Catalyst Studios is all set to release Joanne Mitchell‘s feature directorial debut, the gothic horror film Broken Bird in UK cinemas this August 30th following its World Premiere opening this year’s London Pigeon Shrine FrightFest. The film is an adaptation of her and Tracey Sheals‘ 2018 award-winning short Sybil, with a screenplay by Dominic Brunt (Evie).
Broken Bird tells the story of Sybil Chamberlain (Rebecca Calder – Kandahar, Odyssey), an introverted and creative soul who leads a fascinating yet disturbing life. By day, Sybil works in a funeral parlor, tending to the recently departed – a morbid fascination she finds comforting, as the dead “understand her” in a way the living cannot. When she is not at work, Sybil enjoys taxidermy and poetry.
Orphaned at the age of ten following a tragic accident, she now grapples with a profound sense of loneliness. Yet, she finds solace in the emotional refuge of poetry and her vivid imagination, which offer her a means of escaping from the harsh realties of a solitary existence.
As Sybil’s grasp on reality wanes, her disquieting obsessions become increasingly insatiable. Her morbid fascination with the dead takes a sinister turn, resulting in a horrific climax in which she finds a twisted sense of fulfilment through the company of the dearly departed.
Calder’s impressive supporting cast includes James Fleet (Four Weddings and a Funeral, Wolf Manor), Sacharissa Claxton (Avenue 5) and Jay Taylor (Evie, Wolf Manor).
In anticipation of Broken Bird opening this year’s Pigeon Shrine FrightFest today on the main screen at 5:30 PM and before heading to UK cinemas from August 30, CinemaChords’ caught up with Mitchell and Calder who revealed the genesis behind Sybil and how they perfected the formula to perfectly balance the film’s gothic horror, police thriller and dark comedic elements.
