Butterfly Crush News
Press Release: 19 May 2011
Kiwi Film Wins Accolade Awards in US
New Zealand film Butterfly Crush, from Wanganui production company Artmedia, has started to make inroads in the US, where it has won a prestigious Award of Merit from The Accolade Competition.
Butterfly Crush, which was released theatrically in New Zealand last year, is the first feature film for writer-director Alan Clay. It's the story of two singing, dancing friends who become entangled with a mysterious Sydney cult, the Dreamguides. The film is set in Sydney, but was shot largely in Wanganui.
Australian actor Amelia Shankely has won the Accolade Award of Excellence for Best Supporting Actor for her role of the Dreamguides leader, Star.
Amelia was an award winning child actor in England before moving to live in Australia. She won the Paris Film Festival Best Actress award for the feature film Dreamchild, where she played the girl who inspired Lewis Carroll's Alice stories.
Based in California, The Accolade recognizes film professionals who demonstrate exceptional achievement in craft and creativity, and those who produce standout entertainment or contribute to profound social change.
The film also stars 20 year old Wellington actor, Courtney Hale, who has been described by New Zealand reviewers as a triple-threat performer because of her acting, singing and dancing skills. Courtney is also a member of Request, the Kiwi dance group who won the Hip-Hop World Championships in Las Vegas last year.
Butterfly Crush is also having some other successes in the States, where it will screen at the 'Love Unlimited Film Festival' in Portland, Oregon next week (May 27th).
It premiered in New Zealand in August last year and the DVD is now on sale in New Zealand and the US and available in video rental stores nationwide. It will be released in Australia through PackScreen later this year.
Press Release: 13 August 2010
Butterfly Crush - International Deals
An exciting new Kiwi film, Butterfly Crush, will open in Auckland and Christchurch on Saturday August 21st. The film was well received at its premiere in Wanganui and is also screening in Palmerston North and Hamilton.
This is the first feature film by Kiwi writer-director, Alan Clay, who adapted the screenplay from his novel, Dance Sisters. The film was shot in a unique way, using a digital stills camera, the Canon 5D Mark II. This unusual method of filmmaking made it possible to shoot a feature film on a small budget and still look like a big budget movie.
The production company behind Butterfly Crush has signed deals with the House of Film in California for the international rights and Hiltz Squared in Toronto for North American rights. Sales projections show the film going into profit.
Butterfly Crush tells the story of a female song and dance duo who threaten to self-destruct on the brink of fame, when one joins the Dreamguides cult and her friend must risk everything to rescue her.
Many people on Facebook and MySpace will be familiar with the girls through the Butterfly Crush music pages. Over the past year the duo have posted podcasts of themselves and their music hoping to be discovered and have received a strong following and now have thousands of fans.
This modern love story, set against the backdrop of the Sydney music industry, was shot mostly in Wanganui and stars 20 year old Wellington actor, Courtney Hale, a member of Request, the Kiwi group who won the Hip-Hop World Championships in Las Vegas this month.
Her boyfriend is played by 20 year old Sydney actor Richard Adams. The other principal roles in the film are played by Australian actors and the Dreamguides' leader is played by award winning NSW actor, Amelia Shankley.
A long development process and a production process involving a number of shoots combined with physical theatre training for the young actors has produced strong natural performances.
Butterfly Crush is screening in Wanganui, Palmerston North, Hamilton, and will open in Auckland at the Event Cinemas Albany and in Christchurch at the Hollywood 3 Cinema on Saturday August 21st at 6pm and will then screen each Saturday in these cinemas at 6pm.
Press Release: 23 July 2010
Butterfly Crush - New Zealand Release
An exciting new Kiwi film, Butterfly Crush, will have a New Zealand release in August with the premiere in Wanganui on August 7th and screenings in Palmerston North and Hamilton starting August 14th, then Auckland and Christchurch starting August 21st.
This modern love story, set against the backdrop of the Sydney music industry, was shot mostly in Wanganui and stars 20 year old Wellington actor, Courtney Hale.
The male love interest in Butterfly Crush is played by 20 year old Sydney actor Richard Adams. The other principal roles in the film are played by Australian actors and the Dreamguides leader is played by award winning NSW actor, Amelia Shankley.
This is the first feature film by Kiwi writer-director, Alan Clay, who adapted the screenplay from his novel, Dance Sisters. The film was shot in a unique way, using a digital stills camera, the Canon 5D Mark II. This unusual method of filmmaking made it possible to shoot a feature film on a budget of NZ$400,000 and still look like a big budget movie.
The film tells the story of a female song and dance duo who threaten to self-destruct on the brink of fame, when one joins the Dreamguides cult and the other must rescue her and risk seduction by a young cult member .
Check out the poster for the New Zealand release.
On this site you can also check out news items, the production credits and photos, find an outline of the story plus photos, read reviews of the book and view podcasts from Butterfly Crush.
New on this site you can find information on our feature film in development, True Believers, and reviews of the novel on which it is based.
You can also check out Artmedia's digital short film, Moontan which will be released in 2007 - read the synopsis, check out reviews of the book on which the film is based, read scene one of the script, and find information on the cast and production team.
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