Selections from the 2026 Green Film Fest of San Francisco, Part 1
Reviews of 'Hen' and 'Don't Be Prey'
Dear Moviegoers,
As with the past few years, I've been happy to review films from the Green Film Festival of San Francisco - an in-person and virtual showcase for eco-friendly and environmentally conscious narrative and documentary movies. And so, of course, 2026 is no exception.
Over three posts, I'll go over six features and two shorts that, for differing reasons, best represent the programming of the fest, the messaging of the films, and the filmmaking behind the stories.
The Green Film Festival of San Francisco takes place from 10/15 to 10/22. Click over to its official website for the full lineup, online streaming options, and more.
Movies like Hen aren't few and far between, despite its titular, non-human character or, rather, as few and far between as we think. The closest tale that comes to mind, somewhat, is David Lynch's most sentimental and, likely, best film, The Straight Story, which follows the familiar trope or genre of an individual going on an adventure and getting caught up a little in the storied webs of other people. Hen has the same absurdist bent by the very nature of following the world through the wandering and hyper-alert eyes of a chicken, but also shares with Lynch's work on the whole a thin veil of peace between a universe in the dark.
With Hen, an egg drops into a factory farm, cracks open, and releases a dark-haired bird who, by appearance, is set free and given rein to explore a region of Greece, wherein she learns of itself, what it's capable of, and what it ultimately wants in its own life. Beautifully, this is no cartoon or children's tale, as the animal is forced to witness strife and startling scenarios of human design. Personally speaking, this is, at least story-wise, on the level with the intense vibes of the actual animated movie Zootopia (yes, I consider that film a kind of horror).
Transplanting that film's attitudes with dramatic stakes, the poultry in Hen takes on a role of judgment at times, shifting from punishment to reward at times, even if by accidental serendipity, on the people she encounters and the actions she sees. I don't wish to give much away about what the humans do, except to suggest that there's some amazing awareness, awful atrocity, and awkward accountability afoot. From one farm to another, from one type of cruelty to another, the lead of Hen just wants to be itself and do what comes naturally, and be a mother.
There is darkness along this road, and in shocking brutality. There is also humor, which balances oddly with the chaos this film is accustomed to. Still, there's plenty to peck at in Hen, and thankfully it's not all pebbles. This is, indeed, a "straight story."
It's just led along by a chicken. 4/5
Oh, the tribulations of the wealthy. Oh, the woes of the treasured. Don't Be Prey doesn't earn any favors, in the current political climate or in any era, really, by being about a rich man who swims across sea channels to find happiness and get closer to himself. It does, however, maintain its strokes with easy and rhythmic tension, drawing not from personality so much as from genuine care for fellow people.
It follows a man who has spent his life accumulating money, trying to do right by those who helped him along the way, only to falter under the pressures of industry and the anguish of mental illness. Under the impression he needed a realignment of control, he sets out to train himself for marathon swimming, with the first goal being that of the English Channel. Armed with a Speedo and a boat for his coach, he makes the swim after many grueling hours, with shaking pain and emotional shock hitting his visage and very soul upon leaving the water.
This is not where his story ends.
Don't Be Prey is set in what is, perhaps, the most dangerous environment imaginable, being the near-mysterious ocean. The swimmers here aren't seen as conquerors, no matter the warrior spirit that is often spoken of, but are fragile as glass and vulnerable as goldfish. It's in this way that the documentary captures its drama of sheer will against the strength of the current. Truly, it is astonishing the depths a person seeks to go, and not for the claim of fun or glory, but for the decoupling from the self to something greater.
I wish the movie had explored that more than the dude with cash doing dangerous things. No, I'm not against this man. By all accounts, he comes off as very likable and extremely generous toward those he loves and wishes the best for. A good person, he is. But where Don't Be Prey should've made these things clear, from his emotional and behavioral struggles to family fare, it fails by drowning in swim porn. And, it's safe to say, it's very good at presenting.
There might be a better film that was left on the assembly room floor, but as it is, Don't Be Prey is mostly all rah-rah and little bite (though some actual bites are shown, and they're horrific). My body felt a mild amount of discomfort while watching the swimming, so that was something of an interactive and relative accomplishment. What would've been better? The intangible terror of living. The crushing curves of rafting through existence. The paddling from birth to death. The man against the tides. The great metaphor.
Maybe next time. 2.5/5