The Dogs continued its string of wins through the festival circuit. At this year's Female Eye Film Festival, it was awarded the coveted Best Canadian Feature prize, the third for Valerie's feature-length thriller.
From Kim Izzo's article at Playback:
Valerie is part of a profile of the female gaze in the latest issue of... wait for it... Playgirl. (And of course we only read it for the articles). From Emily Ahn's introductory remarks:
Valerie Buhagiar is the award winner in the Best Female Director category at the 2023 Fall Montreal International Film Festival.
In an interview at Montreal International Film Magazine, Val discusses her career origins and development, and talks about what drew her to direct The Dogs - naming the story by Alan Stratton and the screenplay by Sheila Rogerson and Anthony Artibello as key factors.
The World Premiere of Carmen, directed by Valerie Buhagiar and starring Natascha McElhone, takes place at the 2021 Whistler Film Festival, in person Dec 1-5 and online Dec 1-31. CARMEN is in official competition for the Borsos Best Canadian Feature, and is part of the FIRSTWAVE and CANADIAN VANGUARD programs.
It's Hard To Be Human has launched one the festival circuit, with acceptances and screenings at several of the most prominent worldwide venues for independant film.
The world premiere takes place at the San Jose Cinequest festival in March 2018. Buhagiar is a return visitor to Cinequest: her debut feature The Anniversary won Best Comedy in 2013.
The Anniversary East London Film Festival screening has already earned it some glowing reviews, including this one from Hayley Charlesworth at I'm With Geek:
A great review for The Anniversary as part of a round-up of Cinequest 2015, from Klaus at Gunpoint, a film journal:
"When films can play with tone, swing from one point to another on the emotional spectrum without missing a beat, that’s when movies get really good. The Anniversary is one of the best example of tonal swing, and how it makes viewing that much more impressive... Hilarious at times, and other moments deeply touching... Overall, The Anniversary might be the most impressively wide-ranging film of Cinequest 2015!"
The Anniversary was filmed in the first two weeks of December 2013. Deborah Hay and Colin Mochrie ensured that there was much hilarity on set, some of it even intentional. The rest of the ensemble owned their roles, and there was magic every day.
We've begun post-production - editing, scoring, synching, and the myriad other tasks involved in putting a feature together. Once again we want to thank our IndieGogo supporters for making this all possible, and we can promise you all that there's a real film taking shape.
We are thrilled with the success of our IndieGogo campaign on behalf of my first directorial feature film, The Anniversary. Through the generosity of friends and believers we raised almost $10,000 towards production. So we're rolling!
We will be filming in December 2013 with an amazing cast led by Deborah Hay, and an ensemble of Colin Mochrie, Stephen Joffe, Tedde Moore, Lyne Tremblay, Cara Ricketts, Richard Clarkin, Ben Carlson. Stay tuned for more news as The Anniversary becomes a reality, and thank you again to our wonderful supporters.
A theatre piece for Young Audiences. Written and Performed by Susanna Hamnett. Directed by Valerie Buhagiar for an international tour.
Susanna Hamnett's latest one-woman show follows her international hit Nearly Lear.
Valerie will be representing Malta at the 2012 European Union Film Festival in Toronto, running from November 15-28. For more information go to the EUFF website. Several of Valerie's films will be screened during the festival at The Royal Cinema, Toronto.
A site-specific, interactive theatre performance.
This is a first collaboration between actor/filmmaker Valerie Buhagiar and British performance artist/director Peter Reder, and has been developed with the support of the National Theatre Studio and through Fuel’s Jerwood Residencies at Cove Park, funded by the Jerwood Charitable Foundation.
You can see it in London England Nov. 2012 or at the Magnetic North Theatre Festival in June 2013.
