Coeur d'Alene brothers announce release of largest film project to date: 'Recollection'

Two brothers.

Two supportive parents. 

A whole slew of talented cast and crew. 

One finished product: “Recollection.”

"It’s a sci-fi thriller," Caden Butera said Feb. 14, seated in his Coeur d'Alene living room with his parents, Mark and Jackie Butera, and his brother, Rylan Butera.

Longtime collaborators, creative partners and pals, Caden and Rylan will release their biggest film project to date when "Recollection" premieres at 7 p.m. March 7 at the Myrtle Woldson Performing Arts Center during the Spokane International Film Festival.

"It has elements of action and drama,” Caden said. "In a society where deleting memories is the norm, you can delete any traumatic memory, any inconvenient social interaction you have, just delete it from your memory, and we follow a character that does that every day, habitually, until one day something’s wrong and she gets all of her deleted memories back.

"Next thing you know, she’s uncovering a bunch of conspiracies about the company that deletes these memories," he said. "Maybe they’re keeping memories, maybe they’re selling them and trading them, and she has to dive deep into the traumas of her past and the mystery at hand.”

Caden, 27, and Rylan, 24 are both Coeur d'Alene High School graduates. They cut their cinematic teeth making backyard movies and have now graduated to a full-length feature film starring several Hollywood actors.

The lead actress, Rosslyn Luke, is known for her roles in "Shrinking" and "CSI: Vegas." Falk Hentschel played Hawkman in DC's "Legends of Tomorrow." Eric Roberts, brother to actress Julia Roberts, is an Academy Award nominee with acting credits in "The Dark Knight," "Runaway Train" and a long career in TV, film and theater. Cesar Garcia appeared on "Breaking Bad" and "Fast and Furious." Jasmine Wright is known for "The Horrorverse" and "Hilton Head Island." The late Gary Graham, a legend in the sci-fi world, will have made his final film appearance in "Recollection."

“He was able to be a part of our film and make it his last one,” Rylan said. “He’s an awesome guy.”

Other than a starry leading cast, nearly all 200 of the cast and crew are from the Inland Northwest.

“Every single extra, every supporting character, they’re all from the Coeur d’Alene, Spokane area," Caden said.

"Recollection" was also shot entirely in the Inland Northwest in 27 days, including a scene in downtown Coeur d'Alene and on the grounds of the Museum of North Idaho.

“We have a lot of pride in our community because we grew up here; all of our childhood friends became artists and people I have directly collaborated with. Our childhood family friend became our art director for this movie,” Caden said. “She went from yelling at me in kindergarten for eating cookies out of the cookie jar to me telling her how to paint the walls for a set we’re directing."

The concept for the film began to form around 2019, the inspiration a blend of the Butera Brothers immersing in their father's love of sci-fi movies and shows and a fascination with their mother's work as a mental health therapist.

“I grew up being a lover of sci-fi and mental health discussions, so Rylan and I being the children of those two people ended up writing a mental health-driven sci-fi," Caden said. "Those are always the stories that appeal most to me — wrap a human story in the spectacle of science fiction or something with larger-than-life elements."

"Recollection" is truly a family affair. The brothers co-wrote it. Caden is the director and owner of the production company, Paradox Studios. Rylan is the music composer. Mom and Dad have provided unwavering support in a number of ways.

“I retired from mental health therapy so I could become their producer,” Jackie said. “I looked at this project and went, ‘They’re going to need a producer.’ I wasn’t even sure what that meant. I had to look it up.”

The Buteras bankrolled the project with support from local investors and friends.

“We have a pretty big stake in this,” Mark said.

Although they were not ready to disclose the budget, Caden said the film would be considered independent.

“We’re not being funded by a large studio, we never got any large checks from anyone,” he said. “This is all self-grown off the ground.”

Show business families are not uncommon, especially when it comes to sibling directors. The Duffer Brothers gave the world "Stranger Things." The Farrelly Brothers are responsible for "There's Something About Mary." The Coen Brothers created the harrowing "No Country for Old Men."

The Butera brothers are both cinephiles and speak the same creative language.

"We’ve been watching movies and dissecting them for years, so we have the exact same semantics to explain character arcs or what isn’t working or what is working, in our opinions," Rylan said. "It translates really well when we are either on set together working on stuff, or in the writing room or the composing room.”

This may be a result of their parents cutting the TV cord when the brothers were young and building a small movie theater in their home, complete with velvety drapes, theater lighting and a projector screen.

"They grew up watching movies," Jackie said. "It was easy as a parent – you get one movie a day, there’s an easy start and an easy stop and after that it’s over, TV time is done. They didn’t grow up with television, they grew up with movies and they got to watch them in a real theater in their own house. I have to believe there’s part of that in there.”

Team Butera is hoping to pack the house during the opening night of "Recollection."

“We'd love to have a sold-out world premiere," Jackie said.

Tickets are $10 for students and youth or $25 for adults.

"Come see what local talent is capable of," Rylan said.

Visit recollectionmovie.com for tickets and to view the trailer.

    From left, Rosslyn Luke, Josiah Poling, Rylan Butera, Caden Butera and Andrew Solberg work on the set of "Recollection."
  

    From left, Rylan Butera, co-writer/Composer; Caden Butera, director/writer; Anna Johnson, focus puller; Kimberly Leemans, actress, supporting cast; Michael Martin, actor, extra; and Stephen Skvarla, actor, extra review footage on the set of "Recollection." The locally shot and created film premieres March 7.
  

    Rylan Butera, left, and Caden Butera work on the set of their film "Recollection," which will premiere March 7 at the Spokane International Film Festival.
  

    From left, "Recollection" creators, cast and crew members Caden Butera, Kaleb Wrenchey, Max Jordan, Rosslyn Luke and Rylan Butera shoot an outdoor scene.