Chicken & Egg Films announced today via Variety the 29 film projects supported by its third Chicken & Egg Films Research & Development Grant. The grants provide directors with $10,000 USD for research or $20,000 USD for development of a new documentary project. These critical early stages in the life of a documentary often go unsupported. During their granted year, filmmakers will also have access to the Chicken & Egg Films team and community for peer support, expert mentorship, and industry connections. The 2025 Chicken & Egg Films Research & Development Grant is supported by Netflix.

The Research & Development (R&D) Grant this year will be awarded to 35 total filmmakers working on 29 film projects (including projects with co-directors). These filmmakers represent 17 countries worldwide including Australia, Brazil, Canada, Costa Rica, France, El Salvador, India, Libya, Japan, Macedonia, Myanmar, Romania, Spain, South Korea, the UK, Ukraine, and the US (66% of grantees are international). There was a 22% increase in applications over the second year of the grant, totaling 363 applications from 60 countries.

The R&D Grant recipients are divided into two segments. The Research Grant recipients are in the ideation period, which includes identifying secondary sources, following storylines, and building foundational relationships. The Development Grant recipients are in a deeper exploration period, which includes securing access to core subjects and collaborators, solidifying budgets, fundraising, story development, and other tasks. 

As more documentary projects struggle to find funding in today’s landscape, Chicken & Egg Films remains committed to supporting women and gender-expansive filmmakers, amplifying perspectives from every corner of the globe, and upholding artistic integrity and freedom. “At a time when the political climate grows increasingly hostile to independent voices, supporting early-stage documentary work is more urgent than ever,” said R&D Grant Senior Program Manager Elaisha Stokes. “This grant celebrates the bold diversity of filmmakers and stories that challenge, inspire, and reflect the complexity of our world. By investing in research and development, we’re helping to safeguard a pipeline of vital, untold stories—especially those that might otherwise go unsupported.”

This year’s R&D film projects spotlight urgent issues including genocide and war, LGBTQ visibility and history, journalism and democracy, sustainability, corporate power, and more. The filmmakers’ artistic styles range widely, including vérité, archival, biopic, experimental, and hybrid filmmaking. The stories are deeply personal and also serve as narrative seeds for societal change. Some of the filmmakers in the 2025 cohort include Tamara Kotevska (Honeyland), Chase Joynt (Framing Agnes), Ema Ryan Yamazaki (The Making of a Japanese, and new Academy member), and Lina Soualem (Bye Bye Tiberias). Through this program, Chicken & Egg will continue to support Chicken & Egg Award recipient Jeanie Finlay (Your Fat Friend) as well as six other filmmakers from the ‘Nest.’ The remaining 77% of the R&D 2025 grantees are brand new to Chicken & Egg Films. 

Several R&D filmmakers from previous years have now made significant progress with and/or completed their granted projects. R&D films from the 2023 cycle have premiered at Berlinale 2024, Locarno 2024, and the Chicago International Latino Film Festival 2025. Additionally, Habiba Nosheen, Rita Baghdadi, and Carola Fuentes received 2025 Chicken & Egg Awards, Chicken & Egg Films’ most prestigious honor, based on the films they developed during their R&D grant time.

Research Grant Recipients

1. Heather Courtney (US)

2. Inma de Reyes (UK, Spain)

3. Amber Fares (Canada)

4. Rendah Haj (Australia)

5. Shayla Harris (US)

6. Naziha Arebi (Libya, UK)

7. Cássio Kelm (Brazil) and Vulcanica Pokaropa (Brazil)

8. Srishti Lakhera (India) and Amith Surendran (India)

9. Arum Nam (South Korea)

10. Sky Neal (UK)

11. Lina Soualem (France, Palestine, Algeria)

12. Lina Vdovîi (Romania, Moldova)

13. Ainara Vera (Spain)

Development Grant Recipients

1. Giselle Bailey, Stephen Bailey (US) - Untitled

2. Raphaële Benisty (France, Morocco) - Anamiga

3. Nicole Chi Amén (Costa Rica) - A Future of Nostalgias

4. Drew Denny, Chase Joynt (US, Canada) - Inhabit

5. Yasmin Fedda (Palestinian via Kuwait, Lebanon, Canada, UK) - To Make Things Grow

6. Jeanie Finlay (UK) - The Incredible, Unstoppable, Untitled Jeanie Finlay Project

7. Snizhana Gusarevych (Ukraine) - Flowers of Mars

8. Carla Gutiérrez, Kristofer Ríos  (US/Peru, US/Puerto Rico) - The Young Lords

9. Snow Hnin Ei Hlaing (Myanmar) - The River 

10. Tamara Kotevska (Macedonia) - The Mammoths that Escaped the Kingdom of Erlik Khan

11. Jeanne Nouchi (France) - Anatolia

12. Ema Ryan Yamazaki (Japan, UK) - Untitled Japanese Company Film

13. Laurie Townshend (Canada/US) - Tallawah

14. Alejandra Vasquez, Sam Osborn (US) - Crystal City

15. Marlén Viñayo (Spain, El Salvador) - The Hell of the Holy Spirit

16. Miao Wang (China, US) - Notes from the Underground

ABOUT CHICKEN & EGG FILMS 

Chicken & Egg Films champions women and gender-expansive documentary filmmakers around the globe with funding, mentorship, and access so they can tell stories that ignite change. We match strategically-timed grants with creative guidance, peer community-building, and industry connections. This support system is tailored to meet the unique needs women and gender-expansive people experience in their filmmaking and career trajectories. 

As of 2025, we have provided over $15 million in grants and thousands of hours of creative mentorship to over 500 filmmakers from across the globe. Films supported by our work have been nationally and internationally recognized with critical accolades, including Academy Awards, Emmy Awards, and Peabody Awards. Recipient of honors including the Social Impact Media Awards Vanguard Award and the International Documentary Association’s Amicus Award, Chicken & Egg Films was first founded in 2005 to address the “chicken or egg” inequities women filmmakers faced. We’ve since evolved our eligibility criteria to support all filmmakers impacted by gender bias. For additional information please visit chickeneggfilms.org.