FrightFest Spotlight: Joanne Mitchell’s Gothic Debut "Broken Bird"
One of the films generating buzz at this year’s FrightFest is the gothic debut feature from Joanne Mitchell, "Broken Bird". Based on the award-winning short story "Sybil" by Mitchell and Tracey Sheals, Broken Bird is set to make its world premiere at Pigeon FrightFest, followed by a UK theatrical release on August 30th.
Broken Bird follows Sybil, a lonely woman working at an undertaker’s office, where the job offers little in the way of perks. In her solitude, she seeks solace wherever she can find it.
Sybil works at an undertaker's. It's a lonely job, with few perks. So she takes solace where she can.
Catalyst Studios is excited to announce that their gripping gothic horror BROKEN BIRD, which celebrates its World Premiere at the Odeon Leicester Square, London, as the Opener of this year's Pigeon Shrine FrightFest, will be released in UK cinemas from 30th August 2024.
BROKEN BIRD marks the feature directorial debut of Joanne Mitchell, who for nearly 15 years has honed her craft as a horror storyteller. BROKEN BIRD is a feature film adaptation of her & Tracey Sheals's 2018 award-winning short SYBIL, screenplay by Dominic Brunt.
This rich, disturbing tale steps into the life and mind of Sybil Chamberlain. Sybil is a quiet, creative soul. Her hobbies are taxidermy and poetry. She works in a funeral parlor with the deceased. She likes dead people. They understand her.
At just ten years old, she experienced trauma in a tragic accident which took away the family she adored. Now, an aching loneliness prevails in a void which she seeks to fill. But poetry and a vivid imagination provide an escape from the harsh realities of a lonely life.
Reality and reason are slipping away from Sybil and her ‘dark desires’ become more and more insatiable. Her fascination with the dead takes a dark and strange twist. And in a horrific climax of gothic proportions, she finds her own kind of happiness and contentment with the people she keeps as company - dead people.
Sybil is masterfully portrayed by Rebecca Calder (Kandahar/Memory) in a riveting nuanced performance in which she captures all of Sybil’s quirky, unsettling behavior. She is supported by an incredible cast featuring James Fleet (Four Weddings & a Funeral), Sacharissa Claxton (Avenue 5) and Jay Taylor (Misfits).
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