Downloads: Press Release
NEW YORK, Sept. 17, 2013 – Chicken & Egg Pictures honored Cynthia López, Executive Vice President and Co-Executive Producer of the award-winning PBS documentary series POV, with its 2013 Good Egg Award last night in a ceremony at the Lower East Side Girls Club. The event took place during the Chicken & Egg Pictures Annual Independent Film Week Celebration. The Good Egg Award is given annually to a distinguished leader in the independent film community. Previous recipients include Cara Mertes, Claire Aguilar, Milton Tabbot, Michelle Byrd and POV founder Marc Weiss.
In Chicken & Egg Pictures‘ announcement, the organization stated: “This award recognizes Cynthia López, who is as much a champion of justice and authentic civic engagement as she is of storytelling, craft and filmmaking with a point of view. We want to celebrate her for all she has done for the field, as well as her distinct role in helping make POV one of the most extraordinary platforms for independent media makers — one that can be counted on to promote, support and celebrate women storytellers. As the founding Chair of NALIP (National Association of Latino Independent Producers), Cynthia has also helped inspire, nurture, mentor and launch the next generation of Latino storytellers.”
About Cynthia López
Cynthia López joined American Documentary | POV in 2000 and since 2006 has served as executive vice president/co-executive producer of POV. She oversees all aspects of the organization’s development, including programming, community engagement and education, digital strategies, communications and overall strategic management of the series. She is the founding chair of NALIP and has served on the Tribeca Film Institute’s 2012 Latin America Media Arts Fund, the 2012 Pare Lorentz Award Committee and the Jerome Foundation panel. At POV, López has forged innovative partnerships with Harpo Studios, ABC News’ Nightline, Discovery Channel, Netflix, The Moth, The New York Times, StoryCorps and WNYC.
López is the recipient of eight News & Documentary Emmy® Awards. During her tenure, POV has earned numerous honors. In 2013, it was one of only 13 nonprofit organizations worldwide to receive a $1 million MacArthur Award for Creative and Effective Institutions. In 2012, POV achieved a milestone by winning five News & Documentary Emmy® Awards and in 2007 the series was honored with a Special News & Documentary Emmy Award for Excellence in Television Documentary Filmmaking.
About Chicken & Egg Pictures
Chicken & Egg Pictures is one of the nation’s leading nonprofit organizations dedicated to supporting women nonfiction filmmakers whose diverse voices and dynamic storytelling have the power to catalyze change, at home and around the globe. Founded in 2005 by award-winning filmmakers and producers Julie Parker Benello, Wendy Ettinger, and Judith Helfand, Chicken & Egg Pictures matches strategically timed grants with creative mentorship to help filmmakers leverage their films during critical production and distribution phases. The organization has awarded over $2.8 million in grants to 145 film projects and has provided over 4,000 hours of mentorship directly to filmmakers. The organization has offices in Brooklyn and San Francisco.
Films that have received funding and mentorship support from Chicken & Egg Pictures include: Freeheld by Cynthia Wade (Academy Award® winner, Best Documentary Short Subject, 2008); Saving Face by Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy and Daniel Junge (Academy Award® winner, Best Documentary Short Subject, 2012); The Barber of Birmingham: Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement (POV 2012) by Gail Dolgin and Robin Fryday, and Kings Point by Sari Gilman (both Academy Award® nominees); Semper Fi: Always Faithful by Rachel Libert and Tony Hardmon (Ridenhour Prize, 2012, Emmy 2013 nominee); Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry by Alison Klayman (Special Jury Prize, Sundance Film Festival, 2012 and Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Award, 2012); Call Me Kuchu by Katherine Fairfax-Wright and Malika Zouhali-Worrall (Teddy Award, Berlin Film Festival, 2012) and Brooklyn Castle (POV 2013) by Katie Dellamaggiore (NAACP Image Awards 2013 nominee). Visit www.chickeneggpics.org/.
About POV
Produced by American Documentary, Inc. and now in its 26th season on PBS, the award-winning POV is the longest-running showcase on American television to feature the work of today’s best independent documentary filmmakers. POV has brought more than 365 acclaimed documentaries to millions nationwide. Its films have won every major film and broadcasting award, including 32 Emmys, 15 George Foster Peabody Awards, 10 Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Awards, three Academy Awards® and the Prix Italia. In 2012, POV achieved a new milestone, winning five News & Documentary Emmy® Awards. Since 1988, POV has pioneered the art of presentation and outreach using independent nonfiction media to build new communities in conversation about today’s most pressing social issues. Visit www.pbs.org/pov/.
