Directed by Julian Schnabel, the visually stunning film The Diving Bell and the Butterfly tells the remarkable true story of how a man who had it all finds it within himself to carry on when all seems truly lost. Winner of a host of awards, including the Director’s Award at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival and the BAFTA Award® for Best Adapted Screenplay, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly is released to buy and rent on DVD on 9th June 2008 from Pathé Distribution Ltd.

Through a mesmerising blast of colour, beauty and humour, Schnabel (Basquiat, Before Night Falls) tells the story of Jean-Dominique Bauby (Mathieu Amalric, Quantum of Solace), the charismatic editor of French Elle and father of two, who was renowned for his sense of humour and style. Jean-Do’s world is plunged into the depths of catastrophe when a sudden stroke leaves him in a life-altered state. Struck by ‘locked-in syndrome’, he is almost totally paralysed but is reborn through his left eye, the one body part which retains movement.

Faced with a situation that at first appears hopeless, Jean-Do uses enormous courage and determination, and most of all his soaring imagination, to escape from his trap and achieve a new life without boundaries. Tapping into the limitlessness of his memories, fantasies, wit and wishes, he finds a way to race through his experiences of wonder and grief, sex and love, fatherhood and childhood, absurdity and ecstasy – and touches the very essence of what it means to be human.

Based on one of the emotionally exhilarating bestsellers ever written, the film was adapted by Academy Award® winning screenwriter Ronald Harwood (The Pianist). The DVD includes a full English dubbed version of the film with the original cast, and is packed with special features including an audio commentary by and interview with Julian Schnabel, plus two featurettes. Let your imagination set you free with The Diving Bell and the Butterfly on DVD this June.

• Feature commentary with director Julian Schnabel
• Submerged: The Making of The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (12 mins)
• Cinematic Vision (7 mins)
• Charlie Rose interviews Julian Schnabel (20 mins)
• Full English feature dubbing with original cast
• Theatrical trailer
• Photo gallery