A bittersweet tale

Falkun Films was set up by Pierre Ellul in 2007. Anika Psaila Savona joined in 2009. They have just wrapped their first feature film together, Carmen. Paula Fleri-Soler reports Carmen is a charming story set in a Maltese village in the early 1980s. The protagonist is a woman who rediscovers life and love after a lifetime looking after her brother, a priest. Inspired by true events, the story follows Carmen, played by the wonderful British actress Natascha McElhone, on a transformative journey which also brings change to the village in which she lives.  “Carmen is bright, quirky, magical, funny and at times a little sad,” says Anika Psaila Savona. “It is written and directed by Maltese-Canadian filmmaker Valerie Buhagiar. Valerie was inspired by the life of her aunt who from a very young age was required to go and live with her brother, a priest, to take care of his domestic needs for the rest of his life. When we first read Valerie’s script, we knew that this was a story that had to be told. Natascha loved it too and with her on board it gave the project a whole new dimension.”   Since inception, Falkun Films has gone from servicing international productions filmed in Malta, to...