Actor Jay Taylor has attended Pigeon Shrine FrightFest for a number of years. HIs first experience with the festival was when he attended with Evie in 2021. Taylor then returned in 2022, starring in Wolf Manor. The connective tissue between the two films is actor-turned-director, Dominic Brunt, and actor-turned-producer, Joanne Mitchell. Now, Taylor returns for a third time with Broken Bird, which sees Mitchell move from producing to the director’s chair. Broken Bird also holds the honour of opening this year’s very special 25th anniversary edition.
The story originally screened at FrightFest as part of the short film, Sybil, which was written by Tracey Sheals. With work from writer Dominic Brunt, Sybil’s adventures have been expanded to feature length. Sybil Chamberlain (Rebbeca Calder) works as a professional mortician at a funeral parlour. She has spent her life looking for love. Brought up as a privileged and carefree child, at the age of ten, she lost everything in a tragic accident. A darkness fell over her as the bright lights of her life were snuffed out swiftly and cruelly. Now an emptiness, an aching loneliness prevails, a gloomy void she seeks to fill. Reality and reason are slipping away from Sybil, and her dark desires are becoming more insatiable and progressively out of control. Will she ever find happiness and contentment, especially as the company she keeps is mainly deceased?
In Broken Bird, Jay Taylor plays Mark, the unknowing object of Sybil’s affections. As Sybil retreats further into fantasy, Mark becomes an integral part of her life. Ahead of the world premiere of Broken Bird at FrightFest, THN spoke with Jay Taylor to find out more about his involvement with the project. Our conversation covered working with Joanne Mitchell in a different capacity, what he hopes FrightFesters will take from Broken Bird, and how his co-star’s performance has inspired him to want to direct her himself.
Broken Bird screens at Pigeon Shrine FrightFest on Thursday 22nd August. More information on the film and tickets can be found on the FrightFest website.
