Shyrl’s Diner in West Lebanon, N.H., doesn’t usually count film crews among its clientele. But last week, as eggs and bacon sizzled on the griddle, servers darted among camera operators and lighting techs as actors and extras filled the mom-and-pop breakfast joint. They were there to film scenes for what is believed to be the first feature-length movie shot entirely in the Upper Valley.
Valley Transit is the centerpiece of Junction Arts & Media’s inaugural Summer Feature Film Intensive, a monthlong program that invites local high school and college students to learn the filmmaking ropes alongside a professional crew. Since mid-July, writer, director and coproducer Samantha Davidson Green — who is also Junction Arts’ executive director — and her all-local cast and crew have filmed at various Upper Valley landmarks, including on the bus line that gives the film its name.
The film follows Upper Valley locals George (played by Richard Noble of Fairlee) and Lizzie (played by Alicia Sanyal of Hanover, N.H.), who meet on a Valley Transit bus as they both approach major life transitions: George is about to turn 80, while Lizzie has just graduated from high school. Davidson Green, who grew up in Hanover and now lives in Plainfield, N.H., called the film’s premise a “double entendre on ‘senior summer.’”
“What they have in common is, they’re both standing on the brink of the unknown,” Davidson Green, 56, said.
The story is partially inspired by a period in Davidson Green’s own life. After graduating from college, she moved to Mississippi, where she befriended a neighbor who was in his seventies. Like Lizzie and George in the film, they shared a “kindred spirit,” she said, despite their age differences.
“He was such a soulmate to me and one of my best friends for the 20-plus years that he lived beyond that,” Davidson Green said.
The Upper Valley itself is also an inspiration. “Sense of place is a muse for the story,” the filmmaker said, adding that she chose locations such as the Co-op Food Store in Hanover and Ice Cream Fore-U in West Lebanon to evoke nostalgia for local audiences. She said those familiar settings allow the actors to make authentic choices rooted in lived experiences.
Second assistant director Liam Kelly-Thompson, who grew up in Norwich and is now a rising junior at Bowdoin College in Maine, said filming in the Upper Valley has given him a new appreciation for the region.
“When you live in a community your whole life, it’s very easy to take for granted what your surroundings are like,” he said. Specifically, he’s become more aware of the prominence of activism in the Upper Valley scene. To him, the film is a good way to “immortalize these Upper Valley traditions and places.”
Not all of the film’s sets are public. For example, one woman in Windsor lent her home to the crew. Coproducer Wei Dai, who recently moved to Orford, N.H., from Los Angeles, said that in LA, it’s common to pay thousands of dollars to shoot in someone’s house. Here, his crew can reach out to a friend of a friend, and they’ll happily volunteer their space.
“Even though people may not fully understand how a film set works, they are willing to give it a go,” Dai said.
According to crew members, that’s been true of the community at large. One of Davidson Green’s goals for the program was involving as many Upper Valley residents as possible.
Kelly-Thompson, who helped recruit and organize local extras, said most are excited to be part of a feature film and learn what it’s like on set. He added that he’s witnessed strangers becoming friends after sitting together during multi-hour shoots.
Davidson Green, who has an MFA in film directing from UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television and several film credits to her name, incorporates teaching moments throughout the process. Before filming a scene last week in which Lizzie and George sat next to each other in a car, she paused to explain to the novice crew members why the camera was positioned a certain way and how to minimize glare on the windshield.
Director of photography Quinn Thomashow, who grew up in Strafford and now freelances in LA, said teaching young filmmakers has been a rewarding aspect of the shoot.
“I really love watching other people fall in love with the same thing that I’m in love with doing,” she said.
Davidson Green said one of her goals for the film and as executive director of JAM is to promote local filmmaking. Valley Transit is funded by grants and charitable donations. The revenue it earns will support future film endeavors through JAM, which just received a grant from the Vermont Film Production Economic Impact Pilot Program.
Davidson Green plans to send the film to festivals this winter, followed by distribution in 12 to 18 months. And, of course, special screenings will happen at local venues. Davidson Green hopes Valley Transit will inspire others to tell stories of the people and places of the Upper Valley.
“Even what we call ugly has beauty in it and has storied meaning in it,” Davidson Green said. “The stories are so rich right where we are.” ➆
The original print version of this article was headlined “Moving Picture | Feature film Valley Transit has been shooting all over the Upper Valley with a local cast and crew”
This article appears in August 12 • 2026.
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