INTERVIEW WITH ANOUSH SADEGH, DIRECTOR & PRODUCER OF “LAVENDER & THE BUTTERFLY NATION”

Anoush Sadegh, producer and visionary behind Lavender & The Butterfly Nation, brings a rare blend of heart, imagination, and innovation to cinema. Created in collaboration with writer Mandy Fason and AI film director Dr. Sam Khoze, the project pioneers a new hybrid form of Generative AI storytelling. Through IMAGENai™, Sadegh transforms emotion into imagery, proving that technology can amplify human narrative rather than replace it. His work reminds audiences that even the smallest spark of courage can lead to extraordinary transformation.

This project is based on Mandy Fason’s book. A trailer must capture the essence of an entire novel in under two minutes. What core emotion or narrative element from the book did you set as your ‘north star’ when creating this trailer?

For me, the “north star” was quiet courage, that tender moment in Mandy Fason’s story when a shy little girl begins to realize she might be more than what the world believes she is. Lavender doesn’t start fearless or magical. She begins with a spark: curiosity, innocence, and the desire to belong.

Even with tools like Runway, Kling AI, MidJourney, Astra, Topaz Bloom, Freepik, Enhancer, ElevenLabs, Higgsfield, and Google VEO3, the heart always led the technology.
Sometimes the biggest transformation begins with something small.

There is a striking visual transition: the opening feels highly photorealistic, almost like live action, and then Lavender shifts into a much more stylized 3D, almost ‘cartoon-like’ animation once she enters the magical world. Why did you choose this visual hybridity to mark the boundary between the two worlds?

Because imagination changes the way we see everything.

Under the creative guidance of Dr. Sam Khoze, our AI director, Lavender’s real world was crafted through photorealism. But once she enters Butterfly Nation, she steps into a world shaped by emotion, brighter, softer, more poetic.

This hybrid AI visual style, built through a pipeline we developed, that hasn’t been done quite like this before. It mirrors Lavender’s transformation: reality defines you… Imagination reshapes you.

Classical dance is not just aesthetic here—it appears to be the engine of magic and transformation for the character. How did you approach the editing to ensure the choreography aligned so precisely with the narrative rhythm and pacing of the trailer?

Dance is Lavender’s voice.
We worked with real ballerinas who performed based on Lavender’s emotional arc. GenAI, under Sam’s direction, then mimicked and reinterpreted their movements, keeping authenticity while adding a dreamlike layer.
Every gesture needed to reflect Lavender’s emotional shifts, fear, discovery, connection, courage.

The color palette is dominated by deep purples and a fairy-like bioluminescence. In terms of lighting and rendering, what was the greatest technical challenge in bringing this ‘Butterfly Nation’ to life and making it feel believable for the audience? What technology or animation tools helped you achieve this balance?

Balancing magic with believability.
The world needed to feel alive, glowing colors, soft light, emotional motion, yet still grounded enough to care. Lighting was the biggest challenge.
Using Runway, Kling AI, MidJourney, Astra, Enhancer, Topaz, Google VEO3, and other tools, we created bioluminescence that feels organic, not artificial.
The goal was simple: build a world people could emotionally step into.

As a nominee for ‘Best Trailer,’ you master the art of teasing. How did you calibrate the information revealed to spark curiosity about Lavender’s journey while avoiding spoilers about the plot and potential antagonists?

By focusing on emotion, not exposition.
We reveal Lavender’s loneliness, her discovery, her dance, and the magic, but hold back the deeper conflict, including the forces that threaten Butterfly Nation.
A great trailer isn’t about answers, it’s about feeling something awakening.

The voice-over says: “Sometimes the biggest changes begin with something small.” If the festival audience were to walk away with only one sensation after watching your trailer, what would you want that feeling to be?

Hope.
Lavender isn’t a superhero; she’s a shy child who finds courage through imagination and connection. Mandy created a world where kindness has power, and Sam helped shape its emotional language visually.

If she can transform… maybe viewers can too.
That’s the magic Mandy created, the vision Sam shaped, and the heart I wanted to preserve.

What’s your vision of post-Covid cinema?

The post-COVID era reminded us that human connection is irreplaceable, even in a digital age.
Technology should amplify emotion — not replace it. At IMAGENai™, we believe cinema’s next evolution is not about escaping reality, but reimagining it with empathy, creativity, and collaboration. Whether created through AI or traditional methods, storytelling will always be about our shared humanity.

©2026 Isabelle Rouault-Röhlich