CHICKEN
by Kathryn Loggins

Josh Leong, USA 2022

Inspired by true events, CHICKEN tells the story of a 16-year-old boy incarcerated in a juvenile prison in the Bronx, who is on the verge of losing custody of his son. To teach the responsibilities of fatherhood, the prison has a program where the inmates are tasked with caring for young chickens. Our main character struggles with how to approach caring for his chicken because he does not seem to have the right touch and the chicken struggles against his grip. His insecurities keep him shut off from the people around him until he reads a rap song his cellmate wrote and realizes that they are going through the same struggles. They both never received love from their fathers, so they are not equipped with the tools to show it to others. The film is not hopeless, though, even though it is a vicious cycle to break, the program with the chickens is a chance for a new beginning and when our protagonist goes to try and hold his chicken again, his grip is both confident and gentle.