Indie
Del Toro Producing ‘The Captured Bird’ Short Film
Former Rue Morgue editor-in-chief Jovanka Vuckovic is preparing to shoot her debut short film, The Captured Bird, with Guillermo del Toro, director of the Academy Award-winning Pan’s Labyrinth and the Hellboy films, in the Executive Producer chair, says a press release. The Captured Bird is a darkly poetic fable that begins with a little girl drawing figures of people with chalk on the cement of a playground. She takes notice of an unusual crack in the pavement that is seeping a mysterious black fluid, which she follows to an ominous building. Inside, she encounters several bizarre phenomena, including walls that bleed black and tentacles that emerge from the ceiling to touch her. She then witnesses the birth of five terrifying supernatural beings that threaten the existence of her world. Check out some concept art inside.
Oscar-nominated special make-up effects studio Spectral Motion (Hellboy II, X-Men: The Last Stand) in Los Angeles will provide creature effects for The Captured Bird. Also on board are Emmy Award-nominated visual effects supervisor Tammy Sutton (Avatar, Spider-Man 2) as well as filmmakers Douglas Buck (Sisters) and Karim Hussain (La belle bête), who will be serving as editor and director of photography, respectively.
“The Captured Bird is inspired in part by a childhood nightmare, the writings of H. P. Lovecraft, the fables of the Brothers Grimm and the paranormal phenomenon referred to as The Shadow People,” explains writer-director Vuckovic. “It’s sort of a dark fable that I hope people will find haunting, poetic and beautiful.”
The production has just launched TheCapturedBird.com, a feature-packed website that will track the development of the film with regular blog updates from Vuckovic. The site will also feature videos of the film’s progress, including location scouts, production meetings, and interviews with well-known genre filmmakers about how to approach making your first movie – filmmakers such as del Toro, George Romero (Night of the Living Dead), John Landis (An American Werewolf in London) and Mick Garris (Masters of Horror).
The Captured Bird is scheduled to shoot in the spring of 2011 for a film festival tour through 2012.
Her House of Horrors, the horror division of Independent Production House WOMXNOGRAPHY, has launched its Bite Size Short Grant Program, ahead of its film festival Dollhouse of Horror, which will take place in March 2025 in Los Angeles, CA.
The Bite Size Short Grant Program awards $2,000 film grants to female-identifying and queer horror filmmakers. Shorts must be able to be made for $2,000, with a minimum runtime of 8 minutes. Submissions are now open on Filmfreeway, and are being judged by a panel of horror lovers and content creators.
The 2024 Bite Size Short Grant Program judge lineup is as follows:
“James H. Carter II- A documentary director, film producer, podcaster, marketing specialist, and writer. James is the founder and co-owner of Creepy Kingdom. Creepy Kingdom was founded in 2011 and is a multimedia website, and production studio specializing in creepy content. Their primary focus lies at the intersection of childlike fantasy and the macabre, covering horror films, theme parks, haunts, and much more. Beyond their extensive media coverage, Creepy Kingdom hosts events, offers original merchandise, and engages in film production under the Creepy Kingdom Studios brand producing original films like “Foolish Mortals”, exploring Disney’s “Haunted Mansion” fan culture, and “Georgie”, featuring Tony Dakota from the original “It” miniseries.
“In addition to founding Creepy Kingdom, James has won awards for his documentary work, including the award-winning “Foolish Mortals,” which has earned him recognition. He has been featured on Freeform’s 31 Nights of Halloween special.
“Ashleeta Beauchamp is the editor-in-chief of Peek-A-Boo! Magazine, a cheeky horror magazine created to uplift marginalized writers, artists, models and other creators within the horror community. She also runs The Halloween Coalition, a community group to provide support and marketing for horror and Halloween events around the Southern California area.
“Titeanya Rodríguez is a multi-hyphenate creative, and the founder and owner of HER HOUSE OF HORRORS, home of DOLLHOUSE OF HORROR and the horror division of WOMXNOGRAPHY. As a fellow storyteller and a self-proclaimed artivist, Titeanya’s mission is to create opportunities for women of color and queer women, across film, tv, sports, music, and beyond. She is also the creator of the BITE SIZE SHORT grant program.”
Winners will have a one-night theatrical screening at Regal Cinemas. Submissions Close April 8 at Midnight. Winners will be announced on May 27, 2024. Shorts must be shot and through post-production by June 30, 2024. The screening will take place on July 8, 2024, in Los Angeles, CA.
WOMXNOGRAPHY, HER HOUSE OF HORRORS, and Rodriguez are represented by Azhar PR, Granderson Des Rochers, and Kinsella Holley Iser Kump Steinsapir.
To submit your short to the Bite Size Short Grant Program, go to the FilmFreeway link here.
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