'The Lion and the Mouse' is about to hit the big screen, but for Bermudian filmmaker Lucinda Spurling the real work of movie making is far from over.

"I need to pay off my debts," said Ms Spurling of Afflare Films. "I need to do more fundraising for outreach, and I need to do the screening part, and try and get it on American television. It is entering its final stage for me."

'The Lion in the Mouse' is a documentary that explores the historical relationship between Bermuda and the United States from 1609 until the present.

It premieres at the Bermuda International Film Festival (BIFF) next week.

A number of historians and writers are interviewed for the film including William Sears Zuill, Dr. Edward Harris, Dr. Michael Jarvis, Walton Brown Jr., Dr. Clifford Maxwell and Cheryl Packwood.

It also contains seven historical reenactments of significant historical events, such as the Sea Venture landing, the Gunpowder Plot and the discovery of a coded letter by a local censorette during World War II.

'The Lion and the Mouse' is Ms Spurling's third documentary.

In 2006, she released 'Rare Bird' a documentary about the discovery of the Bermuda Cahow.

That film received several awards and mentions including a special jury Remi award at the Worldfest Houston Film in 2007 and the winner of a special jury mention at the International Wildlife Film Festival in Montana in 2007.

She said with 'Rare Bird' she didn't raise as much money as she would have liked, but she is happy that it is now distributed.

It should be shown on the American PBS channel sometime in the next year.

"'Rare Bird' was a huge learning experience for me," she said. "I think I have been able to do things a lot quicker and less expensively this time around."

Ms Spurling said one of the most challenging parts of movie making was getting a film distributed on television.

It took her three years to achieve this with 'Rare Bird', but she hoped 'The Lion and the Mouse' would be on television within six months.

"It is a historical film, but it can be seen as being a current event, because it is the 400th anniversary," said Ms Spurling. "For channels in the United States it would be perfect to show it in July."

Unfortunately, she went over budget in the finishing work while making 'The Lion and the Mouse'.

"We had technical problems and it ended up being fifty percent more than I budgeted for," she said. "Nobody could have foreseen that."

The cast of 'The Lion and the Mouse' is completely Bermudian, although some are professional actors while others aren't.

The leading roles were played by Lana (Lisa) Young who works out of Los Angeles, Allan Smith well-known locally for his acting and poetry, Robbie Godfrey, a professional working in Europe, and the ever-popular thespian Richard Fell.

There are also a number of others who took on lesser roles.

"Lana and Allan are the two main actors," said Ms Spurling. "It was a big challenge for them because they each play multiple roles in the film.

"At first they are completely separate. Lana's character is one of the first settlers in 1609 and Allan's character is one of the first slaves in 1616.

"Then as time goes on their lives become more entwined. In 2009 they are a married couple working in international business. I chose that creative device to give the film continuity."

The dramatisations for the film were shot in just two weeks. But Ms Spurling said the actors handled this challenge well.

"They did a really good job," she said.

'The Lion and the Mouse' is meant to commemorate Bermuda's 400th anniversary."

Ms Spurling hopes it will screen in many different ways throughout the year.

It is partly sponsored by the 2009 Committee that is organising 400th anniversary events in Bermuda, and also the St. George's Foundation.

The main financial sponsors are the Kitson Group and The Bank of Bermuda Foundation.

The entire movie is two-and-a-half hours, but it is meant to run on television in three episodes, like a mini-series.

"It is designed so it can be broken up and used by educational institutions, outreach organisations in part, not necessarily the gigantic whole," she said.

'The Lion and the Mouse's' first showing in the United States will be on April 25, before the Jamestown Yorktown Foundation.

"They are having an evening programme," said Ms Spurling. "We will only be showing the 1609 section, which is 30 minutes.

"They have done a big exhibit on the Jamestown Bermuda connection from the Sea Venture time."

It showed for the first time on Sunday at the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences (BIOS) as an invite-only event for sponsors. Ms Spurling received a standing ovation for her efforts.

"My family had to be very supportive because the last year has been very trying," said Ms Spurling. "We had to do a lot in a year. Part of the reason was because it was supposed to be only two broadcast hours, but in the end it was three hours.

"I thought it was logical to go all the way up to the present which I hadn't originally intended to do."

She said Bermuda's relevance and importance in American history was originally tied to geography.

"Once technology got beyond, geography became less important and so did Bermuda in the traditional sense," she said. "But the running theme throughout the movie is that Bermudians are very adaptable and have always been able to reinvent ourselves."

"In one of my scenes, author Duncan McDowell says 'when you live on an island you can't afford to live by high principles'. That is one of my favourite quotes."

Ms Spurling has had a busy year indeed. In addition to making a movie, she also got married to Chris Worsick.

"It was insane," she said. "But the film was three years in the making. I did take three weeks off from my honeymoon.

"I have to say the film was never far from my mind. And I came back to an onslaught. My new husband is in the film, along with most of my family including my three-week-old nephew.

"His name is Trystan Hocking. He is really cute, and he was really good."

'The Lion and the Mouse' will have its first public screening on March 21 at 3.45 p.m. at Southside Cinema. It will show several times during BIFF.

For more information see the BIFF website, www.bermudafilmfest.com, or telephone 293-3456.