With the spotlight turned on next Sunday’s Oscars ceremony, Amour is being hotly tipped for Best Foreign Language award. But the Malta-shot Kon-Tiki remains a strong contender, production manager Pierre Ellul tells Paula Fleri-Soler.
The 85th annual Academy Awards will be handed out next Sunday, and it seems likely that the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar will go to Amour, which has been the strong favourite from the get-go.
It would be rather neat if a film that Malta contributed so much to would be the cause of one of the evening’s surprises
Of interest to us Maltese, however, is fellow nominee Kon-Tiki, a Norwegian film largely shot in Malta, which recounts the true and heroic exploits of explorer and ethnographer Thor Heyerdahl (Pål Sverre Hagen).
In 1947, Heyerdahl set out on an 8,000-kilometre voyage across the Pacific on a balsa wood raft with an inexperienced crew in a dangerous attempt to prove his theory that Polynesia was populated by settlers from South America, rather than Asia as widely assumed by the scientific community.
Kon-Tiki is an emotionally-charged and character-driven drama which charts Heyerdahl’s extraordinary physical and mental journey, as the affable scientist’s dream becomes an ambition and finally an obsession as he places himself and his fellow sailors in danger.
It is a film which boasts as many moments of quiet reflection as it does tense-filled ones – an encounter with a school of sharks is particularly disturbing – but thanks to directors Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg and screenwriter Petter Skavlan, it remains a story of courage and determination. It is a film that is beautifully shot and boasts visual effects that seamlessly contribute to the unfolding drama.
Around 65 per cent of the movie was shot in Malta. The island doubles as Peru, while the open sea and the Mediterranean Film Studios (MFS) water tanks convincingly play the Pacific Ocean. Apart from the indescribable beauty of the light which bounces off our limestone walls and reflects our astonishing blue sunny skies, instantly recognisable are Malta Shipbuilding, the fisheries area of Valletta, and the stately interiors and landscaped exteriors of Palazzo Parisio.
Maltese filmmaker Pierre Ellul was the film’s Malta production manager and his company Falkun Films served as the production service company.
“I first established contact with one of the Kon-Tiki producers in early 2009,” recalls Ellul. “From the word go it’s all about selling Malta, our professional and talented crews, and the government’s film incentives. You then start looking at the how, when and where and the myriad logistics involved.
“Like any other relationship, the filming industry is all about trust and being honest with the producers about what can and cannot be achieved. At the end of the day, it’s not only me and my reputation which is on the line but also Malta’s. You never want a crew to leave saying that they would never shoot in Malta again. The industry is small and people talk. A bad reputation can cost us a lot.”
Although Kon-Tiki had a workable budget by the end of 2009, the plug was pulled because some of the finance fell through. Nearly a year later, however, the producers called Ellul to say the project was back on.
Ellul then opened the production office on May 1, 2011. This kicked off the seven-week shoot – one week of location shooting, three weeks in the open sea and three weeks in the water tanks.
Ellul explains that the function of Malta-based production service company Falkun Films was to manage and oversee all aspects of the production.
“You need to have a very good understanding of what is required, keeping in mind that you are working within the confines of a fixed budget and it’s not a blank cheque.
“From the very first crew arrivals till beyond the departure of the crew, we make sure that every base is covered.
“In fact, the film came to an end for me in May or June 2012, nearly a year after filming took place,” he continues. “We put the raft back into the sea for a PR event which was organised from Norway – the raft was actually registered with Transport Malta as KonTiki II. Sadly, she was then dismantled and shipped out.”
Kon-Tiki has been an enormous hit in its native Norway, and Ellul stresses that win or not on Sunday, the nomination is a fantastic achievement not only for the film and filmmakers, but it will also serve as a priceless advert for Malta.
“Effectively, the film becomes a showcase of what can be done in Malta. The reasoning is that industry professionals watch the picture and will ask where the film was shot,” he says.
“People are automatically reminded that the film was shot in Malta, while noting that the location looks rather stunning. There are the MFS water tanks with the natural horizon and great special effects technicians... both will certainly leave an impact. A film like this automatically puts Malta back on the radar.”
Ellul recounts that after watching Kon-Tiki’s Royal Premier in Oslo – attended by King Harald and Queen Sofja – he jokingly told the producers and directors that he would next see them with an Oscar in hand. Who knows? Stranger things have been known to happen and it would be rather neat if a film that Malta contributed so much to would be the cause one of the evening’s surprises.