A Previous Engagement, the first-ever Canadian-Maltese co-production, is due to be released on Friday in North American cinemas.

The film, shot entirely in Malta, stars Juliet Stevenson as Julia Reynolds, a Seattle librarian, who talked her unadventurous, jigsaw-obsessed husband Jack, played by Daniel Stern, into a once-in-a-lifetime vacation on Malta.

However, she has a secret agenda: a date made 25 years earlier with her first love Alex, interpreted by Tchéky Karyo. Julia is stunned when Alex, a Frenchman, not only showed up but insisted that she was his true love, even though he took his latest young girlfriend (Kate Miles) with him to the date.

When Alex storms their holiday villa shouting his love over the rooftops, fantasy became reality... and Jack takes the issue seriously. He takes action, transforming himself from the taken-for-granted husband into a salsa-dancing seducer.

With one last day in Malta, Julia has to choose between a husband she never really knew and the man she had dreamt of for 25 years.

A Previous Engagement was written and directed by Joan Carr-Wiggin, co-produced by Savitri Gordian, and produced by David Gordian.

Malta is already receiving considerable publicity through the film's promotion. A contest has also been organised and the winner wins a free holiday to Malta with accommodation at the Xara Palace in Mdina - where Alex spends his holiday in the film - as well as $1,000 in spending allowance.

The film targets a female audience and it already received positive reviews. Filmed in 2004, at a time when the Maltese government was not yet offering producers a cash rebate incentive, this film will be giving Malta a lot of 'free' publicity.