The film was inspired by Modesta Jurgaitytė's book Special and tells the story of a ten-year-old boy named Juozapas, who is one in a million because he was born with his heart outside of his chest and survived. His heart is protected by a glass dome and thick armour. The physical disability of the main character Juozapas, and his more sensitive inner world, make it hard and painful for him to overcome the long-standing relationship routine, insensitivity and lack of observation in society. Juozapas avoids interaction with children; the centre of his world is an old, deserted manor house and the insects he is raising there. When his classmate Rugilė appears in Juozapas’s life, she helps him break free from his reticence and open up. Juozapas and Rugilė’s subtle inner world overcomes exclusion and the insensitivity of the people around them.
„I‘ve been looking for a children’s film story for a long time. The story of Juozapas touched me. This sensitivity was also felt by director Inesa Kurklietytė, who already has experience in making films for children," Živilė Gallego said.
Inesa Kurklietyte is an award-winning Lithuanian director who was named The International Film Festival Serseliafam's "Woman of the Year in Cinema." She teaches at the Academy of Music and Theatre and the Vilnius Tech University. Kurklietyte is the founding director of AVII--the Audiovisual Arts Industry Incubator, a training centre for the youth.
The film was shot in July and August 2020 in the Lithuanian cities of Kėdainiai, Šumskas, Perloja.
The planned budget is 750,000 EUR. The picture received production funding from the Lithuanian Film Centre in the amount of 516,000 EUR.
A Butterfly‘s Heart will be distributed in Lithuania by ACME Film and the premiere is planned for September 2021.
Production information:
Fralita Films
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Credits:
Director: Inesa Kurklietyte
Scriptwriters: Modesta Jurgaitytė, Inesa Kurklietyte
DOP: Viktoras Radzevičius
Production designer: Anželika Šulcaitė
Composer: Jonas Jurkūnas
Cast: Elijas Malinauskas, Vilnė Konstancija Abukevičiūtė, Mindaugas Balabonas, Vincentas Švedas, Rokas Mizeikis, Matas Vaičekauskas, Eglė Jackaitė, Lukas Petrauskas, Marius Repšys, Toma Vaškevičiūtė, Gabija Jaraminaitė, Gabrielia Kuodytė, Sonata Visockaitė, Violeta Mičiulienė, Julius Žalakevičius, Vita Šiaučiūnaitė, Domantas Starkauskas
