LOGLINE: Ruth (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.

CAST:

Double Oscar Nominee Judy Davis rose to international attention with her leading role in the period drama film My Brilliant Career (1979), winning two BAFTA Awards. This led to starring roles in Hollywood projects, receiving her first Emmy nomination for the docudrama A Woman Called Golda (1982). She received nominations for the Academy Award for Best Actress for starring in the historical film A Passage to India (1984) and Best Supporting Actress for Allen’s comedy-drama Husbands and Wives (1992).

Davis won three Primetime Emmy Awards for starring in the television film Serving in Silence: The Margarethe Cammermeyer Story (1995), and the miniseries Life with Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows (2001) and The Starter Wife (2007). Her subsequent films include Children of the Revolution (1996), Celebrity (1998), Marie Antoinette (2006), The Eye of the Storm (2011), To Rome with Love (2012), The Dressmaker (2015), and Nitram (2021).

Bridgerton‘s Florence Hunt made her television debut playing a young version of Katherine Langford‘s character Nimue in the Netflix Arthurian fantasy series Cursed, which was released in 2020. Later in 2020, Hunt began starring as Hyacinth, the eighth and youngest Bridgerton child, in the period drama Bridgerton, a Shondaland-produced Netflix adaptation of the Regency romance novels by Julia Quinn. While promoting the second season in 2022, Hunt posted several behind-the-scenes TikToks that went viral. In the 2021 stage adaptation of Force Majeure at Donmar Warehouse, Hunt shared the role of Vera with Bo Bragason. Although the play’s critical reviews were mixed, Hunt received praise for her performance. Tim Walker of The New European wrote “The real acting honours go, however, to Florence Hunt and Henry Hunt (on the night I saw it)”, while London Theatre Reviews called Hunt “an exceptional young actress”. In April 2023, it was announced Hunt would make her feature film debut starring alongside Juliette Binoche, Tom Courtenay, and Anna Calder-Marshall in Lance Hammer‘s Queen at Sea. She also has an upcoming role in the series Mix Tape and will return in Season 4 of Bridgerton in 2026 in a main role.

Target audience: The primary target market for this project is skewed female 21 to 45/ smaller numbers 45+/ secondary market males, early 20s to 50s/ LGBTQ+/ advocates of medically assisted death.

Recent comps: THE FAREWELL [$23m WW BO], NYAD [Netflix, RT 85% critics/ 87% audience], ME BEFORE YOU [$209m WW BO], BLACKBIRD with Susan Sarandon & Kate Winslet, AFTER SUN [$8.5m WW BO], A MAN CALLED OTTO [$112m WW BO], A MAN CALLED OVE [$30m WW BO], NEBRASKA $12m WW BO]

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.

This is a beautiful story. It’s a tearjerker. Ruth doesn’t appear to be that likeable at first. She’s somewhat standoffish, but we grow to like her, admire her and care about her. She has a dry sense of humor. Same with Lori. She starts out as an aggressive football player, someone who wants things her way, but by the story’s end, we understand who she is and see her grow as a person. She’s found someone special to love in Ingrid.

The film is from Chris Curling producer of THE MIRACLE CLUB [$7.1m BO WW to-date], THE BOOKSHOP [$12m], ANTHROPOID with Oscar Winner Cillian Murphy and Jamie Dornan [$5.1m], THE LAST STATION with Helen Mirren [$21m], HANNIBAL RISING [$82M] etc.. and Michael Steiger producer of NIGHT TRAIN TO LISBON with Jeremy Irons [$12m] from Academy winning director Bille August and multiple episodes of the hit German TV series TATORT.

DIRECTOR: Denis Rabaglia (My Beloved Enemy, Marcello Marcello, Azzurro) has won numerous prizes including audience awards and also produced a huge Swiss hit in 2006 [GROUNDING- THE LAST DAYS OF SWISSAIR]. He’s worked across genres, but comedy is where his passion lies. “I’m always trying to make things clear while keeping them complex. I want to make viewers see through the ambiguity of a situation, and for that to touch off feelings or laughter in them.”. We believe Denis’ successful approach combining emotional drama and comedy is perfect for BUTTERFLY STROKE.

WRITERS: Jessica Townsend (Shorts: Saline, 15 Seconds, 4 Conversations about Love, Humane Resources); Denis Rabaglia (My Beloved Enemy, Marcello Marcello, Azzurro); Nat Luurtsema (shorts: Ouzo & Blackcurrant, Wyrdoes, Three Women Wait for Death)

In Pre-Production

SPP 28 July 2025