Considering the sheer number of Maltese films that have made waves locally and overseas in the past few years, one can safely say that the island’s filmmaking industry is in its golden years.

The latest local movie to turn heads is none other than ‘Carmen’ (2021), a Maltese-Canadian drama film written and directed by Valerie Buhagiar.

This locally produced picture proved to be extremely successful at the annual Canadian Film Fest, where it took home the CFF 2022 Best Feature Award.

Carmen beat out nine other feature films to the title, including Faran Moradi’s ‘Tehranto’, Philippe Grégoire’s ‘The Noise of Engines’, and Katie Boland’s ‘We’re All In This Together’.

Falkun Films, the company behind ‘Carmen’, took to social media to celebrate this achievement.

“Another nod to our little gem of a film ‘Carmen’, awarded ‘Best Feature’ at the Canadian Film Fest… To all the cast and crew who put their love, passion, and friendship into this film, thank you,” the company wrote.

The film was inspired in part by the real experiences of Valerie Buhagiar’s own aunt Rita.

‘Carmen’ thus follows the titular character (played by Natascha McElhone) – a woman in Malta who has spent much of her adult life obeying a patriarchal tradition of serving as a caretaker for her brother after he joined the Roman Catholic priesthood, but who finds herself free to explore her own desires and goals in life as she nears age 50.

The cast also includes Richard Clarkin, Steven Love, Mikhail Basmadjian, Maxime Durand, Michaela Farrugia, Peter Galea, and Henry Zammit Cordina.

Well done, guys!

Main image: Falkun Films / Facebook