Iron Butterflies

Ukraine, Germany, 2023 (84 min.)

On July 17, 2014, Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur was shot down by Russian forces over Donbas, killing all 298 people on board. The reality of this attack was immediately questioned by the Russian government and media. As voluminous evidence — including physical artifacts like the butterfly-shaped shrapnel found in the bodies of the pilots — piled up, the lies denying reality only became more outlandish and incredible. In a world where violence can only be defended by lies, and lies only maintained by violence, Iron Butterflies presents the truth of what happened to MH17, but also what was at stake by not confronting it.

“The downing of … MH17 is still with us: in fact, we’re watching its consequences play out on our news feeds every day. That’s the subtext of [this] provocative new doc.” –Screen Daily