EXCLUSIVE: Conic has acquired UK-Ireland distribution rights to Gyorgy Palfi’s Hen, which will have its UK premiere at Glasgow Film Festival next month.
Conic is scheduling a UK-Ireland release for later in 2026, having picked up the film from sales agent Lucky Number.
Told entirely from the perspective of its avian protagonist, Hen follows a chicken who escapes an industrial farm, only to find herself navigating the pecking order of a crumbling seaside restaurant in Greece.
The role of the lead hen was played by eight leghorn chickens, named Feri, Anett, Nora, Eti, Szandi, Enci, Eszter and Eniko. All eight chickens, plus two cockerels on the cast, were trained by animal trainer Arpad Halasz, who has worked on films including Alien: Romulus, Poor Things, Midsommar and Blade Runner 2049.
The supporting human cast includes Greek actors Yannis Kokiasmenos, Maria Diakpoanagioti and Argyris Pantazaras.
Hen had its world premiere in the Platform section at Toronto Film Festival in September, where it won an honourable mention from the jury; and has since screened at festivals including San Sebastian and Tokyo.
It is a co-production between Greece’s View Master Films and Germany’s Pallas Film and Twenty Twenty Vision, in co-production with Focusfox and ZDF/ARTE and in association with E.R.T. and The Post Republic.
Backers include the Hellenic Film & Audiovisual Center - Creative Greece, Mitteldeutsche Medienforderung and Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg.
Hungarian filmmaker Palfi has made features including the surrealist Taxidermia in 2006, His Master’s Voice in 2018 and Perpetuity in 2021.
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