On Becoming a Guinea Fowl is a 2024 blackcomedy drama film written and directed by Rungano Nyoni, and starring Susan Chardy, Elizabeth Chisela and Henry B.J. Phiri. It is a co-production between Ireland, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Zambia.
On an empty road in the middle of the night, Shula stumbles across the body of her uncle. As funeral proceedings begin around them, she and her cousins bring to light the buried secrets of their middle-class Zambian family.[3]
The film is written and directed by Rungano Nyoni and developed by BBC Film and Element Pictures.[4][5] Financing came from A24 alongside BBC Film and Fremantle.[6] David Gallego is the cinematographer on the project, and Malin Lindholm is the production designer. Producers include Ed Guiney and Andrew Lowe for Element Pictures. Production was reported to have begun in October 2022.[7]
It was originally scheduled to be released by A24 in the United States on December 13, 2024,[17] but was delayed to March 7, 2025.[18] In October 2024, it was announced that Picturehouse Entertainment had acquired UK and Irish distribution rights to the film, scheduling it for a release on December 6, 2024.[19]
The film became available to stream on Max starting July 4, 2025.[20]
Reception
Critical response
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 100% of 99 critics' reviews are positive.The website's consensus reads: "A vibrant exploration of family and social mores, On Becoming a Guinea Fowl marks another superb effort from writer-director Rungano Nyoni."[21]Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 87 out of 100, based on 28 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[22]
Katie Rife of The A.V. Club gave the film an A and described it as "still very much an art film, however, one that refuses to hold the viewer's hand. Instead, [Nyoni] soaks her film in gasoline and hands us a match."[23]Ty Burr of The Washington Post gave the film 3.5 out of 4 stars and wrote, "Nyoni lets the visual and thematic pieces of her film’s dramatic puzzle fall into place gradually."[24]
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