This film is part of Rentals
Chicken
Scott Chambers’ superb performance as a boy with learning difficulties anchors this deftly drawn drama about two brothers’ fragile rural existence.
Director: Joe Stephenson
Overview
Richard (Scott Chambers) is a 15-year-old boy with learning difficulties, content with his harsh existence on a caravan site, where his friendship with pet hen Fiona is the most meaningful of relationships. But his brother Polly (Morgan Watkins) retains the most influence over his life, and when Polly becomes besotted with the daughter of the landowner who wants to evict the siblings, Richard’s sense of stasis is torn asunder.
Joe Stephenson’s tender and beautifully acted debut feature deftly utilises stark East Anglian landscapes to expand Freddie Machin’s play. Produced entirely independently on a limited budget, Chicken is a shining example of independent British filmmaking that’s won high praise from critics such as Mark Kermode.
very strong language, strong violence, sex referencesRelated
Girls Will Be Girls Girls Will Be Girls
Drama 2024 119 mins Director: Shuchi Talati
Teenage romance simmers in a strict Himalayan boarding school in this sublime coming-of-age tale. Winner of the 2024 Sundance audience prize.
The Goldman Case The Goldman Case
Drama 2023 116 mins Director: Cédric Kahn
Gripping courtroom drama based on the explosive 1976 murder trial of French political activist, Pierre Goldman.
In Camera In Camera
Drama 2024 95 mins Director: Naqqash Khalid
A struggling actor faces relentless knockbacks in Naqqash Khalid’s sharp-witted comment on race and identity in the film industry.
Kneecap Kneecap
Drama 2024 105 mins Director: Rich Peppiatt
Fantastically outlandish biopic about the anarchic Belfast rap trio and their fight to save the Irish language.
The Post The Post
Drama 2017 116 mins Director: Steven Spielberg
Steven Spielberg’s acclaimed, gripping and timely drama about the publishing of the Pentagon Papers, featuring Tom Hanks and an Oscar-nominated performance from Meryl Streep.
Denial Denial
Drama 2017 110 mins Director: Mick Jackson
Powerful, aggressively relevant courtroom drama restaging the trial that questioned the events of the Holocaust. Rachel Weisz and Timothy Spall star.
American Honey American Honey
Drama 2016 163 mins Director: Andrea Arnold
Andrea Arnold dazzles with a sun-soaked and tune-filled epic about door-to-door teenage magazine sellers (led by Shia LeBeouf) traversing the American highways.
Girlhood Girlhood
Drama 2014 113 mins Director: Céline Sciamma
In the tough suburbs of Paris, sixteen-year-old Marieme decides to reinvent herself when she joins a girl gang.
Fish Tank Fish Tank
Drama 2009 118 mins Director: Andrea Arnold
Andrea Arnold's BAFTA winner and coming-of-age story starring newcomer Katie Jarvis as disaffected teen Mia and Michael Fassbender in one of his earliest film roles.
Summer 1993 Summer 1993
Drama 2017 98 mins Director: Carla Simón
An outstanding debut feature charting the emotional journey of a six-year old girl in the aftermath of her mother’s death in early 1990s Spain.
The Ciambra The Ciambra
Drama 2017 118 mins Director: Jonas Carpignano
A boy's life on the mean streets of a cloistered Calabrian community is captured in eye-opening realism, in this stunning work from the director of Mediterranea.
The Miseducation of Cameron Post The Miseducation of Cameron Post
Drama 2018 92 mins Director: Desiree Akhavan
Chloë Grace Moretz is the girl who finds her tribe with fellow ‘sinners’ at a religious camp where they are told to pray the gay away.
Submarine Submarine
Comedy 2011 97 mins Director: Richard Ayoade
Richard Ayoade’s sweet and quirky directorial debut about a Swansea teen’s travails with his distant girlfriend and warring parents.
South: Sir Ernest Shackleton's Glorious Epic of the Antarctic South: Sir Ernest Shackleton's Glorious Epic of the Antarctic
Documentary 1919 81 mins Silent Director: Frank Hurley
An extraordinary story of survival in the wastes of Antarctica.
Night Courier (Mandoob) Night Courier (Mandoob)
Comedy 2023 112 mins Director: Ali Kalthami
A desperate delivery driver gets caught up in the dark underworld of Riyadh in Ali Kalthami’s gripping, pitch-black satire.
The Ballymurphy Precedent The Ballymurphy Precedent
Documentary 2018 108 mins Director: Callum Macrae
John Pilger's film on the conflict in Northern Ireland is a skilful mix of investigative journalism, documentary storytelling and reflections on contemporary history.
Utopia Utopia
Documentary 2013 111 mins Director: John Pilger and Alan Lowery
John Pilger's portrayal of the oldest continuous human culture is also an investigation into a suppressed colonial past, and rapacious present.
The Coming War on China The Coming War on China
Documentary 2016 113 mins Director: John Pilger
John Pilger’s prescient 60th film for ITV is both a warning and an inspiring story of resistance.
Girls Will Be Girls Girls Will Be Girls
Drama 2024 119 mins Director: Shuchi Talati
Teenage romance simmers in a strict Himalayan boarding school in this sublime coming-of-age tale. Winner of the 2024 Sundance audience prize.