Yorgos, a 22-year-old athenian, is jobless, penniless and often starving. The bills are piling up, and despite his magnificent voice, he’s unable to land his dream job as a singer. Living in a sparsely furnished apartment, he gets by, sharing what little food and water he has with his beloved canary, which he protects at all costs. When the two find themselves out in the street, Yorgos resorts to more extreme measures to stay alive. Director Lygzios’s hand-held camera follows the young man (superbly played by Yiannis Papadopoulos) every step of the way, getting up close and personal to paint a picture of a taciturn, mysterious person as capable of courage as of cowardice. Dementia, despair and beyond—the full spectrum of emotion is reproduced here tenfold, making the film a true sensory experience. For his directorial debut, Lygzios adopts a daringly critical, uncompromising stance toward extreme poverty and its consequences. Echoing the greek economic crisis, Boy eating the Bird’s Food brings current day realities vividly to life without ever drifting into melodrama.