Private Project

Pandora's Butterfly

In the heart of a society often shadowed by loneliness, a group of volunteers devotes their time caring for those the world has left behind.
They walk us through their routines, sharing their personal stories, moments of doubt, sparks of hope and the unexpected joy and healing they discover in service.
It is a journey of transformation, touching not only the lives they serve, but also their own.

  • Shady George
    Director
  • Shady George
    Writer
  • Camelia Ayad
    Key Cast
  • Rafeek Naseef
    Key Cast
  • Mannal Morris
    Key Cast
  • Marlene Issac
    Key Cast
  • Miriam Issac
    Key Cast
  • Ahdy Azmy
    Key Cast
  • Arlene Emile
    Key Cast
  • Nargis Aziz
    Key Cast
  • Yousria Saad
    Key Cast
  • Ramo Saad
    Key Cast
  • Father. Yoannes Victor
    Key Cast
  • Father. Mousa Mina
    Key Cast
  • Kareem Henawy
    Voice Over
  • Shady George
    Editor
  • Shady George
    Cinematographer
  • Kolta
    Cinematographer
  • Shady George
    Film Colourist
  • Shady George
    Producer
  • Shady George
    Sound Design
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    فراشه باندورا
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Short
  • Genres:
    Inspirational, Spiritual, Faith Based, Social, Humanity, Mythological
  • Runtime:
    15 minutes 53 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    June 20, 2025
  • Country of Origin:
    Egypt
  • Country of Filming:
    Egypt
  • Language:
    Arabic
  • Shooting Format:
    HEVC, 3840*2160, 18.87Mbit/s ACC
  • Aspect Ratio:
    2.4:1
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Digital Cinema Package:
    Unavailable
  • Festival Internazionale Nebrodi Cinema Doc
    Messina
    Italy
    September 29, 2025
    Honorable Mention (Menzione d’Onore)
  • Maracay International Film & Video Festival
    Maracay
    Venezuela
    June 19, 2026
    Best Documentary Short Film
  • Festival Internacional de Cine Independiente de Madrid (FICIMAD)
    Madrid
    Spain
    June 19, 2026
    Short Documentary Best Sound
  • The IndieFEST Film Awards
    San Diego
    United States
    July 22, 2025
    Award of Recognition
  • Better World Film Festival
    Munich
    Germany
    October 26, 2025
    Award Winner
  • The Impact DOCS Awards
    La Jolla, CA
    United States
    February 3, 2026
    Award of Recognition
  • Cinema WorldFest Awards
    Los Angeles
    United States
    June 30, 2026
    Award of Merit, Human Interest
  • Best Shorts Competition
    La Jolla, California
    United States
    September 16, 2025
    Award of Recognition
  • Africa USA International Film Festival
    Cannes
    France
    June 17, 2026
    Honorable Mention
  • Festival de Cine Antigua
    Antigua
    Guatemala
    April 25, 2026
    Honorable Mention
  • 7th Kolkata International Micro Film Festival - KIMFF 2026
    Kolkata
    India
    January 9, 2026
    Best Documentary Film 2nd Runner Up
  • Pluribus Multimedia Fest
    Napoli
    Italy
    November 25, 2025
    Nominee Best Social Impact Award
  • JACKSON DOC FEST
    Jackson, TN
    United States
    October 18, 2025
    Finalist
  • Cuzco Underground Cinema Festival
    Cuzco
    Peru
    October 2, 2025
    Finalist
  • Eastern Europe Film Festival
    Craiova
    Romania
    September 2, 2025
    Official Selection
  • Canal de Panama International Film Festiva
    San Francisco
    Panama
    August 13, 2025
    Official Selection
  • Othismos Film Festival
    Rizziconi
    Italy
    October 31, 2025
    Official Selection
  • Trujillo International Independent Film Festival
    Trujillo
    Peru
    September 23, 2025
    Official Selection
  • International Puerto Rican Heritage Film Festival
    New York
    United States
    November 12, 2025
    Official Selection
  • Salto Independent Film Festival
    Salto
    Uruguay
    October 12, 2025
    Official Selection
  • Newfilmmakers NY
    New York
    United States
    September 1, 2025
    Official Selection
  • Cultural Connections Film Festival
    Washington DC
    United States
    October 10, 2025
    Official Selection
  • The Bay International Film Festival
    Morecambe
    United Kingdom
    January 23, 2026
    Quarter Finalist
  • Cannes World Film Festival
    Cannes
    France
    November 29, 2025
    Finalist
  • BAHIA Independent Cinema Festival
    Salvador, Bahia
    Brazil
    November 4, 2025
    Official Selection
  • Festival Internacional de Cine con Medios Alternativos (FICMA)
    Ciudad de México
    Mexico
    November 12, 2025
    Official Selection
  • Girona Film Festival
    Girona
    Spain
    November 4, 2025
    Official Selection
  • SAN JOSÉ International Film Awards
    San José
    Costa Rica
    November 20, 2025
    Official Selection
  • Capri, Hollywood - The International Film Festival
    Capri
    Italy
    December 26, 2025
    Official Selection
  • SANTIAGO Festival De Cine Del Mundo
    Santiago
    Chile
    December 18, 2025
    Official Selection
  • Festival de Cine de San Lorenzo
    San Lorenzo
    Paraguay
    December 11, 2025
    Official Selection
  • UUCP Film Fest
    Dumaguate
    Philippines
    January 1, 2026
    Official Selection
  • Kalaburagi International Film Festival
    Kalaburagi
    India
    February 28, 2026
    Finalist
  • FINDECOIN - Independent International Short & Feature Film Festival
    Lechería,
    Venezuela
    February 22, 2026
    Official Selection
  • San Antonio Independent Film Festival
    Ibarra,
    Ecuador
    March 19, 2026
    Official Selection
  • Massa Martana Soulplace Film Festival
    Umbria
    Italy
    March 14, 2026
    Participation Prize Award
  • Cittadella International Film Festival
    Cittadella
    Italy
    May 8, 2026
    Official Selection
  • Festival Internacional de Cine del Cono Sur "FICCSUR"
    Valparaíso
    Chile
    May 19, 2026
    Official Selection
  • San Francisco Frozen Film Festival (SFFFF)
    San Francisco
    United States
    July 15, 2026
    Official Selection
Director Biography - Shady George

