The Chicken & Egg Award recognizes women and gender-expansive filmmakers at advanced stages in their careers who are poised to reach new heights in their creative and impact trajectories across the world.

The award includes $75,000 in support: $25,000 toward the creation of a feature-length documentary currently in progress and $50,000 in unrestricted funding to support the filmmaker’s personal and professional growth throughout the year.

The heart of the program is its cohort model. Filmmakers meet monthly in a virtual space to exchange ideas, offer mutual support, and collectively navigate the creative and professional challenges of the field. We also host two in-person retreats during the fellowship year. The first focuses on the filmmaker’s current project, career development, and building bonds within the cohort; the second is centered around a major documentary marketplace, where we curate a tailored experience including strategic industry meetings and career-focused programming.

When considering potential candidates, we look for a combination of the following:

• A strong directorial body of work, including at least two feature documentaries. Producing, editing, or other roles are not considered under the directorial requirement.

• A meaningful contribution to the documentary field or a unique skill set that could enrich the cohort dynamic.

• A feature documentary in late development or production. Films in early distribution or festival release may also be considered if the director is simultaneously developing another project.

• A clear articulation of how the award year might serve as a creative or professional “breakthrough.”

• A deep interest in and willingness to contribute to a collaborative, supportive cohort environment.

The Chicken & Egg Award is a nomination-only program. 

As with any curated fellowship, timing and fit play a critical role. A filmmaker may be highly qualified but not quite aligned with the needs or composition of a given year’s cohort. For that reason, we track prospective candidates over time to ensure we invite them when the program can be most impactful for them—and when they can be most impactful to the group. 

If you would like to nominate yourself or another filmmaker, we invite you to fill out the Chicken & Egg Award Nomination Form, which asks for:

• A brief biography of the filmmaker

• Links to at least two prior feature films (48 minutes or longer) that the filmmaker has directed/co-directed

• A short synopsis and logline for current project

• A note on where the project is in its development

The purpose of this nomination form is to put a filmmaker on our radar for tracking purposes; it is not an invitation to apply, nor is it a guarantee of an invitation to apply in the future. Our goal is to prevent filmmakers from having to fill out labor-intensive and vulnerable applications when they may not be successful in a particular year.

Nominations are reviewed on an ongoing basis. We will not reply to nominations, and we ask that you do not follow up with us with inquiries about the status of a nomination.