, so be sure to order your tickets for this amazing and inspiring documentary! Show your support and spread the word as GRANITO continues on its way for Oscar qualification!

For more information or to purchase tickets, click here!

Match+ receives SFFS Documentary Film Funds grant!

Congratulations to Match +! A 2009 recipient of Chicken & Egg's "Liberty Grant" is one of three winners of the San Francisco Film Society's inaugural SFFS Documentary Film Funds grants.

The SFFS Documentary Film Funds will award a total of $100,000 to help cover post-production costs of these three documentaries!

Match + chronicles love, marriage, and the growing movement for HIV-positive marriage matchmaking in India, and has screened at Sundance!

Read indiewire's write-up on the SFFS winners here!

Chicken & Egg Supported Documentaries at the Grierson Awards!

Chicken & Egg is proud to announce two recipients of the Liberty Grant, My Perestroika and Budrus, have been nominated for the Grierson 2011: The British Documentary Awards!

My Perestroika, which follows five ordinary Russians as they cope with their country's ever-shifting political landscape, is nominated for the "ITN Sources Best Historical Documentary."

Budrus, about a Palestinian community organizer who unites local Fatah and Hamas members an unarmed movement to save his village of Budrus, is nominated for the "CTVC Best Newcomer Documentary."

The Grierson British Documentary Awards are named in honor of Scottish filmmaker John Grierson (1898-1972), creator of such fantastic works as Drifters and Night Mail, and often viewed as the father of documentary.

For more information or to purchase tickets to the ceremony, click here!

Chicken & Egg Celebrates IFW 2011!

A big thank you to everyone who came out Monday night to Chicken & Egg’s reception celebrating those “I Believe in You” grantees who were featured at Independent Film Week 2011 “Spotlight in Documentary”! The evening was a great success! We were thrilled to celebrate such an accomplishment with them and toast their continued success!

The films featured at IFW 2011 included,

Always in Season by Jacqueline Olive
Call Me Kuchu by Malika Zouhali-Worrall & Katherine Wright
Can’t Stop the Water by Rebecca Ferris & Jason Ferris
Gideon's Army by Dawn Porter
Oscar’s Comeback by Lisa Collins & Mark Schwartzburt
They Are All My Brothers by Nicole Opper
The Vanquishing of the Witch Baba Yaga by Jessica Oreck
Unstable Elements by Madeleine Sacker

Chicken & Egg also celebrated two outstanding women who have made considerable advancements in filmmaking and programming, as well as championed and mentored other women filmmakers—Claire Aguilar and Julia Reichert.

Here is a compilation reel of Claire's work:


Claire Aguilar received the 2011 Good Egg Award in honor of her deep belief in women filmmakers to secure the power of public television to make changes. Claire is currently the Senior Vice President of Programming at Independent Television Service (ITVS) and co-curates Independent Lens, a series of independent programming on PBS. Claire continues to support and mentor through her work with ITVS where she oversees programming initiatives, peer panel reviews, and funding recommendations.

Check out what Claire had to say!


Julia Reichert, a 2011 Celebration Grantee, was honored for her great filmmaking and mentorship. Julia, a three-time Academy Award nominee, and a Prime-time Emmy winner, continues to shape and support the world around her. As a professor at Wright State University in Ohio, Julia is not only a great filmmaker, but also a master teacher and beloved mentor whose generosity of spirit is inspiring a new generation of women filmmakers to find their voice.

Thank you to everyone for a successful and fantastic evening! And remember--we believe in you!

Tonight: GRANITO at IFC with Chicken & Egg co-founder Wendy Ettinger!

Did you miss last night's premiere of GRANITO: HOW TO NAIL A DICATOR at IFC? Then go tonight!

GRANITO: How to Nail a Dictator, presented in association with Chicken & Egg Pictures’ MOTHER WIT Human Rights Fund has a special screening planned for tonight!--Chicken & Egg Pictures co-founder Wendy Ettinger will be present at the Thursday, September 15th screening!

