Film Season Ticket: September 2026 – June 2027 (10 films)
HLSI Members: £70 / Non-Members £85
Individual Films:
HLSI Members: £11 / Non-Members £15
Please note that this event will be taking place in our Victoria Hall, which is step free.
This compelling , original film, told from the perspective of a hen, was only made because Hungarian filmmaker György Pálfi could no longer create anything in his home country. Searching for a universal story he could tell even when filming in a culture or country he didn’t fully understand, he and co-writer Zsófia Ruttkay settled on a biopic of a factory-farmed chicken.
Somehow you become the chicken. Eight birds play the lead in Hen, It follows the remarkable journey of a Leghorn chicken that escapes an industrial farm and stumbles upon a small family restaurant by the sea.
Through her naturally comic beady eyes, we witness the unfolding of a modern -day Greek tragedy whereby a down -at-heel restaurant is drawn into the brutal world of people-smuggling.
The hen acts as an innocent, compelling mirror to human cruelty.
All the time being blissfully unaware and following her maternal drive to have a family of her own.
The film masterfully blends comedy and the innocence of an animal against the backdrop of modern-day human cruelty.
The film made its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2025 where it received an Honourable Mention, and a Special Mention in the Golden Tulip Competition at the Istanbul Film Festival.
Doors open at 7.00pm for pre-film drinks
Film starts at 7.30pm
Film Talk at 9.30pm
Please book by 1pm on the day of the film or pay on the door.
Hungarian /Greek/German Film2025, 98 mins. (Dir.György Pálfi), starring Yannis Kokiasmenos, Maria Diakopanayotou , Argyris Pandazaras and eight Leghorn chickens. It is an international co-production of companies from Hungary, Greece and Germany. Language Greek.
