I was also interested in the possibility of shooting in Northern Queensland in Autralia (offers tax rebates and grants) as I have strong ties to Australia, having lived there on and off for 18 years and working in the industry there. Plus there is a Papua New Guinean community in Cairns, a city in Queensland.
BUTTERFLY/BATAPLAI
A short narrative drama.
A Papua New Guinean/American woman challenges
her evangelist father's strict rules to find her voice as a makeup artist.
Written, Directed & Produced by
Veialu Aila-Unsworth
Instagram: @bataplai.film
Official Selection of 26 Film Festivals
AWARDS
Joint-Winner of ‘Best Film’ Award
Whānau Mārama New Zealand International Film Festival's Ngā Whanaunga Māori Pasifika Shorts 2024 Wellington UNESCO Creative City of Film ‘Best Film’ Award
Honorable Mention
Running time: 8 mins
Country: USA
Languages: English, Tok Pisin
Open Subtitles: English
Starring Regina Pande, Graham Pande, Joana Mate, and the voice of Olivia Korken.
Cinematography by Judd Overton, Music Composed by Maxwell Stone and Otis Kane, Sound Supervisor & Re-recording Mixer Tyler Proctor, featuring Photographs by Patrick Leahy and the song "Hypnotised" by Alyson Joyce.
Made in San Francisco / Ramaytush Ohlone land,
California, United States
SYNOPSIS
Raya (Regina Pande) loves makeup but her family does not. She’s torn between her secret dream of being a makeup artist and her family’s strict religious beliefs. In a nightmare, she receives a profound message from her Papua New Guinean ancestor who encourages her to look at her Indigenous culture for answers.
FESTIVALS & SCREENINGS 2023-2024
39th Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival (World Premiere, May 2023), USA
Māsima Pacific Islands Film Tour, USA
Micheaux Film Festival, USA
43th Hawai`i International Film Festival, USA
24th imagineNATIVE Film & Media Festival, Canada
LAAPFF Presents: REPLAY, USA
Papua New Guinea Human Rights Film Festival, Papua New Guinea
16th Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival, USA
Los Angeles Skins Fest, USA
Barbados Independent Film Festival, Barbados
(Honorable Mention)
Disorient Asian American Film Festival of Oregon, USA
Māoriland Indigenous Film Festival, Ōtaki, Aotearoa New Zealand
25th Dawson City International Short Film Festival, Yukon, Canada
NewFilmakers Los Angeles April Festival, USA
Pasifika Visions: Short Film Screening, California State University Long Beach, USA
West Hollywood Women's Leadership Conference & Network Mini-Film Festival, USA
VC Film Festival (formerly LA Asian Pacific Film Festival), Long Beach, California, USA
42nd CAAMFest, San Francisco Bay Area, California, USA
Honolulu Museum of Art, Hawai`i, USA
Sacramento Asian Pacific Film Festival, California, USA
Weengushk Film Festival, Manitoulin Island, Ontario, Canada
Whānau Mārama New Zealand International Film Festival, Aotearoa New Zealand
(Joint-winner of 2024 Wellington UNESCO Creative City of Film ‘Best Film’ Award)
LA Skins Fest: Native American & Indigenous Short Film Showcase, USA
UPCOMING SCREENINGS
18th Native Spirit Film Festival, London - Oct 11-19, 2024
Pacific Island Film Festival of New York City, USA - Oct 17-20, 2024
Wairoa Film Festival, Nūhaka, Aotearoa New Zealand - Oct 25-28, 2024
Pasifika Film Festival, Sydney and Canberra, Australia
& Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea - Oct 31 - Nov 3, 2024
Red Nation International Film Festival, Los Angeles - Nov 1-30, 2024
MORE SCREENING DATES COMING SOON
ARTIST STATEMENT
BY VEIALU AILA-UNSWORTH
Papua New Guinean women belong everywhere!
We are multi-faceted, fierce, complex, curious, intelligent, imaginative, and so much more.
I want to challenge our invisibility on-screen.
For those of us in diasporas, living away from our cultural homelands, we are forging new identities, navigating multiple cultures, pushing against stupid stereotypes, finding acceptance and belonging, finding healing and freedom - finding our voice.
I explore this in Butterfly/Bataplai.
My intention with this film is to show what it's like for one Papua New Guinean woman living in the diaspora trying to forge a path between her Indigenous roots, spiritual beliefs, and the Western world she lives in.
Butterfly/Bataplai asks the question: Who defines us as Papua New Guinean women, and to what extent do we get to decide that for ourselves?
[Find out more on Instagram @bataplai.film]
BUTTERFLY/BATAPLAI SHORT FILM WAS MADE WITH THE 2023 ARMED WITH A CAMERA FELLOWSHIP
The Armed with a Camera Fellowship is awarded by Visual Communications (vcmedia.org), a non-profit organization whose mission is to develop and support the voices of Asian American & Pacific Islander filmmakers who empower communities and challenge perspectives.