Shady is a filmmaker from Alexandria, Egypt, with experience in developing short scripts, directing, cinematography, editing, and color grading for numerous short films.

He began his filmmaking journey in February 2023 and has attended several workshops and masterclasses in scriptwriting, film production, cinematography, acting, and directing at reputable cultural institutions. Shady is enrolled at the “Arab Film and TV School” (Affiliated with the Academy of Arts, Egyptian Ministry of Culture), He has completed completed modules in scriptwriting, directing, editing, cinematography, and sound.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

“Between what is said and not meant, and what is meant and not said, much love is lost.”
This quote by Gibran Khalil Gibran perfectly captures one of the main reasons behind my passion for filmmaking. It reflects the inability to express feelings with the right words, a dilemma I often face, when I am missing words that really express what I feel.

I believe films possess the unique ability to convey emotions without uttering a single word, a way to express what remains unspoken, by the virtue of communicating by images, painting with lights, express with composition, camera angels, blocking, staging, subtext, etc..

Currently, I am in an experimental phase of my artistic journey, experimenting with different tools, techniques, and approaches that that best define me and my vision and effectively convey the images, thoughts, and topics that captivate my mind.
I aim to remain open and flexible, testing, changing, and adopting different methodologies in both my thoughts and filmmaking techniques.

I don't align myself with any specific cinematic style or methodology, but I am deeply interested in:

- Social and emotional narratives that delve into human vulnerabilities and challenges such as loneliness, conflicts in beliefs and needs, depression, weaknesses and obsession, the meaning of happiness, and love from various perspectives. I am trying to achieve this through constructing tense plot with extreme pressure on characters, to magnify specific feeling, in order to best observe and communicate such feeling

- Multi layered storytelling, the first basic layer is the simple entreating connected story, beneath that additional complex dimensions to be added with symbols and projections, it could be a reflection of the society, incidents, beliefs or even the film maker himself or the human battle with its own demons. In all cases, I always try to be mindful of the first basic dimension “the connected entertaining story”, beside to proper use of exposition, subtext and juxtaposition.

- Cinematic aesthetics, I am captivated by the picture aesthetics through hard lighting and emphasizing on shadows, expressive color grading (ranging from black and white to washed out coloring to vivid saturation), dynamic scene composition which manipulate the foreground and background to create illusion of vivid picture depth. I also admire deep focus, (however when it comes to shallow focus and soft lighting I am interested in the use of anamorphic lenses with its distinctive light flare and focus breathing effect), also I am interested in long scene takes, while when it comes to editing I prefer match, jump and smash cuts.