Butter

"Tune in December 31st, when I will stream a live webcast of my last meal." That line from Erin Jade Lange's novel stopped Paul A. Kaufman in his tracks. The Emmy winning TV director, whose credits include 'NCIS: Los Angeles', was hunting for a young adult book to adapt, something that might reach his own kids, then 17 and 19. The rights were taken, so he waited a year for them to come free, then wrote, produced and directed 'Butter' himself.

At his Scottsdale high school everyone calls him Butter, ever since a bully made him eat a whole stick of it. He weighs over 400 pounds and he's lonelier by the day. The only things that help are the saxophone, which he plays at a jazz club with his music teacher, and chatting online with Anna, the girl he likes, while pretending to be someone else. At home his mother keeps piling food on his plate and his father barely talks to him.

Fed up, Butter launches a website and announces that on New Year's Eve he'll eat himself to death, live. He expects pity, or nothing at all. What he gets is encouragement: classmates suggest dishes for his last meal, the popular kids make room for him and, for the first time, he has friends. But the date hasn't gone away. So what happens when it comes round?

After an international casting search, the part went to Alex Kersting, a Las Vegas stage actor in his first lead role. Mira Sorvino, an Oscar winner for 'Mighty Aphrodite', plays his mother, and Mykelti Williamson, Bubba in 'Forrest Gump', is the music teacher. Brian Van Holt, Annabeth Gish, Ravi Patel, McKaley Miller and Jack Griffo round out the cast. Kaufman says he raised around $1.5 million privately, much of it from people touched by bullying or suicide, and shot it in just 18 days, mostly in Los Angeles.

It premiered at Cinequest in March 2020 and later opened the Scottsdale festival, in the city where it's set. Blue Fox put it into 308 American cinemas in February 2022, to a quiet opening. Critics gave it credit for its intentions, but more than one called it an "afterschool special".

• Drama
• Drama