Butterfly
Written and Directed
by Sam Picariello
Butterfly is my debut feature film,
written and directed after years of working across shorts, series and commercials.
It’s a grounded sci-fi drama anchored within the anxiety we all feel when faced with making
life-altering decisions
“I wanted to make something about the moment you wake up and realise that life is getting away from you. Not because you failed, but because you’ve allowed others to make the big decisions for you.”
Joe, Hannah, Beth, and Alex are four close friends sharing a pint at their local pub during a psychic night. They expect laughs, but Joe's reading hits a nerve. He's told he's not living up to his potential, and something about the psychic's intensity unsettles him. As the night unfolds and predictions begin to come true, Joe grows uneasy. Stepping outside to clear his head, he disappears and returns different.
The ensemble cast includes Jordan Adene, Samiah Khan, Elliot Cable, Isobel Thom, and Owen Warner, whose recent work spans major UK and international film and television projects.
Performances were developed through rehearsals, long takes and a relationship where we could organically explore the characters together. This allowed for both relationships and scenes to feel real and lived-in.
Story & Cast
The film was shot over nine days across London and Surrey in partnership with Large Format Films and a highly collaborative team focused on creating something unique. Visually we wanted to create something that felt grounded, but still unsettled in a sci-fi sense. We used jib-mounted Alexa cameras and lighting moves to create a subtle sense of observation and control, alongside handhelds and steadicam work to reflect the emotional state of the characters. When this was combined with unique set and prop design, we were able to create a film that felt both intimate and cinematic, without ever losing the human story at the core.
Execution
Butterfly marks the beginning of the kind of feature work I want to continue making, it brings together everything I’ve learned working across shorts, series and commercials, and applies it to long-form storytelling with a focus on performance and emotional intimacy.
This film was made with ambition and planning at the forefront, setting the foundation for the kind of grounded, character-led features I would like to continue building at scale.
The film is currently in post-production with a festival run planned from Summer 2026.
