The acclaimed and decorated Hungarian filmmaker György Pálfi (best known for Cannes entries Taxidermia [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Gyorgy Palfi
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The story follows a hen who escapes from a chicken farm and seeks refuge in unfamiliar territory: the courtyard of a once-thriving seaside restaurant in Greece. There, she discovers love, contends with a pecking order, and struggles to protect her eggs from a greedy owner while trying to find a safe place to call home. Her absurd yet tender journey towards motherhood mirrors the messy compromises and silent struggles of human lives.

Shot entirely in Greece with a local cast and crew, the film’s central character is the titular Hen herself, supported by local actors Yannis Kokkiasmenos, Maria Diakopanagiotou, Argyris Pantazaras, and Antonis Kafetzopoulos. Pálfi co-wrote the script with long-time collaborator Zsófia Ruttkay and chose to shoot the film in Greek despite not speaking the language himself. As Pálfi notes, “Cinema is a visual art”, and he directed the film inspired by the fundamental mechanisms of Greek tragedies with an emphasis on visual storytelling and emotional authenticity.

The creative team includes Giorgos Karvelas (Digger [+leggi anche:
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Hen is a German-Greek-Hungarian co-production steered by Thanassis Karathanos for Halle-based Pallas Film, Giorgos Kyriakos and Kostas Lambropoulos for Athens-based View Master Films, and Martin Hampel for Berlin-based Twenty Twenty Vision, in coproduction with Hungary’s Focusfox. The project is backed by the Hellenic Film and Audiovisual Center - Creative Greece, ERT S.A., ZDF/ARTE, the Mitteldeutsche Medienförderung (MDM), and the Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg. International sales are being handled by French outfit Lucky Number and the film is co-repped by mk2 Films.