Butterflies - A Short Film

A short film about a girl’s struggle to reclaim her life after a shooting leaves her with PTSD.

I’m currently attending my last semester at Boston University’s Film Production MFA program. One of the requirements to complete the program is to direct a thesis film. While it’s a requirement to obtain the MFA, the program itself is extremely competitive and only one or two people are ever selected by the faculty to actually complete their MFA. The faculty approved my thesis film back in August and informed me that I was the only one in my class they had selected.

Since August, I’ve been working nonstop on the film - acquiring a cast and crew, looking for locations, rewriting the script, etc. - but I’m proud to say we’re in the final stages of pre-production and will begin filming in March.

We’ll actually be filming down in eastern North Carolina, because I wanted to pay homage to the place where I was born and raised and also give back to a community who’s given a lot to me during the course of my life.

The film - “Butterflies” - itself is incredibly ambitious. It’s a psychological suspense film about a girl suffering from PTSD who enters a virtual reality experiment meant to cure anxiety. The experiment quickly goes awry, and she soon finds herself fighting for her life within the experiment. The film deals quite a bit with mental health.

The simulation itself is meant to act as a visual interpretation of an anxiety attack. I believe anxiety is one of those things that quite a number of people deal with but no one ever talks about. This film is my endeavor to change that.

I am currently running an Indiegogo campaign to raise money for the film. (The school is giving us roughly an eighth of our budget, which is not a lot.) I’m reaching out to ask if you’d please take the time to look at the campaign, consider making a donation (even if it’s only $5), and also please help us spread the word to people that might be interested in donating. This film is so, SO important to me and my career as a filmmaker.

About Project Creator:

Melissa Bennett

I am an MFA candidate in Boston University’s Film Production program. I am also an indie filmmaker. Prior to my acceptance into the program, I worked for five years at Western Carteret Public Library where I developed an arts program for teenagers in the community where I taught them filmmaking. Teens could come to the program - for free - and learn how to create their own TV shows, short films, and features. Teens would learn about scriptwriting, cinematography, directing, and editing.

My community is very small and has hardly anything in the community, outside of school, for teens to do in their free time. This was my endeavor to change that. The program was the first of its kind in the community and incredibly successful. Many of the teens who participated in the program during my five years at Western Carteret are now pursuing film in college.

My specialty is in writing. I believe that stories can both entertain and teach. I am currently working on a couple of novels for Young Adults and a television pilot script.

Link to the Project:

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/butterflies-a-short-film#/