PREMISE
When her brother dies, singer Lilah Belle sets out to escape her grief and embarks on a road trip, but not before coaxing the new-to-town, most scandalous woman in Artesia—Rose Johnson—to go with her. These two broken souls steal a vintage truck and head out on the open road to a fated encounter with the mythical, magical ‘Lazarus of the Butterflies.' What occurs with the strange Butterfly Man transforms their destinies and binds the women together—forever…

INSPIRATION FOR THE MOVIE
My brother died suddenly in 2005 and I was…changing—wide and deep. My attraction to Butterflies during this period of my life was strong. A butterfly (with its four stages: egg, caterpillar, cocoon and finally, Butterfly) is the result of a metamorphosis—the complete transformation. While driving back from a trip to the beach with a friend, I was listening to an Aretha Franklin CD. I was mesmerized not only by Aretha's

songs of love and men—pain and loss—but by one song in particular about two women named Mary and Martha. Mary and Martha, I remembered, were also two women in the Bible who had recently lost their brother, Lazarus. It was only after they “believed” did their brother rise from the dead.

When the song ended, I thought, “what happened to Mary and Martha?” At that moment, two women named Rose Johnson and Lilah Belle were born in my head. I wanted to find out their story—and so, I wrote…

Butterfly Rising was written in eight long days in the summer of 2006 and, like thousands of young screenwriters, I dreamed of making the movie. When Butterfly Rising commenced Principal Photography, more than 85% of the original script remained. Butterfly Rising is a movie about love and the power of belief; it is my hope that the message in ‘Rising' compels us not to run from fear, but cultivate the courage to go toward it. I truly believe it is only in fear's nucleus where one finds a timeless and ever-present joy that transcends the vicissitudes of earthly circumstances.

Lastly, I hope this movie inspires people to believe in their dreams. Because they really do come true.

--Tanya Wright