Chicken Catcher goes Hollywood

June 6, 2005

He’s made the papers, crowed on radio and trapped his way across television sets throughout America. Now, Key West’s very own “Chicken Catcher” will be strutting his stuff on the silver screen. Key West Cock Tales, a new documentary short featuring Armando Parra on the job will make a special appearance at Chickenfest. The advance screening will be held at the Atlantic Shores Resort in Key West as part of "Chicken Run" By the Sea Movie Night starting at 9:00 pm on June 16th.

The film follows Parra as he becomes Key West’s newest celebrity by accepting the challenge of thinning down the city’s estimated 2,000 strong flock of wild chickens. Soon after taking the position, Parra finds it’s not all it’s cracked up to be, as he faces resistance from local chicken-lovers. Headed up by the self-proclaimed “Chicken Lady,” Katha Sheehan, they take to the streets crying “fowl” and petition the city to stop the deportation of their beloved feathered friends. The hilarious 23-minute film documents the passion of both chicken-lovers and chicken-haters alike as they fight over the fate of the city’s resident chickens.

Key West Cock Tales is co-directed by Christa Carnell, Michelle Phillips and Craig Roberts. The trio produced the film while attending the University of Florida’s Documentary Institute, a graduate program of the College of Journalism and Communication. They began shooting in the spring of last year, and plan to debut the film on the festival circuit later this summer.