Part political thriller, part memoir, GRANITO: HOW TO NAIL A DICTATOR shadows a haunting crime across four decades. As activists, experts and lawyers build an international human rights case against a Guatemalan military dictator, Pamela Yates’s 1982 film When the Mountains Tremble emerges as forensic evidence—a witness to the genocide it documented. Recording the search for truth and accountability, her latest work captures the arc of history as it bends towards justice.

Be sure to check out Chicken & Egg grantee Pamela Yates's spectacular new documentary! Show your support and spread the word as GRANITO continues on its way for Oscar qualification!

GRANITO runs until Thursday, September 22nd, at IFC. For more information, click here!

Chicken & Egg Supported CONNECTED Premieres Sept 16th!

Chicken & Egg Pictures is happy to announce the premiere of Tiffany Shlain's film CONNECTED: An Autobiography about Love, Death, and Techonology! The film premieres in San Francisco on September 16th, and will screen throughout the country in the following weeks--including New York City on October 14th!

A recipient of Chicken & Egg Pictures' I Believe in You Grant, CONNECTED explores what it means to be "interdependent" in the 21st century and the overall influence of technology.

Official Synopsis:
Have you ever faked a restroom trip to check your email? Slept with your laptop? Or become so overwhelmed that you just unplugged from it all? In this funny, eye-opening, and inspiring film, director Tiffany Shlain takes audiences on an exhilarating rollercoaster ride to discover what it means to be connected in the 21st century. From founding The Webby Awards to being a passionate advocate for The National Day of Unplugging, Shlain's love/hate relationship with technology serves as the springboard for a thrilling exploration of modern life...and our interconnected future. Equal parts documentary and memoir, the film unfolds during a year in which technology and science literally become a matter of life and death for the director. As Shlain's father battles brain cancer and she confronts a high-risk pregnancy, her very understanding of connection is challenged. Using a brilliant mix of animation, archival footage, and home movies, Shlain reveals the surprising ties that link us not only to the people we love but also to the world at large. A personal film with universal relevance, Connected explores how, after centuries of declaring our independence, it may be time for us to declare our interdependence instead.

For more information and to order tickets for the San Francisco premiere at Landmark Embarcadero, click here!

For more information and to order tickets for the New York City premiere at The Angelika Theater, click here.

Additional Opening Dates
9/16 | San Francisco | Landmark Embarcadero
9/16 | Mill Valley | Sequoia Theater
9/16 | Berkeley | Shattuck Theater
9/23 | Portland | Regal Fox Tower 10
9/23 | Monterey | Arcangelo Osio Theater
9/23 | Santa Cruz | The Nickelodeon
9/30 | LA | The Arclight Theater Hollywood
10/7 | Seattle | Landmark Varsity 3
10/14 | NYC | Angelika Theater
10/28 | Denver | Landmark Chez Artiste

For all the latest information as CONNECTED expands its reach across the country, or to connect with filmmaker Tiffany Shalin, check out her Twitter! @tiffanyshlain!

Chicken & Egg Supported GRANITO Premieres at IFC!

GRANITO: HOW TO NAIL A DICATOR, presented in association with Chicken & Egg Pictures’ MOTHER WIT Human Rights Fund, premieres at IFC Center on Wednesday, September 14th and runs until Thursday, September 22nd. Chicken & Egg Pictures co-founder Wendy Ettinger will be at the Thursday, September 15th screening, as part of a Q&A session! Be sure to check out Chicken & Egg grantee Pamela Yates's spectacular new documentary!

Part political thriller, part memoir, GRANITO: HOW TO NAIL A DICTATOR shadows a haunting crime across four decades. As activists, experts and lawyers build an international human rights case against a Guatemalan military dictator, Pamela Yates’s 1982 film When the Mountains Tremble emerges as forensic evidence—a witness to the genocide it documented. Recording the search for truth and accountability, her latest work captures the arc of history as it bends towards justice.



GRANITO: HOW TO NAIL A DICTATOR Theatrical Trailer.

For more information about GRANITO’s screenings at IFC Center, click here!