Filmmakers are releasing another preview of an upcoming docuseries they say will give viewers a behind-the-scenes look at the efforts to find Emma Fillipoff, who has been missing from Victoria for more than a decade.
The official release date for the series Barefoot in the Night: The Search for Emma Fillipoff has yet to be announced, but preview three, The Man in the Green Shirt, is coming Nov. 28, according to Bayberry Films.
“Shelley Fillipoff has been searching for her daughter Emma for ten long, heartbreaking years,” reads the series’ synopsis on Bayberry Film’s website.
“Barefoot in the Night, a six-hour docuseries, is a behind-the-scenes look at the effort to find Emma, covering the timeline, tips, sightings, and witness accounts. This is Shelley’s story. She will not let Emma be forgotten.”
Fillipoff was 26 years old when she was reported missing on Nov. 28, 2012.
Earlier that day, police were contacted about a woman “acting oddly” in front of the Empress Hotel, so officers responded, found Fillipoff and spoke with her “at length.” Then she was on her way. She was reported missing a few hours later and has not been seen or heard from since.
Just days before the 10th anniversary of her disappearance, VicPD, on Nov. 25, 2022, released an age-progressive sketch showing what Fillipoff may look like today.
When the sketch was released, she would have been 36 years old. Although the forensic artist tried to depict Fillipoff’s “youthful appearance,” VicPD noted that these types of drawings are “difficult because there are many unknown factors…”
READ ALSO: New sketch shows what Emma Fillipoff may look like 10 years after her disappearance
VicPD officers have received hundreds of tips from across Canada and the globe, “but none have proven to be confirmed sightings of Emma,” the police department said in November 2022.
“There has been an extensive investigation into Emma’s disappearance ever since, but to date, investigators have been unsuccessful in determining what may have happened to her.”
Fast forward to April, Bayberry Films released the series’ second preview. The 10-minute video, Age Progression, includes the sketch VicPD produced as well as interviews with Fillipoff’s mother and a forensic artist. There are also flashback pictures and videos of Fillipoff.
“I have a little experience with having a missing loved one, and in my case, it was my mom,” Kimberly Bordage, the series’ producer, told CHEK News last year.
Complete series in post-production
The complete series will chronicle Fillipoff’s life and disappearance and “includes interviews with those close to Emma, those involved in the official investigation, and the many other persons linked to the case…” said Bayberry.
The series is listed as in post-production on IMDb.
The upcoming preview, in particular, is 22 minutes long and “highlights the unresolved story of The Man in the Green Shirt, and a new initiative put forth in the hopes of breathing life into this old, yet compelling lead that is still a possible link in Emma’s case,” reads the synopsis.
“I’ve been working with [Kimberly Bordage] for a few years now, and we’ve been connected through Emma since 2015, so seven years,” Fillipoff’s mother told CHEK News in November 2022. At the time, she said she was living in Ottawa and had no reason to believe her daughter was still in the Victoria area.
“To be honest, I don’t know where to go. I don’t know where to look anymore,” she added.
More information about the series and previews are online here, while the website Help Find Emma Fillipoff shares more details about her.
VicPD is asking anyone with information as to Fillipoff’s whereabouts to call 250-955-7654 or, to remain anonymous, Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
Ethan Morneau
