chicken
[the film] [the credits] [the scheme] [the funders] [the production company]
[the director & producer] [the writer] [the tech specs] [dialogue list]
CHICKEN
is a micro-drama about two boys hanging out on a beach at dusk.
A game of
dare tests the limits of their trust and redefines the boundaries of their relationship.
Based on a screenplay by Audrey O'Reilly this "Short Short" is essentially about the lengths the male of the species has to go to for affection. The games we have to play to make it "ok".
Director & Producer Barry Dignam - "I knew Audrey had the script under the bed and I cajoled her into letting me direct it. The film took about three months to make from when we received the funding. We shot it over two days in the depths of winter and cut it right after Christmas.
On the cast - "I had seen Darren (Healy) in an early cut of the new Irish feature "Disco Pigs" and knew instantly he would be right for Mick so we just had to find Kev. We auditioned for about three weeks and the last person we saw was Niall (O'Shea), again it was immediately obvious that he was Kev".
On the crew - "The Irish Film Board scheme we shot the film under made it possible for us to hire a professional crew (albeit at greatly reduced rates), it was a great learning experience for me, daunting at first, but they were such a great bunch I got over that in about twenty seconds".
"It was my first chance to 'do it right' - we shot on 35mm film and ended on print with a Dolby Digital soundtrack, I owe alot to the guys at Ardmore Sound for that!"
BORD SCANNÁN
na hÉIREANN / THE IRISH FILM BOARD presents "CHICKEN"
directed and produced by BARRY DIGNAM
written by AUDREY O'REILLY
staring DARREN HEALY as Mick & NIALL O'SHEA as Kev
director of photography PETER ROBERTSON production designer DAVID BROWN
editor JAMES FINLAN sound editor ANTHONY LITTON line producer JOSEPH CAMPBELL
a HIT & RUN PRODUCTION
Short Shorts aims to add to the range and scope of Irish short film-making and to encourage talent in all areas of film production. Brilliant, imaginative, eye-catching films from one to three minutes long. Short Shorts have all the high impact power of ads, but without a product to sell. They are unexpected, witty, colourful, mini-narratives, abstractions with music, messages.....
Bord Scannán na hÉireann / The Irish Film Board provides loans and equity investment to independent Irish filmmakers to assist in the development and production of Irish films. The Board also acts in co-operation with other Irish semi-state agencies to improve the marketing, sales and distribution of Irish films and to promote training and development in all areas of film-making.
Hit & Run Productions was set up in 1998 by Barry Dignam to produce high quality drama on film.
[sales agent]
Email: info@network-irl-tv.com
Barry Dignam
Barry Dignam began his career studying drama in Trinity College, Dublin. He then directed a number of stage plays before returning to university to study for a degree in film at the Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design & Technology. In 1998 he wrote and directed “Stages” for which he won the Royal Television Society all-Ireland award for Best Student Film (Fiction).
In 1999 Barry directed and produced the comedy "Dream Kitchen" which won Best Irish Short Film at the Galway Film Fleadh and Best Short Film at the Rose Film Festival, Tralee. "Dream Kitchen" was Nominated for a Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival 2000 and won the Audience Award for Best Short and Best Supporting Actor Award (Frank Coughlan) at the New York Independent Film Festival 2001. "Dream Kitchen" has gone on to play at over one hundred and fifty of the worlds top film festivals and has been acquired by a large number of television networks including Canal +, Film 4, PBS and RTE and has been theatrically released in a number of territories.
Barry produced "In Loving Memory" by Audrey O'Reilly an RTE / Irish Film Board "Shortcut" which won the Prix du Public at the prestigious Clermont-Ferrand Short Film Festival the Best Foreign Film at the New York Independent Film Festival. "In Loving Memory" also won the UIP Award for Best Shortcut / Oscailt and was Nominated for an Irish Film and Television Academy Award.
