Jessica Reynolds and Charlotte Rampling Lead Irish Opera Drama 'Maya Butterfly'
Jessica Reynolds and Charlotte Rampling are starring in Maya Butterfly, an Irish psychological drama set in the opera world, with cameras already rolling in Wexford and Belfast (Variety).
The film follows a rising soprano who is secretly losing her hearing and must fight to survive the opening week of a radical opera production. The logline has drawn comparisons to Tár and Sound of Metal — two recent films that pinned their drama to the intersection of music, identity and physical crisis.
Reynolds, known for Kneecap and A Woman of Substance, stars opposite Rampling, the Oscar-nominated actor whose credits include 45 Years and Under the Sand. The pairing of an ascending Irish performer with one of European cinema's most enduring screen presences gives the production its marquee weight.
Behind the camera, Maya Butterfly marks the feature directorial debut of Edwina Casey, an award-winning Irish opera director and former Bingham Ray New Talent Award winner. Her move from the opera stage to film direction places the story in the hands of someone who has already staged the world the script inhabits.
Principal photography is underway on location at the National Opera House in Wexford and in Belfast. The behind-the-camera team includes director of photography Piers McGrail, production designer Ruta Kiskyte, costume designer Saffron Cullane, casting director Áine O'Sullivan and line producer Michael Donnelly V.
The project comes from Hail Mary Pictures, produced by Conor Barry (The End) and Richard Bolger (Father Mother Sister Brother). Additional producers are Patrick O'Neill of Wildcard, Paul Kennedy of Village Films and Bernard Michaux of SAMSA Film. Executive producers are Atilla Salih Yücer, Ronan Flynn, Gillian Cooper and Greg Martin.
Wildcard has acquired U.K. and Irish distribution rights, and the company's Patrick O'Neill said the team looks forward to bringing the film to cinemas in 2027. Funding comes from Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland, Northern Ireland Screen and Yellowmoon. The film was developed with Screen Ireland support, including through the Screen Ireland and Luxembourg Film Fund Co-Development Fund for Female and Non-Binary Filmmakers.
Maya Butterfly was selected for the Torino Film Lab and the Venice Gap-Financing Market — two development programmes that help independent films close their financing and reach production. Both selections came before cameras rolled, signalling industry confidence in the script and the creative team.
For audiences, the combination of a hearing-loss storyline set inside a high-pressure opera week offers the kind of contained, pressure-cooker drama that has resonated at festivals and in specialised release. A 2027 theatrical release in the U.K. and Ireland puts it on the calendar alongside the wider independent corridor.
