As she sets out her career as a filmmaker, Destry Allyn Spielberg is ready to shake up the Hollywood system. Having long been intrigued by the elevated genre space, she is set to launch her debut feature Please Don’t Feed the Children at the Sitges International Film Festival on Friday.

The project, which is led by Downton Abbey’s Michelle Dockery and Breaking Bad’s Giancarlo Esposito, follows a gang of orphans who travel to the south in search of a new life after a viral outbreak decimates the adult population of the nation, only to find themselves at the mercy of a psychotic woman who is hiding a perilous secret.

When it came to casting this group of youngsters, Spielberg worked with renowned casting director Anne McCarthy (The Conjuring) with an aim to find fresh and young actors for the ensemble.

“My goal was to bring in as many...