the butterfly tattoo - press release
By Phil Hawkins
From
the blog of director, Phil Hawkins
Here’s the press release for The Butterfly Tattoo. It also
explains the story so far (I don’t think I’ve ever blogged about
the making of the film… so here it is!)
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Award –winning independent film Philip
Pullman’s
The Butterfly Tattoo gains support for a UK theatrical
release.
(UK - 2nd September 2009) In contrast to Philip Pullman’s $180 million adaptation THE GOLDEN COMPASS which hit screens in 2007, a small Dutch production company – Dynamic Entertainment – armed with just €250,000, a British crew and a cast of unknown actors gained the rights to Pullman’s novel THE BUTTERFLY TATTOO (originally ‘The White Mercedes’) and made a film which has stunned audiences at international film festivals.
The film gained the support of Philip Pullman after the 21 year old producers approached him with the idea to make a film which had a strong educational approach to it’s making. Pullman gave away the rights to the book being a strong believer in education through practice. Pullman stated early on that he was “impressed with the enthusiasm and professionalism of the team at Dynamic Entertainment and happy to support their efforts to bring THE BUTTERFLY TATTOO to the screen.”
Shot on location in Oxford over five weeks, THE BUTTERFLY TATTOO was created mostly by people who were new to the film industry supported by professional heads of departments. The film also features unsigned bands from the Oxford area on its soundtrack.
The film was also funded in a unique way. Offering shares in the film for as little as €50 through the production’s website, THE BUTTERFLY TATTOO was fully funded in just two days.
The story is essentially a modern day Romeo and Juliet set in contemporary Oxford. When seventeen year old Chris (Duncan Stuart) and lovely lass Jenny (Jessica Blake) first met at an Oxford college ball, the ruffled latter was still in the run from her ex-boyfriend Piers (Dan Morgan) - a tyrannical aristocrat. But Chris’ past hasn’t exactly been smooth sailing either, and as the young couple enters tenuously into an innocent courtship, hidden secrets from Chris’ boss (Aidan Magrath) reveal why their romance may be headed for tragedy.
The film introduces a fresh new cast of upcoming UK talent. The performances of co-stars Jessica Blake (Jenny) and Duncan Stuart (Chris) have wowed audiences and critics alike. The film itself went onto win Best Director and Best Adaptation at the New York Independent Film and Video Festival, The Silver Chris for Best Feature at the Columbus Film Festival and Best Film at the Beaufort International Film Festival. The film was also on the official selection for the Film By The Sea Festival (where it premiered to a packed out audience) and Netherlands Film Festival. This year THE BUTTERFLY TATTOO was also screened at the Cannes Film Festival.
At twenty four years of age, THE BUTTERFLY TATTOO is director Phil Hawkins’ second feature film, the first being THE WOMEN OF TROY which gained him a Best Director award at the New York Independent Film Festival in 2006. In 2007, Hawkins was personally selected by Steven Spielberg to appear in the Fox/Dreamworks reality television show for filmmakers ON THE LOT. Spielberg called him “one of the best new and upcoming directors” and Hawkins was the only filmmaker from the UK to appear in the show.
THE BUTTERFLY TATTOO went onto have a small theatrical release in Los Angeles in April 2009 and has since gone on sale on DVD in the US. However, the UK was slow on the uptake in terms of theatrical distribution for the film.
“It amazed me,” says director Phil Hawkins “that there didn’t seem to be any support for us in terms of distribution in the country where the film was made. I personally contacted almost every distributor in the UK and heard every excuse possible but nobody said it was a bad film; it was just the ‘state of the industry’. It was frustrating”. After months of trying, the film gained the support of Showcase Cinemas who offered to release the film in multiple screens.
The film will go on theatrical release in selected Showcase cinemas from September 25th 2009. The confirmed cities so far are Walsall, Kent, Teeside, Derby, Bristol and Leicester with more to be added. The production company is waiting on support from the UK Film Council to fund 35mm prints of the film to widen the release under their P&A fund. Showcase are also planning a charity gala premiere on September 24th in Reading in which Philip Pullman may make an appearance and a screen will be dedicated to him.
THE BUTTERFLY TATTOO will also be screened a week before the release at the Cambridge Film Festival on 18th September – followed by a Q&A with director and actors – and the 21st.
“It was a head rush of relief!” Hawkins explains about when the release was confirmed, “The whole point of making a film is to get it to audiences and allow the new cast, bands and filmmakers the platform to show what they can do. It was one of the major reasons for making the film in the first place. Showcase Cinemas have been a massive help and I look forward to the release. We just have to get bums on seats now!”
Director Phil Hawkins, co-stars Jessica Blake and Duncan Stuart are available for print, television or radio interviews.
Film stills and screeners for review are available on request.
Official website www.thebutterflytattoo.co.uk / twitter.com/pullmanfilm
