A Los Angeles filmmaker is entering the final stretch on putting together a documentary about the Highway of Tears after traveling through this region with a crew last May to gather footage and interviews.
Matt Smiley expects to screen a final product of more than 60 minutes this June to select audiences in Prince George and Smithers, mostly family members of the victims, before taking it to a film festival in Canada for a public debut.
"We're just seeing which one is the most beneficial at this point," Smiley said.
Smiley, who grew up in Montreal and lives in Los Angeles, tackled the issue when he learned about Nicole Hoar - the treeplanter from Red Deer who was last seen June 21, 2002 at a gas station west of Prince George - when visiting his sister and her husband in Prince George.
The Highway of Tears has been coined for the 724-kilometre stretch of Highway 16 between here and Prince Rupert although the number of missing and murdered woman associated with the term covers a larger area.
The RCMP's Project E-Pana, is investigating 18 cases of women determined to have gone missing or murdered since 1969 within a mile of Highways 16, 97 and 5, between Valemount and Merritt. In 2009, The Vancouver Sun expanded the criteria beyond the one-mile limit to come up with 31 cases.
Smiley is not the first to tackle the subject .CBS's 48 Hours aired a show in November called Highway of Tears although much of it was about two cases that are arguably unrelated - the disappearance of Madison Scott and the alleged murder of Loren Leslie.
Smiley said his show will differ from other productions in that it will give greater focus to the underlying issues related to the disappearances. A teaser Smiley has put together is exclusively of aboriginal women expressing their feelings about the disappearances.
"I think all those women who have been forgotten will definitely be showcased here," Smiley said.
Smiley has become an advocate for establishing a better bus service between the small communities along Highway 16 West, saying its a "small fix" in the larger scheme of things.
The 2006 Highway of Tears Symposium report suggests seven shuttle buses would be required along the 724-kilometre stretch.
In December, Missing Women Inquiry Commissioner Wally Oppal called on the provincial government to "immediately commit" to developing and implementing such a system "to provide a safer travel option connecting the Northern communities along Highway 16."
The documentary is being produced independently in a partnership with Carly Pope, a Vancouver-born actor who has landed roles in numerous television shows and movies.
