The world of local film has hardly ever been reeling. Over the decades it progressed in fits and starts, as different production houses eked out one movie or another, some more successfully than others. But that's not to say there hasn't been a longing to make great films here; there is a definite passion bubbling among local film-makers and, finally, there is also a place to see a collection of their work. As part of the European Film Festival being held at St James Cavalier, five short Maltese films will be presented on Thursday.
Katrina (2006)
Director Eleonora Rose Abela has film-making in her blood as the daughter of a photographer. The 20-minute drama secured first-prize as the 2007 Golden Knight competition.
"As a fourth-year Bachelor of Communications (Hons) student I was faced with the challenge of creating an audiovisual production as part of my thesis.
I have worked as a visual editor since the age of 16 and have worked on various productions including features, documentaries and music videos; film was the only field that I had yet to try out. Because of this, I decided to produce Katrina.
Through this film I wanted to explore how the art of film editing can narrate a story so I opted to tell a seemingly 'ordinary' story through new techniques.
Katrina follows the protagonist of the same name through a decision-making process that she has to make, the decision whether to follow her heart or her mind.
It uses minimal dialogue and is largely based on the play of eyes and emotions of the characters - it keeps its audience on the edge of their seats, guessing until the final second of its 20-minute duration.
The story is set in the 1950s in a typical Maltese village and therefore a lot of research had to go into making it look realistic.
I scouted both Malta and Gozo for authentic chapels, streets and homes to use as locations and carefully visualised how the characters would look before we started.
I chose to work with non-professional actors which I believe also gave the film a more authentic feel.
I feel like a mother when it comes to this film as it's become very much a part of who I am! As the writer, producer, director, cameraperson and editor of it I was involved in every step and I am very proud to see that it is doing well and has been well received."
Good King Stefan (2007)
This fictional short is a 16-minute adaptation of the Grimm's fairytale Sleeping Beauty. Directed by Joshua Cassar Gaspar, the cast includes Manuel Cauchi, Stephanie Hodgkins, Malcolm Galea, Ingrid Scerri, Elektra Anastasi and Chiara Hyzler.
"I believe that the main elements that inspired me to make this film were the emotions emitted by various films that I have seen in the past," explained Mr Cassar Gaspar. "To me the project was an experimental first attempt at creating an audiovisual piece that would instil some sort of emotion into its audience.
The film tells the tragic tale of a king, a princess and an evil curse and I would class it as experimental fiction. Filming it was a fantastic experience but of course, challenges were present throughout, the greatest restraint being our budget: the total allowance for this was Lm100 (€233) which is literally nothing when it comes to creating anything in this medium. It was simply enough to buy a few props and some breakfast for the cast and crew in the mornings! Other than that we had to make do with what was available for us. I was lucky to have been supported by people who believe in the medium of film, without them the final outcome would not have been possible.
It's hard to criticise one's own work without being biased but I believe that the end result of Good King Stefan is not a work of wonders or one of outstanding achievement - far from it - but it was definitely a great learning experience which has led me to bigger things. For me this was just a time step in the learning process of the wonderful world of audiovisuals.
Along the way I met great people who have a lot of potential, more projects like this one will act as training ground for them to evolve and experiment within the world of film.
Hopefully one day, with the help of organisations like Media Desk, local standards will equal those in other European countries. With projects like Engelbert Grech's Heroes in the Sky (a locally-made documentary which opened the Festival on April 12) under Malta's belt, it really is just a matter of time."
Moving On (2005)
This 10-minute drama participated in the Kinemastik Short Film Festival 2007. Produced and directed by brothers Alexis and Ramon Mizzi, it was shot in Sydney, Australia. "When Moving On was written my brother Ramon and I were in our last year of our Bachelors Degree in Sydney, Australia," explained Alexis Mizzi, one of the film's co-producers/directors. "Ramon came up with the idea for the film as he was going through a bad break up and writing it was just the therapeutic injection he was looking for - hence its name.
"The tagline for the film is, 'Waking up from a dream and realising that some things aren't the way they used to be' - I think it pretty much sums the production up. Cast wise we were extremely lucky to engage the services of Australian TV actor Jon Sivewright (Home and Away) as he loved the script and wanted to be a part of it.
We encountered several challenges while making this film - most of them were related to finance as we didn't have access to many of the resources we would have found for free in Malta through our obvious contacts. We were provided with a list of things that were available to us and, for logistical reasons, we tried to stick to it. Funding is always the hardest part of any arts project but, in my opinion, we managed pretty well with what we had.
