Pecking Order

"Taking us inside the legacy of New Zealand poultry pageantry, Pecking Order shows us people, and chookhouses, you’d never otherwise see on screen. This is a world of faded Canterbury rugby shorts, missing teeth and free promotional Farmlands caps, and it’s bloody charming one indeed. The chicken enthusiast subjects span broadly, from young mulleted Rhys Lilley to grizzled veteran and author of The New Zealand Poultry Standard - which is a real book - Ian Selby."

"[A] quirkily entertaining documentary about the world of competitive chicken breeding."

"Pecking Order, in a droll, understated way, perfectly captures small-town Kiwi life and puts it up on screen for us all to appreciate."

"A key to the success of Pecking Order is that director Slavko Martinov plays it straight, never undercutting his subjects for the sake of a cheap giggle."

"This is an affectionate crowdpleaser which should feather the nest for international festival programmers, coming home to roost in specialised play and plump terrestrial TV buys in the English-speaking marketplace."

"There's more to this film than a tribute to Best in Show with chickens, this is a film about Kiwis being Kiwis, delivered thought the portrayal of a club in disarray and all the wonderful human-ness and drama it brings with it."

"It's a revealing look at those who put themselves into committees and others' politics."

"A sufficiently engaging delve into a niche interest and those who feel defined by it. But one which, narratively at least, backs the wrong gamecock."