Genre Filmmaker Justin Calandriello's Unsettling Found Footage Short, "BIRDCALL", to Debut at the Fantasia Film Festival.

(Montreal, Canada) – July 2nd, 2026. BIRDCALL, the new short by Montreal-based director Justin Calandriello, will have its World Premiere at the Fantasia International Film Festival in Montreal as part of the Official Selection of the Weekend Fantastique du Cinéma Québécois on July 31st.

BIRDCALL tells the story of a foolhardy scientist and his wife, a wayward survivor, as they endure a world overtaken by an avian-borne disease that has forced humanity into secluded cities. Unbeknownst to his wife, the scientist has recently become infected himself. While isolated in a cabin outside of their compound, he uses their seclusion as a trial run for an untested cure, risking both their lives in the process.

                       

BIRDCALL’s visual style is heavily inspired by the recent popular horror sub-genre of analog horror, as well as classic found footage films such as The Blair Witch Project. The recovered footage style allows the audience to be thrown right into this world and truly experience the intimate story alongside these characters.

Analog horror is often associated with cryptic narratives meant to be discovered through context clues. BIRDCALL offers audiences a similar experience in its worldbuilding while also delivering an impactful, character-centric story. We hope that audiences can reflect on the complexity of their relationships with nature, their loved ones, and themselves while also enjoying the passion we've put into the film's story and special FX.

"In an era defined by growing global crises, environmental collapse, and uncertainty, I was inspired by the ways speculative fiction and apocalyptic scenarios can counterintuitively create space for hope by forcing radical social change and reimagining the future.” - says writer Halle Kott.

“In reflecting on this, I developed a curiosity on how, or if, humans would adjust their dominating relationship with nature as climate change ushered in rapid ecological changes, threatening human dominance over the planet. In combining these thoughts with a long history of vivid nightmares, Birdcall came to be.” - they conclude.

Fantasia audiences are sure to be disturbed by Calandriello’s unapologetically unsettling and gritty style of filmmaking.

The 15-minute short is directed by Justin Calandriello; Written by Halle Kott; Produced by Calandriello, Sam Beaton and Halle Kott; Associate Producer: Casey Marie Ecker and Cinematography by Joshua Popovsky.