Butterfly on a Wheel

Set against the backdrop of Toronto’s vibrant and urban landscape, Butterfly on a Wheel follows Jacen Davis (Curran Walters) as a gifted young musician struggling to keep up with daily life due to his OCD and anxiety. Studying jazz at the prestigious Royal Conservatory of Music, Jacen hopes to one day conquer his fears and perform inside the beautiful Koerner Hall in front of an audience. While playing to an empty hall one afternoon, a chance encounter with fellow student Sorrel (Brielle Robillard) sets in motion a transformative journey that will shape Jacen’s perception of the world around him, and with the support of his brother Dylan (Michael Provost), hopes to re-discover his most authentic self.

Butterfly on a Wheel marks the directorial & screenwriting debut of
2-time Emmy® winning TV & Film composer Trevor Morris.

  • Trevor Morris
    Director
    Vikings, Castlevania, London Has Fallen, The Tudors, The Borgias, Olympus Has Fallen, Vikings: Valhalla, Immortals, Big Sky, Another Life, Shadowhunters, Monarch, Olympus Has Fallen, Hunter Killer, Condor, Taken, Marvel's Iron Fist
  • Trevor Morris
    Writer
  • Trevor Morris
    Composer
  • Susan Cooper
    Producer
    The Vow
  • Jim Seibel
    Producer
    The Host, Replicas, The Grey
  • Jennifer Haufler
    Producer
    Star Trek: Strange New Worlds
  • Justin Kelly
    Producer
    What We Do In The Shadows
  • Isaias Garcia
    Producer
    The Moment I Was Alone
  • Aaron Marshall
    Editor
    The Handmaid's Tale
  • Scott McClellan C.S.C.
    Director of Photography
    SurrealEstate, Slasher
  • Patrick Hagarty
    1st Assistant Director
    Cinderella Man
  • Rob Beal
    Sound Department
    It, Venom: Let There Be Carnage, Gotham Knights, Guillermo del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities
  • Curran Walters
    Key Cast
    "Jacen"
    Titans, Supergirl, Girl Meets World
  • Michael Provost
    Key Cast
    "Dylan"
    The Holdovers, Insatiable, Lucifer
  • Brielle Robillard
    Key Cast
    "Sorrel"
    The Silencing, Minority Report, Place of Bones, Endlings
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Runtime:
    34 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    February 14, 2025
  • Production Budget:
    1,055,000 CAD
  • Country of Origin:
    Canada
  • Country of Filming:
    Canada
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    ARRI Anamorphic
  • Aspect Ratio:
    2.39:1
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Trevor Morris

Trevor Morris is a writer, composer and director for Film & Television, a 5-time EMMY® nominee and 2x winner. Canadian-born and dual citizen of Great Britain, Trevor splits his time between his home and studios in Los Angeles and Toronto, Canada. Trevor has contributed to 30 Feature Films and over 700 hours of 1-Hour dramatic Television; his Films and Television series have grossed over $2.7 billion in US & Canada, and $6.5 billion worldwide. He has collaborated with Ridley and Tony Scott, Antoine Fuqua, Gore Verbinski, and Jerry Bruckheimer, among others.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

Butterfly on a Wheel is a love letter to our authentic self, to our own personal truth. The script began initially as a journal entry while I was coming out of the most difficult year of my life. I asked myself “ok, start at the beginning, what is good about your life?”. The answer was without question sitting in my Grandmother’s lap while she played "Puff, the Magic Dragon" for me on piano as a child. Her singing into my ear, like a secret. It was my introduction to music, which would become a life long passion, and the warmest memory I have of feeling seen and unconditionally loved.

That journal entry became the opening scene for the movie.

Although semi autobiographical, the movie is deeply personal to me in its exploration of mental health issues, insecurity and anxiety and the search for our own true authentic voice. That question, that search has taken me most of my life to answer. The human condition is an enduring focus of mine, and with this movie I wanted to explore the theme of how we all manage to “get in our own way”, and what does it take to get past that very thing. We all struggle, we all doubt ourselves, and with the advent of social media human beings can now compare our internal reality to other peoples external reality, which is often a sensationalized highlight reel. A recipe ripe for the creation of crippling self-doubt.

This theme is explored through our protagonist Jacen, a gifted musician making his way through life with OCD, ADD, and anxiety. Even his musical gift makes him feel alienated from the “normal” way most people live. Jacen’s search for human connection, for love, and the courage to share his gift with others, resonates deep into the soul of what it means to be human.  

The title of the movie is my play on an epistle from Alexander Pope in 1736. The sheer amount of force and energy often required to accomplish something small or even insignificant. It’s the greatest metaphor for the human condition I can think of.

Writing, directing and composing the music for this movie was cathartic for me in many ways. It's my hope that everyone can see a bit of themselves in Jacen, even if they don’t share his condition. That we can all recognize ourselves in him and his journey, and learn to celebrate our differences.  

If we can listen to and heed our true self, our authentic self, we can set ourselves free.