Starmist Films is an emerging UK independent production company making its feature debut this autumn with the gothic romantic thriller City of Masks.
Founded by Amanda Jiang and Enrico Tessarin, Starmist has been established with a wider ambition than a single-film production vehicle: to develop commercially driven British features and premium content with international potential, supported by its Pegasus Fund and a growing slate of feature films and international co-productions.
Enrico Tessarin
Co-Founder / Writer / Producer “City of Masks marks the beginning of Starmist Films' ambition to create distinctive British films with global appeal. Audiences continue to embrace bold, cinematic filmmaking across both theatrical exhibition and emerging platforms. With our Pegasus Fund supporting an ambitious slate of feature films and international co-productions and partnering with BUFF Studios, we're excited about what comes next."
Amanda Jiang
Co-Founder / Lead Actor / Producer“The Phantom of the Opera has always held a special place in my heart, so City of Masks began as a story I was deeply passionate about bringing to the screen. Playing Eve while also helping to create the film has been incredibly personal. We’ve taken the romance, mystery and obsession that make Phantom so timeless and reimagined them for a contemporary audience. I hope audiences are surprised, moved and completely seduced by this world of love, ambition, jealousy and secrets.”
Its first feature, City of Masks, offers a strong introduction to that strategy.
Directed by Andrea M. Catinella (Piglet) and written by Enrico Tessarin (The Habit of Beauty), the film takes inspiration from Gaston Leroux’s The Phantom of the Opera but reverses one of its most familiar dynamics, placing Amanda Jiang’s Eve, a brilliant female composer concealed behind a mask, at the heart of the story.
Andrea M. Catinella
Director “I’m very familiar with the world of reimagined IPs, but when I received the script for City of Masks, I immediately understood that this was something different. It’s not simply a new take on The Phantom of the Opera, it’s a story told through a female ghost, exploring love, betrayal and obsession while blending dark gothic romance with the modern world of ambition, power and the creative industry. We’ve poured an enormous amount of work into every detail, from preparation through to the final stages of post-production. I was also fortunate to translate the emotional tones I wanted to convey into physical frames and lighting, thanks to my long-standing collaboration with my DoP, Carla Fuschillo. I’m excited for audiences to experience the film and take away their own meaning from it.”
The cast also includes Charlie Goddard (Barbie), Deano Bugatti Mitchison (EastEnders), Kay Boggett (Tapped), Madalina Bellarui Ion (The Young Pope) and Charlotte Jackson Coleman (Silent Witness).
BUFF Studios boarded the project as Executive Producers following principal photography and have secured the UK theatrical distribution rights, with City of Masks scheduled for a Halloween 2026 release following a world premiere scheduled for late October.
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