By Emily Moffitt
If you’re looking for a brand-new comedy to watch and rave about this summer, you need not look any further than “Bermuda,” a brand-new film directed and written by Columbia’s own Laura P. Valtorta. Featuring an all-star cast of local actors and prominent thespians around the state, the film follows Mildred, played by Pat Yeary, who so desperately wants to take a vacation for herself that she steals her son’s disability benefits to fund a trip to Bermuda. Other notable actors within the cast include Peri S. Jackson, Kit Phillips, Rob Sprankle, Cris Griffin, and Ursula Robinson.
Laura started her film career in 2011 and has plenty of experience filming documentaries and short films. Bermuda is her first narrative feature, but Laura is no stranger to the genre of comedy. “Everything that I write turns into a comedy,” Laura jokingly says.
Laura’s documentary portfolio includes White Rock Boxing, Water Women, and Water Stories: the Pee Dee Indian Nation of South Carolina. The good humor of the cast of Bermuda and the resonance with the script made the filmmaking process a lot easier for Laura and revealed the amount of talent that the cast held with their craft. “For some reason, this cast just clicked. Everyone has a unique sense of humor. They sound natural with the most ridiculous lines.”
Laura’s love for Columbia and the greater Midlands area shines with the involvement of local companies and producers. Much of the film was shot in both Columbia and Newberry, and Bermuda is not unlike Laura’s past projects as it focuses on the diverse, small-town communities of the Midlands and the problems they face every day. Laura’s mission statement for filming is clear; “My goal in filmmaking is to get an audience that is diverse in age and community,” Laura states. “I want the film to reflect the community in large and not one particular one or the other.”
The filming of Bermuda was an extremely personal project for Laura; aside from being her first narrative feature, there was plenty of involvement from her family in the production of the movie. Laura, her husband, and her son all feature in small acting roles within the movie. Prior to the start of filming, the table readings of the movie at Tapp’s and local libraries really showed to Laura that she had an extremely special and impactful work on the table. The audience’s reactions to the humor of the movie’s script helped bolster that sentiment even further. If there’s one thing Laura wanted to highlight, it’s a sense of humor; “Sense of humor is very personal to me. I’m glad I find Bermuda very funny, and my family thought it was funny too.” While Laura has plenty of professional experience as a lawyer, her love for filmmaking has shifted from a side hustle to a serious business practice. Keeping in mind her father’s passion for side projects and achieving any goals he set his mind to, Laura decided to follow suit and put this mentality towards filmmaking.
There’s a lot of multidimensionality within the movie's plot, which was part of Laura’s intention as she wrote the script. Despite the overt comedic tone and crazy hijinks that the characters get into, there’s a deeper commentary about the lifestyle choices women often find themselves having to make. “The film is a comedy, but the themes are serious. It’s about women’s rights, and sometimes their backs are up against the wall,” Laura states. “If they want to live the way they want to, sometimes they have to resort to crime. It’s about the fact that women need to be empowered more.” Mildred’s character represents the side of womanhood that aims to reject traditional gender standards for what a real mother looks like; rather, she lives for herself and makes decisions to make herself happy, all the while still making sure her children are secure and happy as well. As Mildred herself does not believe in marriage, Laura hopes that audience members who face criticism for their own life choices can see themselves reflected in a character on the screen. “Not every woman wants to be settled down and to live a very traditional life. There’s a conflict between Mildred and her daughters about this. Mildred wants to stay single and be a bit freer with her life choices.”
Bermuda is available to stream on Tubi TV and Amazon Prime. Laura’s other films are also available on Tubi and Amazon Prime. Laura P. Valtorta is the director and writer of Bermuda, with Clifton Springs as the Cinematographer, John Collins as the Editor, and Genesis Studios of Cayce, SC working as the movie crew.