C.J. “Fiery” Obasi is set to begin production on a new film, A Blue Butterfly, a psychological drama written by British actor and writer Steve Toussaint.
By Vivian Nneka Nwajiaku
Acclaimed Nigerian director, C.J. “Fiery” Obasi, is set to begin production on a new film, A Blue Butterfly, a psychological drama written by British actor and writer Steve Toussaint, exploring themes of survivor’s guilt, redemption and self-forgiveness.
The film follows Sentwali, a man who is haunted by his past and who lives a cocooned life driving a limousine through the city, his sole human connection being a man named Joseph, a frail Holocaust survivor. When Sentwali meets charismatic actress Emily, who sees past his carefully maintained distance, the possibility of redemption and a future flickers to life, according to a report by ScreenDaily.
Toussaint, known mostly for his appearances on television shows from Skins (2007) to Steve McQueen’s Small Axe (2020) and, more recently, HBO’s House of the Dragon (2022) and Marvel’s Eyes of Wakanda (2025), will lead the film alongside American actor Sanaa Lathan. Lathan is renowned for her roles in Love & Basketball (2000), The Best Man Holiday (2013), Nappily Ever After (2018) and HBO’s Succession (2018).
A Blue Butterfly is produced by Stella Nwimo, whose latest production work is the Sundance Film Festival and Berlin International Film Festival selection, Lady (2026), by London-based Nigerian filmmaker, Olive Nwosu. Nwimo also has production credits on acclaimed British series such as Top Boy (2011) and Gangs of London (2020). Rebecca Long (The London Mob (2019); Low Rider (2025)), will co-produce, representing Boudica Entertainment, the UK-based production company which she founded with Nwimo.
Director Obasi earned international recognition in 2023 for his third feature Mami Wata, which won the World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award for Cinematography at the Sundance Film Festival. His most recent project, La Pyramide: A Celebration of Dark Bodies, an international co-production between Nigeria, the UK, Senegal, the United States, and Brazil, was presented as a Work-in-Progress at the 2025 Red Sea International Film Festival’s Red Sea Souk Project Market, the largest film market in the MENA region.
A Blue Butterfly will begin production in early March, shooting in London, UK and Kigali, Rwanda. Producers Nwimo and Long are expected to present the project to sales executives this week at the Berlinale’s European Film Market (EFM), per the ScreenDaily report.