In 1970s Belfast, two young brothers are overjoyed when their father brings home two baby chicks, which they name Boogaloo and Graham. As the boys raise their feathered friends in their small terraced house, their mother’s patience wears thin — and the political tensions of the Troubles simmer in the background of what seems like a simple childhood story.
Editorial Perspective
Michael Lennox’s Boogaloo and Graham recalls the best of Bill Forsyth and early Kenneth Branagh — warm, specific, and funny in a way that only Northern Irish storytelling can be. The genius of the film is how it uses the chicks-in-a-Belfast-kitchen premise to refract the Troubles through a child’s eyes without ever being heavy-handed about it. The boys’ desperate campaign to save their pets becomes a stand-in for every struggle to preserve innocence in a world that won’t allow it.
Where to Watch
Available on BBC iPlayer and select streaming platforms. Part of the 2015 Oscar-nominated shorts compilation.
Historical data reconstructed from archive.org snapshots of the Manhattan Short Film Festival website.
