(1993) In Birth of a Butterfly, filmmaker Kavita Bali shares the world of Sangeeta, a rising corporate Indian-American woman and her discovery of an elusive cultural heritage. Themes of alienation and identity are explored in this poetic portrait of a modern day woman who finds strength in her heritage once she stops running… and ultimately defines her own culture and power.

This film is currently available for educational screenings. For questions please contact me directly at: kavita@urbanpeacock.com. Thank you for your support.

Venue 9 (San Francisco, California)

PUSOD Space, (Berkeley, California)

" Showcasing Women Creators of the Asian Diaspora" In honor of International Women's Day, presented by Mango Mic.

Everest Theater (Irving, Texas)

" Dallas South Asian Film Festival " Short Film Program, followed by a Q &A. Featured a dozen of today's emerging south asian voices in film. Details.

Oseao Studios, 1402 E. Pike (Seattle, Washington)

"NAATA: Subcontinental Roots and Wires" a benefit presented by and for Tasveer, showcasing their film pics of the year. 8-10pm films & discussion followed by Indian music, dance, classical to tablatronix dj sets.

University of Nebraska (Lincoln, Nebraska)

" An Urban Peacock's Cultural Discovery through Art & Film " Public Screening & Lecture, part of Univ. of Nebraska's Artistic Diversity Residency Program. Kavita also conducted 10 days of workshops dealing with art, design, film and creativity during her residency. Press (outside link)

Red Devil Lounge (San Francisco, California)

Viv and a Movie: film and art series for emerging Bay area artists. Also one of the featured visual artists - displayed original ink drawings and silkscreen art.

ATA - Artist Television Access (San Francisco, California)

" Women on the Verge: Articulating Identity" presented by the Girls on Film Series (Women of Color). Daring film and video by and about women.

Theater Off Jackson (Seattle, Washington)

Northwest Asian American Film Festival: Seattle premiere. Films from all over the country were presented in at this NWAAT's first film festival, in the heart of Seattle's historic International District.

Seatlle Premiere

Red Devil Lounge (San Francisco, California)

Viv and a Movie: Summer film and art series for emerging Bay area artists. This film screened in between musical sets by 'Viv' in the company of some amazing comedies and animation by fellow Bay area filmmakers. SF Examiner Review about this cool venue for artists.

Mills College (Oakland, California)

She Creates: a screening of short films by women filmmakers.

Oakland Premiere

World Affairs Council (San Francisco, California)

"Women of the World: Different Paths to Freedom : Film Screenings and Conversations with Women in Film". Screenings followed by a panel discussion. Press

University of California at Berkeley (Berkeley, California)

17th Annual Empowering Women of Color presented Women of Color in Media Conference. Film screening was part of a workshop and discussion.

SOMARTS Art Gallery (San Francisco, California)

APAture 2001 Film Screening (A Celebration of emerging Asian Pacific Artists) in association with Kearny Street Workshop.

ATA - Artist Television Access (San Francisco, California)

Network of Indian Professionals presenting Third I (a series of films dealing with South Asian identity)

Kavita Bali

4 minutes , 30 seconds

Peacock Trivia

Details on making of the film

Initially shot as a silent film (B&W MOS) so that we learned how to tell a story through moving images. Then, when the films were almost done, we were asked to add sound. The sound used in this film is the 2nd edit. The original recorded sound for this piece sits in my closet in an old film cannister with the splices intact.

The film was edited using a splicer and flatbed, before the AVID and digital editing had entered the educational arena. It took 2 weeks to edit the film. There are an infinite number of ways to piece together your film. Editing is an amazing art and one all serious filmmakers/directors should invest time in learning.

The shooting ratio was efficient. Due to limited funds, each shot had to count. The shots in this film, and most of my films, are a result of 1-3 takes. If we need more than 3 takes/shot, we haven't done our pre-production job well, and you end up wasting time, film and lose the freshness of performances.

This was my 4th short film made in NYC, and the first made in the NYU Graduate Film Program (1st semester - fall of 1993). The final script was 8 pages long and as Ian Maitland, the head of the Program at the time said, it was a type of script he had never seen before and smiling he said he looked forward to seeing the final edited piece. I told him it would end up to be a tight 4 minutes. Ian had worked with the likes of Hitchcock and Marilyn Monroe and has been in the Industry for decades.

In the Film Industry, 1 page of script = 1 minute of screen time. Mine was twice as long, but that is because I'm first an artist and think visually, so all my imagery was incorporated into the script. I didn't know any better, since this was my first real script and I was at the University precisely for such constructive feedback and an education on the rules, so I could break them later on :)