Cannes Hidden Gem: Poverty and Poultry Collide in Absurdist Egyptian Drama ‘Feathers’
Alex Ritman
Feathers
Should any filmmaker suddenly find themselves in need of a performing chicken or two for their movie, there’s a director in Cannes who knows exactly what to do.
According to Omar El Zohairy, while there may only be one chicken in his directorial feature debut
Feathers — having its world premiere in the Critics’ Weeks sidebar — such was the importance of the role that the film’s animal handler (a man more accustomed to working with larger creatures, such as dogs and lions) actually used about 30 in all. And this flock — plucked (sorry) from obscurity for their big-screen break — had to be specially trained.