“Wild Butterfly” is a dramatized documentary that explores childhood trauma and its relationship to ongoing mental health issues and drug use. It uncovers the hidden story behind a family’s tragic circumstances and opens our eyes to the impacts of social injustices and prejudices that could befall anyone.
“Wild Butterfly” chronicles the life of Claire Murray which was cut short due to complications involving her second liver transplant. Her story became controversial as she was denied another procedure after the first one allegedly failed due to a heroin relapse. As a recovering drug addict who secretly dealt with bullying and sexual assault trauma, social media had very little compassion for her story, voting on whether Claire deserved to live or die.
Incredibly emotional and provocative, “Wild Butterfly” is definitely one of my top recommendations, stemming from a place of compassion and understanding, allowing you to look deeper within yourself, something that falls short in other movies dealing with this subject matter. A film that took almost ten years to culminate, drawing from journals, poems, psychiatric reports, and her family’s statements, it gives you a full picture of the world Clare lived within.
This is Shireen Narayanan’s first directorial feature film, she is a Psychotherapist with 30 years of experience in adult/child and adolescent mental health and hopes to bring awareness to links between child sexual assault, PTSD, suicide, and other mental issues.
“Wild Butterfly” recently premiered at the 2021 Manhattan Film Festival
