07/05/2026
Yesterday at LSBU’s K2 Building, I had the privilege of attending the viewing of Butterflies, also known as Colours of Exile, directed by Vahid Keshavarz, following the kind invitation of my dear friend Maryam Hashemi at the Wrap at London South Bank University.
It was deeply inspiring to meet in person, Vahid the self funded director for this personal project and to watch the poignant documentary in the safe, reflective space of a student hall.
I also want to warmly acknowledge Maryam Hashemi, who participated in the documentary. Seeing her presence within the film made the experience even more meaningful and personal. Her contribution carried courage, humanity, and truth.
Butterflies enters the intimate lives of Iranian artists in exile, exploring displacement, identity, political oppression, and the resilience of art when people are forced to leave behind their homes, families, language, and familiar ground. Yet what moved me most was how the film did not only speak about exile as a political or geographical condition — it also revealed exile as an inner wound, a separation from belonging, memory, and self.
As someone who follows non-dualism and Direct Path teachings, I felt the film on another level too. Beneath the pain of borders, loss, and displacement, there was a quiet reminder of our shared being, the place before division, before nationality, before the stories imposed upon us. Not as a way to bypass suffering, but as a deeper invitation to meet it with awareness, compassion, and presence.
The artists in Butterflies show how creativity can survive rupture. Art becomes testimony, resistance, remembrance, and a way back to truth. Their stories stayed with me because they were not abstract, they were lived, embodied, and beautifully human.
Thank you, Vahid Keshavarz, for creating and sharing such an important work. Thank you, Maryam Hashemi, for the invitation and for being part of this moving documentary.