Every project is a learning curve for those involved in it and each brings its own problems and solutions. Making this film was an experience to remember and we're pretty happy with the final result of it. The script was never compromised and the emotions were captured as planned, making it a huge uccess in our eyes and hopefully those of our audiences."
Katrina (2006)
Director Eleonora Rose Abela has film-making in her blood as the daughter of a photographer. The 20-minute drama secured first-prize as the 2007 Golden Knight competition.
"As a fourth-year Bachelor of Communications (Hons) student I was faced with the challenge of creating an audiovisual production as part of my thesis.
I have worked as a visual editor since the age of 16 and have worked on various productions including features, documentaries and music videos; film was the only field that I had yet to try out. Because of this, I decided to produce Katrina.
Through this film I wanted to explore how the art of film editing can narrate a story so I opted to tell a seemingly 'ordinary' story through new techniques.
Katrina follows the protagonist of the same name through a decision-making process that she has to make, the decision whether to follow her heart or her mind.
It uses minimal dialogue and is largely based on the play of eyes and emotions of the characters - it keeps its audience on the edge of their seats, guessing until the final second of its 20-minute duration.
The story is set in the 1950s in a typical Maltese village and therefore a lot of research had to go into making it look realistic.
I scouted both Malta and Gozo for authentic chapels, streets and homes to use as locations and carefully visualised how the characters would look before we started.
I chose to work with non-professional actors which I believe also gave the film a more authentic feel.
I feel like a mother when it comes to this film as it's become very much a part of who I am! As the writer, producer, director, cameraperson and editor of it I was involved in every step and I am very proud to see that it is doing well and has been well received."
Good King Stefan (2007)
This fictional short is a 16-minute adaptation of the Grimm's fairytale Sleeping Beauty. Directed by Joshua Cassar Gaspar, the cast includes Manuel Cauchi, Stephanie Hodgkins, Malcolm Galea, Ingrid Scerri, Elektra Anastasi and Chiara Hyzler.
"I believe that the main elements that inspired me to make this film were the emotions emitted by various films that I have seen in the past," explained Mr Cassar Gaspar. "To me the project was an experimental first attempt at creating an audiovisual piece that would instil some sort of emotion into its audience.
The film tells the tragic tale of a king, a princess and an evil curse and I would class it as experimental fiction. Filming it was a fantastic experience but of course, challenges were present throughout, the greatest restraint being our budget: the total allowance for this was Lm100 (€233) which is literally nothing when it comes to creating anything in this medium. It was simply enough to buy a few props and some breakfast for the cast and crew in the mornings! Other than that we had to make do with what was available for us. I was lucky to have been supported by people who believe in the medium of film, without them the final outcome would not have been possible.
It's hard to criticise one's own work without being biased but I believe that the end result of Good King Stefan is not a work of wonders or one of outstanding achievement - far from it - but it was definitely a great learning experience which has led me to bigger things. For me this was just a time step in the learning process of the wonderful world of audiovisuals.
Along the way I met great people who have a lot of potential, more projects like this one will act as training ground for them to evolve and experiment within the world of film.
Hopefully one day, with the help of organisations like Media Desk, local standards will equal those in other European countries. With projects like Engelbert Grech's Heroes in the Sky (a locally-made documentary which opened the Festival on April 12) under Malta's belt, it really is just a matter of time."
Moving On (2005)
This 10-minute drama participated in the Kinemastik Short Film Festival 2007. Produced and directed by brothers Alexis and Ramon Mizzi, it was shot in Sydney, Australia. "When Moving On was written my brother Ramon and I were in our last year of our Bachelors Degree in Sydney, Australia," explained Alexis Mizzi, one of the film's co-producers/directors. "Ramon came up with the idea for the film as he was going through a bad break up and writing it was just the therapeutic injection he was looking for - hence its name.
"The tagline for the film is, 'Waking up from a dream and realising that some things aren't the way they used to be' - I think it pretty much sums the production up. Cast wise we were extremely lucky to engage the services of Australian TV actor Jon Sivewright (Home and Away) as he loved the script and wanted to be a part of it.
We encountered several challenges while making this film - most of them were related to finance as we didn't have access to many of the resources we would have found for free in Malta through our obvious contacts. We were provided with a list of things that were available to us and, for logistical reasons, we tried to stick to it. Funding is always the hardest part of any arts project but, in my opinion, we managed pretty well with what we had.
Every project is a learning curve for those involved in it and each brings its own problems and solutions. Making this film was an experience to remember and we're pretty happy with the final result of it. The script was never compromised and the emotions were captured as planned, making it a huge uccess in our eyes and hopefully those of our audiences."