Sudbury Indie Cinema hosts Women in Film series

Beth Mairs and Valerie Buhagiar at Women in Film event at Sudbury Indie Cinema Feb. 6/20 (Molly Frommer/CTV Northern Ontario)

Sudbury — An award-winning Toronto based actor and filmmaker wrapped up a visit to Sudbury on Thursday.

Valerie Buhagiar has produced many short films that have been screened at film festivals worldwide.

She began her career as an actress more than three decades ago and after many years of being in front of the camera, she decided to step behind the scenes, where she took on the role of writing and directing.

"While on film sets such as Road Kill, Highway 61, I got inspired to write my own thing. I wrote something, got funding, made it and it happened to do really well. And that just propelled me forward to making more," said Valerie Buhagiar, Canadian film producer.

Throughout Buhagiar’s visit to Sudbury, she people had the chance to watch some of her films.

She says it is always a pleasure coming to the city.

"I love Sudbury. I’ve been here for several film festivals. The audiences are always really supportive and kind and curious and I like that, and passionate about film, so that’s even better for me. It feels like another kind of home. I feel like I belong here," said Buhagiar.

Sudbury Indie Cinema's Beth Mairs says the organization is committed to the best in independent film.

"We certainly have a focus on Canadians, but we don’t that often get to have a celebrity come and be with us for two days, so it’s very exciting," said Mairs.

One of Valerie’s feature films that were screened on Thursday was The Anniversary, which she says took only three days to write, and she was very happy with how it turned out.

"It’s about a married couple. They’ve been married 20 years they are celebrating their 20th wedding anniversary. And the day of, he goes for a run and doesn’t come back. She decides to celebrate anyways. As the film goes on, you realize that he’s been gone for a year. The guests come; a small amount. And throughout the film, they dissect the missing man and the positives and negatives of a human being," said Valerie.

Friday morning Buhagiar will be making her way to North Bay where she will be scoping out locations for a horror film she will be directing. The filming for that project is set to begin in March.