Tony Banwell in The Man Whose Mind Exploded.Tony Banwell in The Man Whose Mind Exploded.

There is no denying that Malta’s cultural scene and repertoire are growing at an impressively fast rate, and it’s no secret why. Long before Valletta was nominated as a European Capital of Culture for 2018, many had grabbed the reigns of our old (but sometimes undermined and overlooked) cultural scene and steered it in new directions, giving Maltese artists a platform to work off and pushing Malta to join our ancestral cultural cousins in Europe and beyond.

Kinemastik was one of these revolutionary projects, and it kick-started the process of linking film-makers in Malta to the international world of filmdom and creating ties between local and foreign film-makers and festivals.

“Kinemastik was conceived as an idealistic dream little more than 10 years ago,” says Slavko Vukanovic, the president of Kinemastik. “We were a group of friends from different backgrounds who got together in an attempt to contribute to the Maltese cultural scene with what we thought was important, what we had passion for and what we knew we could contribute with.”

Ten years on, Kinemastik has proven a success, with a year-round cultural programme of screenings, talks, exhibitions, workshops and concerts that come to a crescendo with the Kinemastik International Short Film Festival every summer.

“Our short film festival is the largest film-exhibiting event in Malta,” he explains. “However, we are active all year round, and not just in Malta. In fact, we have shown our festival selection in almost every continent on this planet.

“Through these invasions, we have shown Maltese films in places that had probably never had any contact with Maltese culture. We like to think that if Kinemastik had never happened, those people may have died not knowing about Malta and its film-makers. A terrible scenario right?” he says, tongue firmly in cheek.

“When talking about the past 10 years, I am rather tempted to say that they are all like my children and I love them all the same. “Nevertheless, one needs to keep in mind that Kinemastik is not just a festival but a year-long programme of events.

As a cultural NGO, we recently organised a concert by Patti Smith that was very special, for example, while some years ago we hosted Bonnie Prince Billy for a concert in Floriana.

“There have been so many events... we have set up an exhibition inside the underpass in Floriana, near Porte des Bombes. We have held screenings at City Lights cinema, showing a marathon of surreal masterpieces from 6pm to 6am. Kinemastik also brought back the long lost drive-in cinema, and we have done projections on the roof of Europe House in Valletta, among other things.

“Looking back, we have done quite a lot and one should know that many of these events had the stamp of the Malta Arts Fund on them. Without their support, this interview would have definitely been much shorter.

Going on for this long, we have earned a certain credibility, not just in Malta but also abroad

“We have a loyal audience that has been growing with us over the years, some of which have supported Kinemastik since day one,” he explains. “We have always done things our way, shaping our own identity as we went along and making friends and enemies in the process. It’s very easy to succumb to conformity and do events that would be crowd-pullers, but that’s the definition of the commercial venture we never wanted to be a part of. We believe that people can tell if you stay true to your ideals, and they’ll give you the support you need to continue in return.”

Now, as Kinemastik’s annualfestival is about to hit the scene, film enthusiasts have a lot to look forward to. “Everybody is saying it’s a big deal, and I guess it is,” he continues. “There is no doubt that we are small festival, but we will be hosting some people that mean something on the international festival circuit.

“With the support of Creative Europe, we shall be holding a forum with representatives of the Sundance Film Festival, the Milano Film Festival and Sheffield Docs. If you are into film, then you know this carries some weight. Of course, going on for this long, we have earned a certain credibility, not just in Malta but also abroad. This has helped us get in touch with some of the people we admire.

“On top of having those big names, at this year’s Kinemastik we will be showing Alejandro Jodorowsky’s latest film Dance of Reality, which will be presented by his son, Adan, who plays a part in it and has composed music for it. Alejandro, at 85-years-old, is still the greatest visionary in film-making, so that surely qualifies as a special part of this year’s edition.

“We have also prepared a very interesting mix of the latest short films from all over the world that will be both entertaining and thought-provoking. We are also organising six nights of film celebration at Herbert Ganado Gardens in Floriana, bringing as many quality events to our audiences as possible,” Slavko concludes.

Kinemastik Short Film Festival runs between today and next Sunday at Herbert Ganado Gardens, Floriana.

www.kinemastik.org

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