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BUTTERFLY STROKE

By Denis RABAGLIA

CELSIUS ENTERTAINMENT - as SALES All rights, World

Comedy - Pre-Production 2025

Ruth (Double Oscar Nominee Judy Davis) is an eccentric, determined woman who wants control over everything. Even death. She heads to Zurich for an orderly, legal exit. Her estranged granddaughter Lori (Florence Hunt) gatecrashes and won’t leave without her. Their reunion is transformative and loving

- Year of production
- 2025
- Genres
- Comedy, Drama
- Countries
- UNITED KINGDOM, SWITZERLAND
- Languages
- ENGLISH
- Budget
- 3 - 5 M$
- Director(s)
- Denis RABAGLIA
- Cast
- Judy DAVIS, Florence HUNT, Caroline PETERS, Malaya STERN TAKEDA
- Producer(s)
- Chris CURLING (Zephyr), Michael STEIGER (Turnus Film )
- Synopsis
- BUTTERFLY STROKE centres on Ruth (Judy Davis), a former Olympian, and a woman who wants control over every aspect of her life - including its end. When she is diagnosed with a terminal brain tumour, she sets out on a final journey to Switzerland, where assisted dying is legal. She makes a stop at a beautician and readies herself to look her best for the doctors and undertakers. She calls her estranged granddaughter, Lori (Florence Hunt), to inform her of the plan and the inheritance she’ll soon receive. Lori, impulsive and headstrong in her own way, won’t let Ruth slip away so easily. She races across Europe to stop - or at least understand - Ruth’s decision. In Switzerland, Ruth meets her match in the fastidious Dr Steiger (Caroline Peters), whose unflinching application of the rulebook leads to a darkly comedic standoff. Meanwhile Lori finds herself unexpectedly distracted by Ingrid (Malaya Stern Takeda), a charming Swiss football player who she can’t help falling for. As Swiss bureaucracy delays Ruth’s carefully laid plans, grandmother and granddaughter find themselves stuck in a limbo that’s unexpectedly funny and revealing. They begin to bridge the vast emotional chasm between them, and long buried secrets rise to the surface: including the mysterious event that derailed Ruth’s Olympic future.
- Beginning of shooting
- Jul 28, 2025