Barry produced and directed a 35mm short "Chicken" written by Audrey O'Reilly and commissioned by the Irish Film Board under it's "Short Shorts" scheme which premiered in the Official Selection - in Competition at Cannes Film Festival 2001. The film won the Jury Prize for Best Short Film at the Newport International Film Festival, Rhode Island, Best Short at the Dublin Gay & Lesbian Film Festival and a Special Jury Commendation at the Barcelona Gay & Lesbian Film Festival and the BFI London Lesbian & Gay Film Festival 2002. The film continues to play at premier film festivals throughout the world and has been acquired by numerous TV stations including RTE, Film Four, PBS and Canal+. “Chicken” has been released on DVD and Video in France (Antiprod) and the US (Picture This!).
Barry is currently in development on two feature projects as director, “Breaking Rocks”, written by Robert Bourke with which he was selected for the Moonstone International Filmmaker’s Lab in January 2003. The other, “Try Tony” written by Pom Boyd and to be produced by Siobhan Bourke of Rough Magic Films. Both feature projects have received development support from the Irish Film Board.
In May 2003 Barry will shoot “A Ferret Called Johnny” written by Loughlin Deegan and produced by Siobhan Bourke which has been commissioned by the Irish Film Board and RTE under their “Shortcuts” strand.
Barry also lectures in film directing at the Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design & Technology.
Audrey O'Reilly
Having graduated with a BA in English and Italian from University College Cork and the University of Bologna, Audrey O'Reilly worked in both theatre and corporate video before deciding to pursue an education in film.
Studying in Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology, Audrey specialised in writing and directing. Her graduate film "Ward Zone" an autobiographical look at her time on the children's ward and her documentary "Roots & Wings" about pigeon racing, have enjoyed much exposure on the 1998 & 1999 festival circuit as well as being acquired by R.T.E.
However Audrey has enjoyed particular success since graduating in 1998. That year her script "Honor Bright" was announced as the winner of the Miramax Script Writing Award. Since then it has been awarded EMDA and Irish Film Board development funding. She currently has two other film scripts in development with the Irish Film Board: "Lamping" which was short-listed for the Miramax 1999 award and Moonstone Script Writing Laboratory, and "A Dublin Story" which is in development with Rough Magic Films.
Audrey wrote and directed "In Loving Memory" (see above). Audrey has also been awarded one of the 2001 "Oscailt" awards, the Irish Language version of "Short Cuts for her script "Clare Sa Speir".
35mm ~ 3 mins ~ colour
1:1.85 Screen Ratio
Dolby Digital SRD
2001, Ireland
Associations of the
word "chicken" (all apply)
i. (adj.) Cowardly, sacred, fearful, afraid.
ii. (noun) A game of nerve to prove you are not chicken.
iii. (noun) A young male homosexual (slang).
Mick - Bingo!
Kev - Nice shot.
Mick - You have a shot.
Mick - Jesus Kev kill us why don't you.
Mick - Did you ever drink shotgun did you?
Kev - What, is that a type of cider or something?
Mick - No you shithead it's a way of drinking…watch.
Mick - Ah, Jesus that's the stuff. Bounces off your belly and straight to you
head! Here, you turn.
Mick - (Laugh) Jesus Kev. Don't drown yourself.
Kev - Piss off!
Mick - Hey!
Kev - Sorry.
Mick - Here put this on you before you freeze.
Mick - Bit of a mammy's lad aren't you…bit of a wuss. Don't even know why
I brought you up here. Do you
want to show you're not a wuss?(wuss = coward)
Kev - I'm not.
Mick - Then prove it…by taking a little test. Put out you hand.
Kev - What are you going to do to it?
Mick - Just give me your hand…unless of course your chicken…
Mick - Jesus Kev, hold still will you?
Kev - I'm trying.
Mick - I'll make it easier on you…if I slip I get it first.
Mick - One, two, three, four…… (repeated 10 times).