Firebook Entertainment today announces it will handle theatrical distribution across North America, for the upcoming psychological horror Broken Bird. The film will have its theatrical release across North America on 13th February 2026.
Premiering at FrightFest 2024, Broken Bird is written and directed by Joanne Mitchell (Emmerdale, Zomblogalypse, Run), based on an original story by Tracey Sheals (Sybil; Asylum: Twisted Horror and Fantasy Tales). The film stars James Fleet (Four Weddings and a Funeral; Bridgerton), Rebecca Calder (The Conjuring: Last Rites, Love Me Till Monday), Jay Taylor (Donkey Punch, Misfits), Rupert Procter (Notting Hill, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy), and Sacharissa Claxton (Silo, The Sandman).
At the heart of Broken Bird is Rebecca Calder’s breakout performance as Sybil, a quiet and lonely mortician’s assistant who finds solace among the dead and through performing poetry at her local pub’s open-mic nights. When her employer, Mr. Thomas, begins grooming her to inherit the funeral parlour, Sybil clings to this fragile sense of belonging, while privately haunted by fantasies that blur the line between romance and violence.
A modern gothic thriller, Broken Bird explores loneliness, grief and the macabre, while looking into psychological control and trauma that can blur the boundary between fantasy and reality. With a stark undercurrent of dark humour, audiences are invited to enter Sybil’s world where fantasy and reality begin to blur.
Joanne Mitchell is recognised as a distinctive creative voice, actor, producer, and filmmaker in the British industry, whose work blends emotional authenticity with the macabre. She made her directorial debut with the award-winning short Sybil, a haunting precursor to Broken Bird. Mitchell co-founded Mitchell-Brunt Films alongside her husband, Dominic Brunt, the acclaimed director and actor of Before Dawn, Bait, Attack of the Adult Babies, and Wolf Manor. Their work in the UK’s independent horror scene aims to champion bold, character-driven stories that fuse human vulnerability with genre craft. Their most recent collaboration was for Wolf Manor (aka Scream of the Wolf), directed by Brunt and produced by Mitchell,
Joanne Mitchell says “Broken Bird is a twisted love story – haunting, darkly macabre and perfectly at home with its opening on Friday 13th, a gothic reflection of our modern struggle to connect in a world obsessed with noise and perfection. As a British Independent female filmmaker, it is a huge privilege to share this macabre and darkly humorous film of longing and isolation with the US audiences. I can’t wait for their reaction!”
Broken Bird is a production of Catalyst Studios, produced by Dragan Ivanovic, Paul Kampf, Holly Levow, Mark Pennell, and Zoe Stewart.
Firebook’s expanding slate of elevated genre cinema includes Doug Rao’s psychological thriller Dirty Boy, Izaac Ezban’s award-winning Párvulos: Children of the Apocalypse, and the first Irish-language horror feature An Taibhse (The Ghost). The company’s production division launched with Mickey Reece’s Every Heavy Thing (Climate of the Hunter, Country Gold), reinforcing Firebook’s mission to merge artistic ambition with genre innovation.
John Moss, CEO, Firebook Entertainment, said: “Joanne Mitchell’s vision in Broken Bird is as daring as it is emotionally raw. Rebecca Calder delivers a performance that’s both haunting and hypnotic… one that stays with you long after the credits roll. We’re thrilled to bring this powerful and elegantly unsettling film to English-speaking audiences worldwide.”
