A friend told me a true story about an incident concerning a burning social issue, an issue that troubles society globally. This was my inspiration to write “Lullaby of the butterfly”.
The protagonist is a dynamic woman, whose strong need for something is responsible for her engagement in a strange and mysterious situation. A stranger, who communicates with her by phone, seems to be giving her instructions which she follows with secrecy, fear and anxiety. But she doesn’t give up as this great desire of hers, makes her defy any potential danger and ignore all the possible consequences of her actions. So, she leaves everything behind in her life and travels to the ‘world of unlawfulness’, finally reaching her destination and doing what she set out to. Everything is revealed at the end of the film…
I am very lucky to have had the support of so many film professionals and companies. This film would not have been possible without the professionalism of every single member of the cast, the crew, the sponsors, the supporters and the co-production companies.
I was very fortunate to work with Alexia Vassiliou, a great musician and performer, a wonderful person, whose music was also the inspiration for this film. I have listened to Alexia’s work for years, especially her voice improvisations, and have always wanted to work with her. So when I was writing “Lullaby of the butterfly” I could almost hear her voice accompanying the protagonist of the film. And because this film has a very “organic” feel, almost like Alexia’s work, I was sure I had to contact her. When I did, Alexia was so positive that everything worked out beautifully… and we had a wonderful cooperation!
As far as the mood of the film is concerned, the camera work and the extreme close-ups, I knew from the beginning that the DOP of the film had to love to work with a handheld camera! So George Rahmatoulin came in the picture, who I hadn’t worked with before, but after talking for a bit about the film he immediately got what I wanted to do with the film. So we started working on the film and decided to go with the Blackmagic Camera as it would give us a more 16mm look on the image, something that fit exactly the mood and style of “Lullaby of the butterfly”.
Tonia Mishiali
Production notes_Shot list “Lullaby of the butterfly” by Tonia Mishiali
Lullaby of the Butterfly 