Dublin's amazing chick flick

A flock of wild chickens running free in a north Co Dublin town are to become stars of the screen.

Filmmaker Cliff Parrott (yes, really) described how his interest was sparked when he saw a rooster near Skerries' train station on his daily commute.

"It's a funny one -- I'm not from a rural area, I'm from Boston and I moved to Ireland with my wife in 2008. The only thing I knew about roosters was (cartoon character) Foghorn Leghorn.

"My home is the other side of Skerries, by the bay, and I have to walk across the town to get to the train station in the mornings.

"I started noticing this rooster by himself by the railroad track. Then I'd notice another chicken, and another, and another, and then realised there was a gang of them."

The animator, who is in his late 40s, got the idea for a short documentary from watching the film Chicken Run with his young son and thought "these were the ones that made it".

Cliff has worked in animation since 1999 in California before moving here to set up his own company.

"Hopefully the film turns out well. It'll be a little tongue in cheek."

The short documentary will include Cliff's expertise in animation He also has contacts he hopes will set the soundtrack to the film, which should be released in September.

"I have a background in animation, working for Disney, so there will be a tangential animation piece that goes along with it.

"We're hoping for a September release, and we'll show it with the Skerries Rockabill Film Society."

(for the Evening Herald 29th June 2011)
(photo by Douglas O'Connor)