The Whickers Chicken & Egg Pictures Award Recipient Announced for 2018
Further to our annual funding and recognition awards, The Whickers is delighted to donate an additional £10,000 annually to pioneering New York-based organisation Chicken & Egg Pictures in order to further support a woman documentary-maker from their Accelerator Lab program. We are very happy to announce that the recipient of The Whickers Chicken & Egg Pictures Award for 2018 is A Cops & Robbers Story from director Ilinca Calugareanu and producer Mara Adina. The team will receive £8,000 towards their production.
A Cops & Robbers Story will follow Corey Pegues, one of the highest ranking black police officers in the NYPD who, just a few months after retirement, reveals that before joining the NYPD he worked the streets dealing crack cocaine for one of the most notorious drug gangs in the US, the Supreme Team. To many he is either a perp in cop costume or a criminal turned hero. But who is the real Corey Pegues?
An exciting prelude to this feature-length project was recently previewed by Guardian Documentaries and is available to watch online.
Ilinca Calugareanu said of the news: “It is such an honour to be this year’s recipient of The Whickers Chicken & Egg Pictures Award. Thank you for believing in us and in the importance of Corey Pegues’ story. Your support means so much!”
About the director: Ilinca Calugareanu is a UK-based Romanian director. Her debut documentary feature, Chuck Norris vs Communism, premiered at Sundance 2015. With a background in anthropology, Ilinca has a skill and passion for melding ction and documentary into beautiful lms. Her credits include VHS vs. Communism (2014, New York Times Op-Docs) and Erica: Man Made (2017, Guardian Documentaries). She is now in production with her second feature hybrid documentary, A Cops and Robbers Story. She is also a Berlinale Talents alumnus (2017) and the 2018 Sundance Institute|National Geographic Fellow.
About Chicken & Egg Pictures’ Accelerator Lab: Open to applicants from around the world, the Accelerator Lab 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.”