Feldmár Filmclub - Hen

After the film, the conversation will be moderated on behalf of the Feldmár Institute by Annamari Huszár, bibliotherapist and family and couples therapist in training.

Following each screening, we talk together with our invited guests and with you, the audience. None of us are experts, film gurus, or critics. We come together around a film because of our personal connection, involvement, or attraction to the topic.

If something calls to you while reading the short synopsis, if the theme touches you, if you enjoy conversations — or perhaps none of these apply yet and you are simply curious to see what might emerge from it — we warmly welcome you. You do not need to be a film scholar; if you speak from yourself and share your experiences with us, that will be more than enough. That is exactly what we intend to do as well.

Hen

45th Hungarian Film Week: Opening Film, Feature Film – Panorama Section

Toronto International Film Festival: Platform Special Jury Prize

A hen decides not to accept her fate, escapes from the farm where certain death awaits her, and does everything she can to finally become a mother. Throughout her adventures — crossing breathtaking seaside landscapes and desolate wastelands alike — a deeply human drama unfolds before us from a perspective we have almost certainly never seen before.

Pálfi György, the director of the cult films Taxidermia and Hukkle, is probably the only filmmaker capable of creating a visually stunning, darkly humorous, and grippingly exciting work like this. Hen received no financial support in Hungary and was ultimately produced as a German-Greek-Hungarian co-production. After appearing at numerous international film festivals, it will now premiere in Hungary as the opening film of the 45th Hungarian Film Week.

The title character is portrayed by eight different chickens, all born and trained in Hungary. Their remarkable performances were achieved entirely without CGI, with the help of animal coordinator Árpád Halász (White God, Poor Things, On Body and Soul). Pálfi once again collaborated with his longtime creative partners, including screenwriter Zsófia Ruttkay and editor Réka Lemhényi, while the Hungarian co-producer was András Muhi.