Chicken & Egg Pictures, longtime champion of women directors, has launched a new diversity fellows initiative and announced its first batch of participants. The organization will support seven non-fiction projects led by first- or second-time women filmmakers by offering them mentors, workshops and programming over a six-month period.

This year, the initiative’s first, Chicken & Egg teamed up with DOC NYC for “Breaking In: New Roadmaps,” a full festival day dedicated to diversity co-presented by The City of New York Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment. The event took place yesterday, November 19.

“Chicken & Egg Pictures is committed to discovering and elevating underrepresented voices in documentary filmmaking,” said Executive Director Jenni Wolfson. “We are thrilled to be able to support these nine exceptional filmmakers through our Diversity Fellows Initiative, sponsored by The Harnisch Foundation. We’re equally thrilled that The City of New York Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment will be joining us as a co-presenter of ‘Breaking In: New Roadmaps’ at DOC NYC, which will share important best practices and resources for emerging artists of diverse backgrounds.”

“The Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment is committed to supporting opportunities for New Yorkers of all backgrounds to build meaningful careers in the media and entertainment industry,” emphasized MOME Acting Commissioner Luis Castro. “New York is home to a talented and diverse community of artists.”

The diversity fellows are:

Christina Birkhead, “Bold, Sold, & Returned”

Lily Zepeda, “Flush Revolution”

Siyan Liu and Danni Wang, “Lady Town”

Sahra Mosawi, “Obstinate to Live”

Hana Mire, “Rajada Dalka” (“Nation’s Hope”)

Michelle Sérieux, “Swimming on Dry Land”

Dyana Winkler and Tina Brown, “United Skates”

Chicken & Egg recently celebrated their 10 year anniversary with a video highlighting some of their incredible contributions to cinema.

[via Indiewire]