Tribeca Shorts: ‘Chicken’ Tenderly Dives Into Child Incarceration and Fatherhood

Imagine all of the milestones you hit when you were 16 years old. You are nearing the end of high school, and most people are excited to pass their driver’s test. For the young men in Josh Leong’s tender short film, Chicken, a prison sentence will determine the course of the rest of their lives, and it’s up to them to find strength in their hearts to care for other living things.

Jordan Biggs’ Shrue is a young man preparing for a prison sentence a week before Father’s Day. Even at the young age of 16, he is already experience the pain of having the custody of his child taken away from him. A quiet and observant young man, Shrue mostly keeps to himself even if the other boys at the juvenile detention center are more raucous and tell him things like, ‘Don’t be a fucking chicken’ on the basketball court. There is a heavy moment when Shrue hears the cell door close behind him, and his reality sets in.

The young men are given an unexpected emotional redemption when a group of small baby chicks are brought into the prison for the boys to care for. Shrue carefully picks up one, and we immediately recognize how precious his age is. Baby chicks are not a replacement for a human child, but it serves as a lifeline to these young men who are seemingly tossed aside for the system to erase. If Shrue can hold onto his humanity through this baby chick, maybe he will not only survive but thrive.

Writer and director Josh Leong imbues his film with dark grey and navy blues to immerse us in heaviness. We are used to stories of incarceration and prison, but we rarely get such a delicate touch like the one Leong applies. Leong clearly wants the hearts of these young men to grow and now drown due to their circumstances. Biggs doesn’t have many lines, but he registers so much with his eyes, and Opel Besson provides strong supporting works as one of the only adults who can keep hope alive among these kids.

Chicken will debut at Tribeca on June 12. Check back all these week for more short film coverage from the Tribeca Film Festival.