EXCLUSIVE: C.J. ‘Fiery’ Obasi’s psychological drama A Blue Butterfly starring Steve Toussaint (House of the Dragon) and Sanaa Lathan (Succession) has completed filming in London and will move to Rwanda for a further two-week shoot. Check out a first look image from the project above.
Today, we can announce that several names have also been added to the cast. Those include Lucian Msamati (Conclave), Anton Lesser (Andor), Eliane Umuhire (A Quiet Place: Day One), Andy Nyman (Wicked), and Aggy K. Adams (The Witcher).
A Blue Butterfly is Obasi’s first feature since Mami Wata (2023), which screened at Sundance before playing across the festival circuit. The film was Nigeria’s entry for Best International Feature Film at the 96th Academy Awards and landed Independent Spirit and NAACP Image Award nominations.
A Blue Butterfly is produced by Stella Nwimo with Rebecca Long co-producing for their Boudica Entertainment label. The project is described as character-driven, with a plot focused on “exploring survivor’s guilt, redemption, and the impossibility of self-forgiveness.” Toussaint wrote the screenplay, and in the first image above, you can see him as the limousine driver Sentwali. He is living in self-imposed exile when he meets and forms a connection with a charismatic actress, played by Lathan, and for the first time in decades, considers a future.
“I read a lot of good scripts, but Steve’s script is empathic and intuitive, with its sly humour,” Obasi said in a statement. “As a child of parents who survived a genocide, I connected with it on a deeply personal level, and was excited with the prospect of how we would make a truly human and cinematic character piece. All of the cast members are thespians operating at the height of their powers, and I’m in awe of their tremendous talent.”
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