Screenwriter: Saeid Shapouri
Director of Photography: Mohammad Davoodi
Editor: Hassan Hassandoost
Music: Kambiz Roshan-Ravan
Principal cast: Rahim Jahani, Yashar Mahmoudi, Hamed Manafi-Zadeh, Rakhshandeh Ziraz.

Filmed amid the spectacular waterfalls and rugged mountain villages of Northern Iran and Azerbijan, Birth of a Butterfly takes us on a sumptuous and spiritual journey through a trilogy of stories. The film opens with a young boy who is taken into custody by a protective uncle in order to spare him the sight of his dying mother. The second story is about a disabled boy among villagers on a pilgrimage to a shrine. And the finale portrays a teacher who arrives in a remote village threatened by flooding and is greeted by the locals as their savior and spiritual leader. In his latest film, Mojtaba Raie exhibits an impressive degree of control and stylistic vision by creating a world abundant in stunning landscapes, resplendent light and color, and preternaturally handsome actors. Deena Juras