Pálfi’s ‘Hen’ Shows Greek Smuggling Through a Chicken
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- Hen follows a factory‑farmed chicken who escapes a Greek farm and witnesses a seaside restaurateur’s descent into people‑smuggling.
- Hen was produced after György Pálfi, forced into exile by Viktor Orbán’s 16‑year cronyism, secured funding and a filming location in Greece.
- Hen employed eight trained chickens—Eszti, Szandi, Feri, Enci, Eti, Enikő, Nóra, Anett—each selected for specific abilities such as running or staying still.
- Hen was shot on a compressed schedule, filming 50 days of script in only 35 days, with the chickens prioritized in the daily hierarchy.
- Hen uses classical Hollywood storytelling, low‑angle shots at chicken eye level, and no CGI for the chickens (except to hide the trainer and remove a leashed fox).
- Hen marks Pálfi’s return to Budapest after Orbán’s electoral defeat, as he plans a trilogy of animal‑centered films.
Why it matters: The film shows that Hungary’s cultural scene loses talent when state funding dries up, while foreign partners gain a unique, socially‑charged project; it also proves that an animal‑centric narrative can be produced without CGI, expanding the toolkit for politically engaged cinema.
