Rogers State University adjunct instructor Felipe Oyarzo loves movies. But not just watching movies – making them.
Recently, Oyarzo completed directing and acting in a film that has been released on several platforms, including Amazon, VUDU, YouTube, Apple TV and iTunes.
The film, titled “Nation of Butterflies,” tells the story of a Latin American country that receives national attention after a profound intellectual transformation that leads to the end of poverty, crime and corruption. Set within a fictional nation, the film is based on Oyarzo’s research and publications, particularly regarding his theory of cultural improvement. Oyarzo is an adjunct instructor in the Department of Psychology and Sociology at RSU.
“Basically, my doctoral thesis focuses on reducing the poverty rate in certain countries. One of the ways I found to do that is through cultural transformation, through cultural improvement,” said Oyarzo. “I’m an American citizen, but I was born in Chile in South America, and I can confirm that Latin America is very poor, very corrupt, the crime rate is very high there. Countries that have high corruption rates have high poverty rates, so this movie is about how people in this country come together and end poverty, crime and their corruption through a cultural transformation.”
Although it was only recently released, “Nation of Butterflies” was years in the making, Oyarzo said, as production had to be put on hold during the pandemic.
“The pandemic delayed us. We had to stop filming and I was even in the hospital and later at home on oxygen support,” he said. “All in all, we’ve been working on it for about three years, shooting mostly in and around the Tulsa area, before to be wrapped.”
Once completed, the film debuted in Tulsa at Circle Cinema in a red carpet premiere, with cast, crew, friends and family in attendance.
“It was great for everyone to come out and see themselves (in the film),” he said. “Everyone involved was very happy — happy about the show in Tulsa, happy about the final film and happy that it’s being distributed to different regions of the world.”
While Oyarzo said he is pleased with the finished film, he hopes those who see it appreciate its message of cultural transformation.
“Making a film is very difficult. This might be the hardest thing I’ve ever done. You work with so many people and there are things that can be out of your control, plus getting a movie out on Amazon and VUDU is not easy,” he said. “They have very specific standards for the films they direct, you have to meet certain criteria and the international standards for broadcasting are very strict.
“We’re very happy with it – very happy,” he said. “For this to be our first feature film, we’re very pleased with how it turned out.”
To view Oyarzo’s paper on cultural enhancement theory, visit https://un-pub.eu/ojs/index.php/pntsbs/article/view/5226.
For more information about Nation of Butterflies, visit https://www.lanaciondelasmariposas.com.
