Jovanka Vuckovic and Guillermo del Toro to Expose the Horrors of The Captured Bird

Vuckovic was recently named by the Horror Society as one of the top thirteen most important women in the history of horror, alongside genre heavy hitters Mary Shelley, Kathryn Bigelow and Vampira. Now, in a return to her creative roots, she’ll make her own horror/fantasy film after years of writing about them in the popular horror genre magazine, Rue Morgue.

“Jovanka’s vision has been honed to perfection and combines true poetry with savage instinct,” says del Toro. “[It’s] lyrical and brutal. Just what the doctor ordered.”

Adds Vuckovic, “Having Guillermo [del Toro] on board as Executive Producer is like a dream come true for a first-time filmmaker. His well of inspiration is as limitless as his generosity. Plus, The Captured Bird is just too ambitious to make without his guidance. I’m very grateful to have him as part of the team.”

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 website makes use of “crowdfunding,” a growing financing trend for filmmakers outside of Hollywood. Fans and supporters who visit TheCapturedBird.com can make a donation in any amount towards production, which to date has raised thirty percent of its budget through Canadian broadcaster Bravo!, which has first-time Canadian broadcast rights. All funders will receive a thank you credit in the film and donors of a certain amount are given special rewards, some of which include an autographed copy of Jovanka’s forthcoming coffee-table book on zombies or a Pan’s Labyrinth script autographed by del Toro.