In this Special Edition of COCKFIGHTERS: The Interviews, documentary filmmaker Stephanie J. Castillo has created a 115-minute version of her best-selling 8-hour DVD documentary, COCKFIGHTERS: The Interviews which presents a non-judgmental, anthropological inquiry into the American subculture of cockfighting and game fowl breeding. In this version, she has carefully selected a set of five interviews (out of 26 in the 8-hour version) with American cockfighters/game fowl breeders. They are asked to explain and show from their point of view: What is cockfighting really and just who are cockfighters? This edition includes her 12-minute short film, an overview of the 8-hour documentary. A cockfighter's grandaughter, Castillo asked the “cockers,” as they call themselves, to reveal the breadth and depth of their fascinating, controversial lifestyle spun around this American sport that has long been devalued and targeted for extinction by animal rights activists. Cockfighting is now banned in all states and has gone deeply underground. Castillo presents a multi-cultural view of the sport in America and an invaluable chronicle that expands one’s understanding of cockfighters and captures the nuances lost on those who look no deeper than the cockpit. Festivals: Cinema Paradise Film Festival 2003.