Top prize for Maltese documentary

The Hobby, a documentary produced by Yansun Creatures Limited and directed by Maltese film-maker, Clifford Borg-Marks, has won the top prize for documentaries, the Guirlande d'Honneur, at the 23rd edition of the prestigious International Sport Movies and TV Festival.

The festival was held under the auspices of FICTS (Fédération Internationale du Cinema et de la Télévision Sportifs) in Milan, Italy, between October 27 and last Tuesday. It is the only festival of its kind recognised by the International Olympic Committee, and this year films and videos from 43 countries were screened.

The documentary is the first feature-length film written, produced and directed by Borg-Marks. The Hobby presents a cinematic voyage through the world of Subbuteo table football past and present, and was among 195 films officially selected by the Milan festival out of a total of 960 registered entries.

It was screened twice during the festival, once at the Palazzo Affari Ai Giureconsulti and another time on an outdoor maxi-screen at Piazza del Duomo in central Milan.

At the awards ceremony held on Tuesday, Borg-Marks thanked the FICTS International Jury, his post-production team comprising Rodrigo Sanchez and Marcos Azevedo, and Brussels-based Gil Delogne, a former Subbuteo world champion, who composed the original music for the film.

He also thanked the Federation of International Sport Table Football, players and collectors around the world, who supported the project, as well as his wife, Michèle Smith, for her support.

Borg-Marks, 48, hails from Birkirkara. He is a graduate of Peking University and has worked as a diplomat in Beijing and Canberra, and as a specialist in Chinese intellectual property law in Hong Kong.

The film Website is: www.thehobby.tv. The festival's Website is: www.sportmoviestv.com.