In these troubled times, what we really need is a documentary about chickens and the people who raise them.
The trailer for Slavko Martinov's documentary Pecking Order is far more entertaining than might be expected. It follows animal breeders who are competing in a poultry show and the differences that arise between them.
Imagine something like Best in Show, only with chickens instead of dogs, and set in New Zealand, with a tangy and distinctive sense of understated humor, and you might end up with something like Pecking Order.
Synopsis: Fierce rivalries, problematic birds and irregular judging are some of the challenges faced by zealous Kiwi chicken breeders, racing to compete at the 2015 National Poultry Show.
Directed by Slavko Martinov, Pecking Order is a feel-good feather-ruffling flockumentary that takes viewers into the distinctly Kiwi world of competitive poultry pageantry, inhabited by a group of understated, witty and likable chicken obsessives hell bent on victory at the 2015 New Zealand National Poultry Show.
This documentary about the circle of life, power struggles and the need for progress, follows members of the Christchurch Poultry, Pigeon and Bantam Club struggling to peak at nationals while decades of infighting threaten to tear their 148-year old club apart.
Freestyle Digital Media has just acquired North American rights to the film, which will debut on VOD on September 15, 2017. Watch the trailer below, but only if you have a sense of humor about chickens and chicken-lovers.