Butterflies

Butterflies follows Claire a struggling artist (voiced by Rachel Griffiths). Claire sits on a sidewalk and tries to sell her drawings to passing pedestrians. Her bleak circumstances seem to change, when an affluent businessman spots her raw talent. Offering her a steady, paying job at his demanding greeting card company. The financial stability feels like an inviting lifeline. Then the rigid, mundane reality of her corporate role rapidly threatens to consume her.

Butterflies is a Faustian fairy tale that uses a rich mythological framework. To explore the struggles of artists trying to exist within a capitalist system.

Butterflies, is a multi-award winning short animation designed and directed by Isabel Peppard. It screened at over 50 international festivals including Sitges, Annecy and DOK Leipzig. In 2013 it won the Dendy Award at The Sydney Film Festival and it was nominated for the AACTA in 2014. All the sets and puppets are designed and fabricated by Isabel Peppard and her team.

Isabel Peppard is a Guest Speaker at Alter State 2026 - Symposium: Thursday 3 December 2026.