Whicker’s World Foundation launches new grant for New York-based Chicken & Egg Pictures

• Whicker’s World Foundation is expanding its reach to help ensure that more women enter the profession.
• Chicken & Egg Pictures supports women non-fiction filmmakers whose artful and innovative storytelling catalyses social change.

• Submissions for existing Whicker’s World Foundation Awards 2017 are being accepted.

Whicker’s World Foundation launches a new bursary for New York-based Chicken & Egg Pictures, to help fulfil their mission to increase the number of women documentary makers introduced into the industry pipeline.
Whicker’s World Foundation—set up to fund a new generation of documentary makers—is expanding its reach to help ensure that more women enter the profession. The Foundation, which awards one of the biggest cash prizes in documentary production (£80,000 to an individual) has created an additional annual £10,000 grant for Chicken & Egg Pictures’ Accelerator Lab program.

Accelerator Lab, open to applicants from around the world, provides first- and second-time women filmmakers with a $35,000 grant, a year-long creative support program with participation in three one-week labs (all expenses covered), mentorship catered to each individual and her project, and opportunities for networking with industry professionals and the filmmaker community. As Jenni Wolfson, Executive Director of Chicken & Egg Pictures, said about the program, “We don’t simply support films, we foster careers. This holistic approach is the key to successfully supporting women filmmakers.”

The New York-based organisation’s strategy uniquely aligns with Whicker’s World’s continued efforts to broaden the world of documentary. Announcing the new annual award, Alan Whicker’s lifelong partner and founder of the Foundation Valerie Kleeman said: “Alan wanted his legacy to help documentary makers the world over.  He was ahead of time in his enthusiasm and support for the female perspective in his own filmmaking.  At the Whicker’s World Foundation, we want to be sure that there is equal opportunity for men and women in documentary and I have been impressed by the fact that Chicken & Egg Pictures give to women when they most need it. I feel sure that funding at an early stage will make a huge difference to women in this industry.”

The Foundation is kicking off its support with a grant towards Assia Boundaoui’s participation in the Accelerator Lab program for The Feeling of Being Watched, an exploration of the FBI’s pre-9/11 counterterrorism activities in the filmmaker’s Arab-American neighbourhood outside of Chicago.

“We are so excited about this highly topical project and hope our support will help ‘accelerate’ Assia’s film towards receiving more funding and making the most powerful film she can. Last year, only one in five of our finalists for our main funding award was a woman. We hope the Whicker’s World grant to the Accelerator Lab will widen the base of would-be applicants,” said Jane Ray, Artistic Director of Whicker’s World Foundation.

Not the first time the two organisations crossed paths in the world of documentary, the Foundation previously made an ad-hoc payment of £5,000 to another Chicken & Egg Pictures grantee, Hana Mire, who is developing Rajada Dalka (Nation’s Hope), the working title of a film about Somalia’s women’s national basketball team.
-Ends-
 

Notes to Editors:
 

For press enquiries about Whicker’s World Foundation please contact:

Siobhan Connor
CONNOR PR
+44 (0)7966 177025
siobhan@connorpr.com
www.connorpr.com
twitter: connorpr
About Whicker’s World Foundation

Whicker’s World Foundation was set up in 2015 and gives one of documentary’s biggest cash prizes (£80,000) to an authored documentary-maker every year and £15,000 to the runner up. Entries for the main WWF Funding award close on February 14th 2017.

Applications for the Radio & Audio Funding Award close 28th February 2017

Applications for the 2017 Audio Recognition Award close 14th February 2017

Applications for the 2017 Sage Awards close 14th February 2017

For further information visit www.whickersworldfoundation.com

Join the conversation: facebook.com/whickersworldfoundation

https://twitter.com/whickersworld   @whickersworld

Chicken & Egg Pictures
Chicken & Egg Pictures supports women non-fiction filmmakers whose artful and innovative storytelling catalyzes social change.

For more information, visit chickeneggpics.org or contact Cindy Choung, External Relations Manager, Chicken & Egg Pictures, at cindy@chickeneggpics.org

http://www.feelingofbeingwatched.com/home/#the-film

film, documentary, TV, Whicker’s World Foundation, Connor PR, specialist in film PR, Specialist in TV publicity