Adam Martinec, writer and director for Our Lovely Pig Slaughter, or Zabijacka as it is called in Czech, shares the personal story of the old tradition by weaving a narrative of self-analysis and reflection. The film tells the fascinating story of a family gathering for a traditional feast that includes the ceremonial slaughter and consumption of a pig.

Throughout the film, the patriarch of the family Karel, played by Martinec’s actual father, faces the difficulties of his strained relationships with his family and old secrets coming to light over the course of the stressful holiday. The slaughter of the pig is a truly bloody affair and Martinec goes out of his way to share the authentic experience of the holiday with his cast and crew using real pig blood for the prop dummy that the cast butchers.

Our Lovely Pig Slaughter comes from Martinec’s own life pulling on him as both character influence and with the shaping of the plot beats. To quote Martinec from Variety,  “I needed to confront myself with a picture of myself as a total idiot. Every negative person onscreen is inspired by me and by studying such individuals and their actions, I am teaching myself a lesson. I think that loneliness is very dangerous and I am scared of ending up alone in the same way the leading character is.” The story of the youngest of the family Dusan is a direct parallel to Mantinec’s experiences as a child being shielded from the brutality of the slaughter but shared in the experiences and revelry of the feast and the need to have the entire pig consumed to honor the sacrifice and sanctity of life.

Martinec urges audiences to appreciate the message of the ceremony and how the consumption of meat should be considered a responsibility as well as not be wasteful or ungrateful for the food that came from the death of an animal. That said he still encourages Vegans to give the movie a chance, a suggestion he also shared with Variety.