In this dark fable, a little girl is drawn to a mysterious mansion where she witnesses the birth of five horrifying apparitions.
After starting her career as a visual effects artist, blossoming as the editor in chief of Rue Morgue Magazine for six years and publishing a non-fiction book with George Romero, Jovanka Vuckovic knew that it was time to follow her calling and direct movies.
Teaming up with producer Jason Lapeyre (Director of I Declare War), she launched a crowdfunding campaign to raise funds and enlisted the help of another cult figure to produce her directorial debut: Guillermo Del Toro.
With the support of the King of Monsters as an executive producer, the short film The Captured Bird could be made the right way, doing justice to the story inspired by a childhood nightmare. The production did not held back, featuring a full-sized animatronic creature and 40+ visual effects that involved six different companies including Spectral Motion, which regularly design monsters and technical solutions for Del Toro.
Winning the Best short Film Award at the Fantasia Festival in 2012, Vuckovic couldn’t stop there. While working on other projects, such as the construction of an H.P. Lovecraft Bust in the city of Providence, she filmed other short movies and spearheaded the development of the first female horror anthology XX, set for a 2015 release and featuring segments by Jennifer Chambers Lynch, Karyn Kusama, Mary Harron & Sofia Carrillo.
Still, something was missing as all along she had been coveting a special project that particularly resonated with her: an adaptation of the short story Jacqueline Ess by Clive Barker. The feature film adaptation will soon come to fruition, as the master of modern horror sold the rights of the story to Raven Banner Entertainment in early 2014 and worked closely with Vuckovic on the screenplay during the summer. Currently in pre-production, the movie will star the director’s first choice as the titular character, actress Lena Headey.
The Captured Bird
2012, Fantasy, Horror, Canada, 10 min
Best Short Film at the Fantasia Festival 2012
Directed by Jovanka Vuckovic
Written by Jovanka Vuckovic
Starring Skyler Wexler (Orphan Black, Alphas)
Produced by Jason Lapeyre, Jovanka Vuckovic, Guillermo del Toro
Cinematography by Karim Hussain (Hannibal, Hobo with a Shotgun)
Edited by Douglas Buck (Sisters)
Music by Redeemer
Casting by Stephanie Gorin (Emmy Award for Fargo)
Special effects and creatures by Spectral Motion
Visual effects supervisor: Tammy Sutton (Avatar, Spider-Man 2)
Production Design by Anastasia Masaro (Oscar nomination for The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus)
Jovanka Vuckovic
Director, Screenwriter (The Captured Bird, XX, Jacqueline Ess) Author (ZOMBIES! An Illustrated History of the Undead with George Romero)Discover the upcoming anthology XX with Jovanka Vuckovic, Jennifer Chambers Lynch, Karyn Kusama, Mary Harron & Sofia Carrillo on The Queens of Horror Join Forces for “XX”
Discover Vuckovic’s contribution to the H.P. Lovecraft’s Bronze Bust Project on LibrAdventures – The Literary Atlas
Find Jovanka Vuckovic on the Hollywomen Directors Board
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