Project Detail

The Canaries Experience

Synopsis

The Canaries’ Experience Genre: Mixed Reality / Magical Realism / Emotional Drama Format: Immersive VR Film Synopsis: In a world where silence can be fatal, The Canaries’ Experience invites viewers into a deeply emotional and symbolic journey through the mind of Will, a young man silently battling despair. Guided by a mystical canary—an ancient symbol of safety in coal mines—viewers traverse a surreal landscape that blends memory, emotion, and myth. As Will’s inner world unravels, the canary’s song becomes a lifeline—its presence a sign of hope, its silence a chilling warning. Through immersive soundscapes, binaural audio, and haptic feedback, the audience experiences Will’s emotional highs and lows: from the suffocating silence of isolation to the transcendent transformation of the God Canary, a divine guide born from pain and resilience. Blending magical realism with therapeutic design, this VR experience is not just a story—it’s a meditation on vulnerability, connection, and the power of being heard. In the end, the canaries rise—not just as symbols of survival, but as beacons of collective healing.

Visit Film Website

Details

Year: 2025
Type of project: XR / Immersive
Running time: 20 min
Format: Immersive VR mixed reality film / Game
Director: Salma Shalaby
Producer: Salma Shalaby
Co-Producer: Pooja Saini
Executive Producer: Salma Shalaby
Screenwriter: Salma Shalaby
Director of Photography: Salma Shalaby
Principal cast: Sio Wynne, Steven Stroud, Dr Emma Roberts, Sunny Blainey, Harriet Morley, Ashline George
Other Lead Creative(s): Liverpool John Moores University Suicide and Self Harm Research Group, James Place
Assistant Producer: Ashline George
Lead Supervisor: Professor Pooja Saini
Co-Supervisors: Dr Oladayo Bifarian, Dr Ryan Ward
Composer and Audio Programmer: Christophe Péreuil
3D Asset Designer: Boby Ichev
Developers and Programmers: Charitha Liyanaarachchilage, Lead Technical Developer; Owen Monaghan, UI System Developer; Rinku Sara Chacko, UI and C++ Programmer; Max Spencer Hughes, UI Coder and Audio Programmer/ Developer
Game Developer: Sebastian Purves
Acknowledgments: Kira Ann Lonergan, Developer; James Traynor, Technician; Niall Mcann, Advisor; Sarah Haynes and Camilla Affleck, LJMU Screen School; Hisham Nazih, For permission to use his compositions 'Diamond Dust' and 'Constellations'; Allie Esiri, For permission to use 'The Guest House' by Rumi from her anthologies 'A Poem for Every Autumn Day' and '365 Poems for Life', read by Helena Bonham Carter

Genre

Docufiction Experimental Fantasy History Horror Human Rights Literary Adaptation Science Woman Director

Production Status

Post-production

Production Company

Salma Shalaby

Visit Website

Page updates

This page was last updated on 1st December 2025. Please let us know if we need to make any amendments or request edit access by clicking below.

Suggest amendments

After the death of their ill-tempered and controlling father, middle-aged sisters Constantia (Con) and Josephine (Jug), find themselves at a loss. The story takes place in 1920 and is set within a European townhouse where Constantia and Josephine have always lived with their domineering father. The two sisters' mother died when they were young, and they have spent their lives enslaved to the rhythm and routine of Father’s house. Even in death they fear their father and imagine him springing out of the wardrobe or shouting at them from his grave. Over time, their father’s control diminishes and they find comfort in taking part in peaceful activities in each other’s company. An unexpected visitor also helps them to find the courage to begin their lives anew. A merry, rude, and lyrical, animated adaptation of the modernist short story written by Katherine Mansfield in 1920. In this adaptation the sisters will begin to assert themselves in joyful, unexpected ways that could only be depicted in animation. Official Selection Quinzaine des Cinéastes / Directors' Fortnight Cannes 2026 - World premiere

Comedy Drama Experimental Literary Adaptation Woman Director

An audio cassette tape, with the title 'Childrens Tape for Sue', being repaired.

The Solway

Director: Eamon Bourke

Year: 2026

Filmmaker Eamon Bourke lost his mother, Sue, when he was three and has no memory of her. When his father decides to sell the remote Lake District home where she died, Eamon returns with his camera to document the house and its clearing. Among Sue’s belongings - diaries, poems, photographs and tapes - he discovers a box of damaged cassette recordings. After painstakingly repairing them, he uncovers something extraordinary: his mother’s voice. Through these intimate audio diaries, Sue speaks candidly about motherhood, sings to her children, and captures fleeting family moments Eamon never knew. One final tape records her describing the onset of hepatitis, days before she fell into a coma and died in 1983. Another, more haunting still, features three-year-old Eamon calling out to his unconscious mother in hospital, in a desperate attempt to bring her back. As Eamon pieces together this archive, he confronts the enduring impact of early loss, speaking with his father and sisters while retracing the emotional landscape of his childhood. Set against the vast beauty of the Lake District, a deeply personal exploration of grief, memory and love - an attempt to recover what was lost, and to finally say goodbye.

Biography History Music

Marc Munden directs the cast of Lord of the Flies

Making of Lord of the Flies

Director: Lisa Marie Russo

Year: 2026

A trippy tale capturing the creative vision of writer Jack Thorne and director Marc Munden, as a British crew and young cast film this timely adaptation on the remote islands and interior of Malaysia during monsoon season. The crew battle twisters, torrential rain and scary insects to create this hallucinatory fever dream, featuring behind the scenes interviews, observational footage and mesmerising performances by the newbie cast.

Woman Director