In Stephanie J. Castillo's best-selling 8-hour DVD documentary, COCKFIGHTERS: The Interviews, she presents a non-judgmental, anthropological inquiry into the American subculture of cockfighting and game fowl breeding. An EMMY Award-winning filmmaker and cockfighter's grandaughter, Castillo asked 26 American cockfighters/game fowl breeders to explain and show from the point of view: What is cockfighting really and just who are cockfighters? The cockers reveal the breadth and depth of a fascinating, controversial lifestyle that surrounds an American sport devalued and targeted for extinction by animal rights activists. Cockfighting is now banned in all states and will be going deeply underground or into extinction. In this Special Edition, Castillo has created an 115-minute version of this documentary for film festivals and media reviewers. She carefully selected its set -- the 12-minute short film and 6 interviews. Castillo hones a surprising portrait of this sport and the men and women who do it. The featured interviews are with: -- Charlie Johnson, a cockfighter brought up in the cockfighting pits of Arkansas who tells us about the famous "Hawaiian Derby" he is attending in Oklahoma. (9 min) -- James Pope, a Texan who fights and sells his gamefowl in the Philippines and who granted the filmmaker a peek at his gamefowl farm and memorabilia. (10 min) -- Paul Romias, a Hawaii cockfighter who talks about the sport in Hawaii's early days, and is shown at his game farm preparing h...moreless
