‘Chicken’ was B Good Picture Company’s debut feature film. The critically acclaimed film had its theatrical release in 2016 in the UK during its award-winning festival tour. It has since been highly recognised by Stephen Frears, Ian McKellen, Noel Clarke, Karen Gillan and Mark Kermode.

The film went on to be selected by the curators of MUBI, and acquired by Film4. Its journey continued in September 2017 with its Blu-ray & DVD release in the UK courtesy of Network Releasing.

The film is on the new AQA Media Studies curriculum in the UK, studied by college students nationwide.

‘Chicken’ was released in the US exclusively on iTunes early 2018, and continues to maintain its 100% Fresh Rotten Tomatoes rating.

As well iTunes, it is now available in the US & UK on Amazon Prime

While still a young company by industry standards, B Good Picture Company’s reputation is growing rapidly, fast becoming one of the most exciting production companies in London.

B GOOD PICTURE COMPANY LTD is the London based Film and Television production company founded by Joe Stephenson. B Good has positioned itself in the UK industry as a young bold LGBTQ+ led company, working with A-list talent to create film and television appealing to a wide audience whilst retaining artistic integrity.

Hesmondhalgh says that the media is a risky business. B good

Funding
In order to make Chicken, director Joe Stephenson raised £110,000. Key points:

1. Raised entirely through investment by individuals (e.g. rich friends/contacts)

2. No funding body (e.g. BFI Film Fund) was willing to fund Chicken

3. Raises questions about whether film industry is accessible to lower-income filmmakers

Production
Key points for making Chicken:

1. Adapted from a play by Freddie Machin that originally ran at Southwark Playhouse.

2. Filmed in 19 days, almost all external locations so victim to rain, issues with lighting etc.

3. Film produced and distributed by a new company set up by director Stephenson: B Good Picture Company.

DistributionChicken’s distribution has been very difficult:

1. No distribution deal secured in 2014

2. Two-year festival circuit won awards and generated interest and critical acclaim for film

3. UK cinema release followed in May 2016. Selected for film subscription service MUBI and acquired by Film4 for TV premiere in April 2017.

4. UK DVD release distributed by Network Releasing. Digital distribution in USA/Canada – January 2018.

Promotion

1. Alongside film festivals, new technology was vital to promoting Chicken to a wider audience: 
2. Some traditional marketing: trailer, film poster with review quotes etc.
3. Social media very important to market film – Facebook, Twitter, YouTube.
4. Film available on-demand now; Stephenson hoping for deal with Netflix or Amazon Prime to bring in revenue and find wider audience.

Links to the website and their social media

website, YouTube channel, twitter, facebook

Helpful website

Helpful website 2

1) Why did the film fail to secure a distribution deal when first made in 2014?
2) What film festivals did Chicken feature at between 2014-2016?
3) Why are film festivals an effective way for a low-budget film to secure a distribution deal?
4) When was Chicken released in cinemas in the UK?
5) Why do you think film subscription service MUBI chose the film to feature on the service?
6) Why was Film4 a good choice to give the film its UK television premiere?
7) When will the film be released on iTunes and other video-on-demand services in the USA and Canada?

Funding

1) What was the budget for Chicken?
£110,000
2) How did Joe Stephenson end up raising the money to make the film?
He had no funding money as no one was willing to fund Chicken. Therefore he ended up raising funds entirely through investment by individuals (e.g. rich friends/contacts).

3) How does the Chicken budget compare to a Hollywood-funded British blockbuster such as Spectre or Paddington 2 Chicken is a microbudget film. It has a very low budget compared to Spectre ($245–250 million) and Paddington 2 ($50 million).

4) Joe Stephenson tried to secure funding from organisations that help low-budget filmmakers. What is the BFI Film Fund and how does it contribute to the British film industry? The BFI uses National Lottery funds to develop and support original UK filmmakers and films, and to increase the audiences who can enjoy them.

5) Why do you think Chicken failed to secure funding from the BFI Film Fund? I think Chicken failed to secure funding from the BFI Film Fund due to the controversial issues discussed in the film. The film deals with very sensitive issues that are hardly ever shown in movies (incense, mental disabilities, etc.) and it was unknown whether or not this film would be a success.   

Production

1) What difficulties did the film run into during production? The film had to be shot in only 19 days due to the low budget. This meant that they had to get all scenes perfect in the limited time. This is especially difficult in the UK as the weather is very unreliable. Most of the scenes are exterior scenes. Even the interior scenes (inside the caravan) can be considered exterior as all the cameras and equipment is still outside.

Distribution

1) Why did the film fail to secure a distribution deal when first made in 2014? No one thought that the film was worthy of being distributed or if it would be a success.

2) What film festivals did Chicken feature at between 2014-2016? Chicken had its world premiere at the 2015 Edinburgh International Film Festival. 2015 Busan International Film Festival. 2016 Giffoni International Film Festival (won 2nd prize). Screened at Cine A La Vista International Film Festival 2016 (won best film)

3) Why are film festivals an effective way for a low-budget film to secure a distribution deal? It allows the film to reach a wide audience. Many of the people that go to film festivals enjoy films like Chicken, where the story is very different and the quality of the film exceeds expectations. These people may then go off to recommend the film to others. Alternatively, there may be influential media people who go to film festivals and end up distributing a film they particularly like. The awards given to films by these film festivals are also extremely beneficial in creating a positive reputation of the film.

4) When was Chicken released in cinemas in the UK?

May 20th 2016

5) Why do you think film subscription service MUBI chose the film to feature on the service? MUBI’s motto is ‘a hand picked selection of the best films’. Therefore they chose Chicken to feature on their service as they believed that it was an incredible film. It also challenges the status quo.

6) Why was Film4 a good choice to give the film its UK television premiere? Film4 (channel 4) was the best choice for Chicken’s television premiere because it is a very popular channel in the UK. Therefore, the film has a higher chance of reaching people who would enjoy it.

7) When will the film be released on iTunes and other video-on-demand services in the USA and Canada? 16th January 2018