Phil Hawkins, director last year’s film adaptation of Philip Pullman’s The Butterfly Tattoo, has recently posted on the surge in online popularity of the award-winning film in the wake of its DVD release. However, although the film is currently IMDb’s 75th most researched title, it has met neither proportionate financial return for the investors, nor better prospects for theatre distribution.

Though TBT can now claim online distribution upward of 200 000 copies (a conservative estimate), cast and crew are left with mixed feelings. “Great for my career, terrible for my wallet,” commented lead actress Jessica Blake, who plays Jenny. “[…] we are a little indie film which has only had a small release in the US. How do the tens of thousands of people know it exists?” While Hawkins recognises the publicity power of illegal downloading, he also points out, “For our film, however, it is hurting us financially. […] we haven’t recouped the budget yet.” Producer Rik Visser described the situation as, “two years of work downloaded in six minutes.”

As an early supporter of The Butterfly Tattoo project, the community at BridgetotheStars.net strongly recommends that you to buy a legal copy of the film and support independent film making. Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Borders, and Netflix are currently stocking. While you wait for your DVD delivery, join the discussion on the director’s philmblog or at our forum, the Republic of Heaven.