Watch This: Errol Morris\' Short Documentary About Champion Eater, El Wingador

[Brendon Connelly]

Errol Morris has made a mini-documentary about champion eater, El Wingador for The NY Times. It's less than ten minutes long but utterly captivating from start to finish. Compact and lean and... lots of other things its expansive subject most definitely is not.

To go with the video, Morris has also written an explanation of what he finds so interesting about these competitive gluttons. There's also a rather surprising story of how the film came to be in the first place. Morris says:

I had been hired by the ad agency Draftfcb/Chicago to shoot a campaign for KFC?s new grilled chicken, or KGC. KFC vs. KGC. For a 30-second spot on the grilled hot wings, I cast El Wingador. On the spur of the moment, I decided to shoot a little extra. This film grew out of that shoot. The ad campaign proved so successful that I became the first non-KFC employee to be given the coveted Breakout Bucket Award.

Unfortunately the El Wingador film can't be embedded, but it's only a click away. But before you go, however, here's one of Morris' KGC spots:

[ESCgoat]

A great mini-doc.

He should do a full documentary, and interview some of the other competitors and their techniques.