1993 60 mins. | Cajun filmmaker Pat Mire gives us an inside look at the colorful, rural Cajun Mardi Gras.
“Dance for a Chicken is an articulate, intelligent, and compelling film portraying the richness of indigenous Louisiana Cajun culture. Without question the best Mardi Gras film to date. A true gem.”
Tom Rankin, Center for the Study of Southern Culture
Institutional (college and library) purchases of this dvd can be made by sending a check to Pat Mire Films for $100 per dvd to the address indicated in the Contact section. Please contact Pat Mire for information on licensing fees for public screenings of this film or to book Pat for a lecture and film screening.
This award-winning film brims over with stunning images of carnival play and a rich soundtrack of hot Cajun music. Cajun filmmaker Pat Mire gives us an inside look at the colorful, rural Cajun Mardi Gras. Every year before Lent begins, processions of masked and costumed revelers, often on horseback, go from house to house gathering ingredients for communal gumbos in communities across rural southwest Louisiana. The often-unruly participants in this ancient tradition play as beggars, fools, and thieves as they raid farmsteads and perform in exchange for charity or, in other words, “dance for a chicken.”
“Dance for a Chicken” was the winner of the “Award of Excellence” at the 1993 American Anthropological Association Film Festival.