Ivan Kander
Because it’s such a barbaric ritual, cockfighting makes a compelling topic for a documentary. To be direct, it’s a bloodsport—something that is incontrovertibly cruel to the animals who are forced to participate. Yet, it’s also a form of entertainment that is heavily ingrained in certain indigenous cultures throughout the world. Much like the running of the Bulls in Pamplona, cockfighting persists despite the moral issues it raises.
El Porvenir, a documentary from Victory Journal and directed by Alfredo Alcántara and Josh Chertoff, ambitiously attempts to explore this layered issue. Though, instead of crafting a “hit piece” against the sport, Alcántara and Chertoff craft an honest, unbiased portrait of a person who continues to particpate in the brutal sport in Mexico. What results is a surprisingly poignant and resonant juxtaposition—a film as much about tradition as it is about brutality.
Alcántara and Chertoff explain their motivations: “As filmmakers, our goal in dealing with this controversial subject was to remain as objective as possible. We wanted to challenge ourselves to set aside our own cultural biases and personal preconceptions and not pass judgment based on what we might have been brought up to believe. We didn’t set out to answer any moral or ethical questions, or to come down on any side—just to experience something and maybe start a conversation.”
While we admire the filmmakers behind El Porvenir for providing insight and measured compassion into something that feels so innately cruel, we also respect the film for not shying away from the inherent violence that cockfighting entails. The brutality of the sport is not sanitized. You see the horrible effects on the roosters who fight for the enjoyment of others. While I do believe there is an innate hypocrisy to those who claim to care about the welfare of animals, but still eat meat or wear leather (for the record, I am NOT a vegetarian), cockfighting as portrayed just feels more evil somehow. After all, these animals are not being raised to provide sustenance. That being said, by the film’s conclusion, Alcántara and Chertoff have given us as viewers a greater respect for this insular world.
Sport documentaries are a tired field (especially in the short form). But, we really like what we have seen that far from the folks over at Victory Journal. We previously featured their rousing high-school sports film, W.E. NOLA. And, with El Provenir, it’s exciting to seem them progress from featuring “safe territory” (inspirational football film) to something that is more narratively challenging. This is a documentary that will potentially divide people, but we respect Victory Journal for bringing forth a film that shows how often culture, sports, and ritual are endemically linked. We look forward to seeing more unique stories from them.