The forthcoming MFA documentary Fowl Play has been called a lot of things, including “eye-opening,” “moving,” “inspirational,” and “life-changing.” Now a new title can be added to the film’s growing repertoire – “award-winning.”
Last night at the Fallbrook Film Festival award ceremony, hosted by animal-friendly actor Fred Willard, Fowl Play beat out the competition to claim the title of “Best Documentary Short.”
Fowl Play, directed by Adam Durand, is currently revealing the depressing plight of egg-laying hens to attendees of film festivals nationwide, having already been screened at the Las Vegas International Film Festival and Show of Your Shorts Film Festival. The film is slated for public release in the coming months.
So, what’s all the hype about? Here is summary of the film:
A battle is brewing over the ethics of our food choices.
Gone are the days of open pasture and idyllic barnyard scenes instilled in our minds from childhood. Today, the over 9 billion animals reared for food production lead short lives chronicled with deprivation, confinement, mutilation, and merciless slaughter.
The fallout is a growing movement of compassionate consumers who are rejecting factory-style farming and the exploitation of animals used for food. They are organizing, documenting the living nightmare that animals face, and speaking out against animal-based agriculture.
Fowl Play takes viewers on an unforgettable journey behind the closed doors of some of the country’s largest egg production facilities and graphically illustrates the heartbreaking plight of laying hens – condemned to lives crowded inside file-drawer-sized cages.
Through touching interviews with animal rescuers, undercover investigators, veterinarians, and animal behaviorists, we hear powerful stories motivated by kindness and courage from the dedicated individuals who are fighting to save the modern day hen – perhaps the most abused and exploited animal on earth.
Connecting the dots between consumer demand for meat, dairy and eggs and the perpetuation of animal abuse, Fowl Play leaves viewers with a groundbreaking message of personal responsibility and the potential each of us holds to change the world – one meal at a time.
