Butterflies

Director: Tolga Karaçelik
Screenwriters: Tolga Karaçelik

Institute History

Description

World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic

Cemal, Kenan, and Suzi are siblings who have grown apart since leaving Hasanlar, the tiny village where they grew up, and going their separate ways. When an unexpected call from their estranged father demands they return to the village immediately, Cemal, the eldest, is tasked with reuniting the family and convincing his brother and sister to take a road trip back to the places and memories they have been working so hard to forget. As they try to piece their dysfunctional family back together and confront their shared past, they’ll have to contend with each other’s peculiarities and get to know one another all over again, even as the strangest elements of all await them in the village.

Tolga Karaçelik returns to the Sundance Film Festival with his second feature, crafting a wildly inventive and explosive dark comedy that’s as thoughtful as it is surprising. Butterflies defies expectation at every turn, balancing playfulness and razor-sharp writing with an incredibly heartfelt look at family bonds that defy time and distance.

— A.S.

Screening Details

Sundance Film Festival Awards

As you use our Online Archives, please understand that the information presented from Festivals, Labs, and other activities is taken directly from official publications from each year. While this information is limited and doesn't necessarily represent the full list of participants (e.g. actors and crew), it is the list given to us by the main film/play/project contact at the time, based on the space restrictions of our publications. Each entry in the Online Archives is meant as a historical record of a particular film, play, or project at the time of its involvement with Sundance Institute. For this reason, we can only amend an entry if a name is misspelled, or if the entry does not correctly reflect the original publication. If you have questions or comments, please email [email protected]