A documentary filmed mostly in northeastern Ontario, and financed with money raised in Sudbury will have its premiere here Thursday, Oct. 21. Hosted by the city's Legal Education and Action Fund (LEAF) committee, the premiere of Recovering Love will be held at the Rainbow Cinemas.

Recovering Love is “a documentary about women struggling with addictions and who are devoted mothers,” says filmmaker Laura Sky. The film counters the stereotypical view that addicted women abandon or damage their children.

“It is about how hard the women work to recover their relationships with their children. That is why the film is called Recovering Love,” says Sky.

The film, which focuses on personal stories about mothers and children, was filmed at the Iris Family Retreat (Anishinabe Spiritual Centre) in Espanola in January 2009, and at the Jean Tweed Centre in Toronto.

Recovering Love represents five years of hard work. The idea for the film came from Diana Massicotte, who is a board member of the Iris Addiction Centre in Sudbury. She contacted Sky about the possibility of making a documentary that could inspire other women struggling with addictions, their families, social workers, as well as inform the public about the issues.

Massicotte first met Sky in 2004 when the filmmaker was at Laurentian University to accept an honorary degree. Massicotte, the assistant to the president of the university, and the filmmaker, who has a reputation for making documentaries on social issues, struck up a friendship that would grow over the making of the film.

Massicotte became executive producer of Recovering Love, and fundraised all the money to make it. One of the fundraising events was the Ronnie Hawkins concert at Fraser Auditorium in 2008. It was organized with the help of Sudbury businessmen Jamie Wallace and the late Risto Laamanen.

Admitting women's addictions is not a sexy issue, Massicotte said she was able to get support from unions, businesses, and individuals. “Funding came from the different layers of the Sudbury community. So many people experience addiction in their families.”

“She was extremely good at fundraising, She never gave up,” says Sky.

This year, the Sudbury LEAF committee is hosting an evening event, instead of a breakfast to celebrate Person's Day, the anniversary of the day (Oct. 18, 1929) when Canadian women were officially recognized by the law as “persons.”

Tickets for the premiere are $30. A reception will follow the screening. Sky and Massicotte are expected to attend the opening.

Tickets for the LEAF event are available at the Apollo Restaurant, the Rainbow Cinema, and the bookstores at Laurentian University and Cambrian College.

Vicki Gilhula is a member of the LEAF Sudbury Committee.