BUTTERFLY LOVERS SYNOPSIS ”Butterfly Lovers” ( dur. 29 min.) is a new dance and music fiction film by media artist Marikki Hakola. The starting point of this film is a Chinese violin concerto from the year 1959 by composers He Zhan Hao and Chen Gang. The story is an adaptation of a classical, Chinese legend ” A Love Story of Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai”. This lyric tragedy of eternal love is also known as the Asian version of Romeo and Juliet and it has been first time literary documented in the 5th century. The script, direction, visual design, editing and production of ”Butterfly Lovers” is by Marikki Hakola . Digital compositing is by Sami Haartemo, cinematography by Raimo Uunila, still photography and sound design are by Epa Tamminen. Dou Dou, the artistic director of Shanghai Song and Dance Group, is responsible for the choreography and is the other solo dancer together with Ding Yuehong. The film is featuring also the world-famous Japanese violinist Takako Nishizaki, British conductor James Judd and the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. Music has been recorded specially for the film in Wellington, New Zealand, during spring 2003. The film has been shooten in China, New Zealand and in the Media Centre Lume in Helsinki, Finland. A production company of audiovisual and media art, Kroma Productions Ltd. is the producer in charge. The film is co-produced by Naxos Rights International (Hongkong), in cooperation with YLE TV1 - The Finnish Broadcasting Company, YLE Teema, Generator Post, Shanghai Song and Dance Group ( China) and New Zealand Symphony Orchestra (New Zealand),supported by the Ministry of Education, Finland and AVEK - Promotion Center for Audiovisual Culture in Finland.

More information Kroma Productions Ltd. tel. 019-5348015 Hakola 040-5464165 fax.019-5348016 kroma@magnusborg.fi

Short synopsis "Butterfly Lovers" is a music and dance film by director Marikki Hakola. A synthesis of the ever-popular Chinese violin concerto "Butterfly Lovers" and choreography inspired by Chinese martial arts and modern dance, the film is an imaginative interpretation of the ancient Chinese fairy tale - "A Love Story of Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai". The film features violinist Takako Nishizaki, conductor James Judd, choreographer and dancer Dou Dou, dancer Ding Yue Hong and the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. Produced by Kroma Productions Ltd., 2005.