Butterfly

a film by Sam Picariello

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What if the life you are living
is not the one you chose?

Synopsis

Joe stands on the brink of a decision that could change the course of his life, but fear, doubt, and the weight of the unknown have left him stuck. When a psychic night at his local pub promises answers about his future, Joe sees a chance to glimpse the consequences before making his choice. However, as the reading takes hold, he begins to change in ways his friends cannot explain.

Cast

Jordan Adene (Doctor Who, The Sandman), Samiah Khan (Star Wars: Andor, The Power),
Elliot Cable (Sweet Pea, A Thousand Blows), Isobel Thom (Big Mood, Too Much),
Daniel Rahim - Ellena Jones - Jessica Blake - Edward Crook
& Owen Warner (Hollyoaks, Spider Island, I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here!)

Production

Written and Directed by Sam Picariello
Produced by Sam Picariello, Fred Crohem, Elliot Cable and Large Format Films
Genre: Sci-Fi Drama
Runtime: 65 Minutes
Premiere: TBA

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Two individuals operating film or camera equipment in a dark environment, one pointing and the other wearing headphones, likely involved in video or film production.
A camera on a tripod capturing a person's face on a monitor in a dark room, likely for filming or photography tasks.
Man sitting at a table in a dimly lit room with wooden walls, a window in the background, and a professional camera recording him.

The Approach

The film is designed to feel contained as a shorter feature. A small group of friends.
Two days. Time slipping away.
Nowhere for the characters to go
except towards each other.

The film itself is honest, raw, and ultimately, relatable. The visual language that accompanies the story was designed to compliment this containment through spherical lenses, controlled jib-work and a black-cyc studio.

A woman with long, curly black hair wearing a colorful, striped sweater is talking to a man with short dark hair and a beard, dressed in a grey jacket, in a pub.
On a film or video production set, a woman with dark curly hair is seen through a monitor screen. The background shows a blurred bookshelf filled with books.
Person operating a remote-controlled boat or drone on a grassy field, with trees in the background and a monitor displaying the device's view.

Director Statement

I often make films that explore the concept of loss. From the loss of relationships we hold close, to the loss of the person we believed we would become.

Loss, to me, is the most diverse and relatable subject a story can explore. Everyone has felt a version of it.

Butterfly grew from a question that kept returning to me, “What if I don’t achieve the dreams I have set for myself?” and moreover, what would grieving that loss feel like? Would it be due to the choices I could or couldn’t make? The film explores these concepts, with Joe hesitating on the edge of a moment that could change everything.

His fear is not failure, it is of becoming someone his relationships can’t survive,
achieving what he once wanted but losing everything at the same time. 

The science fiction within the film is not decorative. It is a method of making this films themes visible. The Psychic’s reading gives Joe’s internal crisis a physical form. What happens to him is in fact what he is already doing to himself.

- Sam Picariello