Mcast student Nicholas Azzopardi (right) explains how he turned the story of Frank Camilleri, il-Bibi, into an interactive website to Frank’s son, Joe. The two are seen outside White Star Bar in Strait Street, corner with St Christopher Street, Valletta, where il-Bibi used to play the piano.

A 75-year-old story of pianist Frank Camilleri, known as il-Bibi, a top-notch musician of the last century who started performing aged 14 in Strait Street, Valletta, has been turned into an interactive website by Mcast student Nicholas Azzopardi.

Azzopardi developed the website for his BA (Hons) degree in Graphic Design and Interactive Media disssertation. His thesis supervisor Redd Caruana had suggested the theme.

“I was intrigued by the stories in George Cini’s book, Strada Stretta: Aktar Dawl Fuq it-Triq li Darba Xegħlet il-Belt, which features il-Bibi’s story,” Azzopardi said.

The website highlights the most important milestones in Camilleri’s life. The project was recently displayed at the end of year exhibition, titled Leave a Mark, organised by the college’s Institute For the Creative Arts.

“Il-Bibi’s story underscores the laid-back tempo of the time, the effects of World War II, as well as the sensual entertainment provided in the bars and music halls in Strait Street,” Azzopardi said.

Caruana said: “With an ever-growing demand for a digital presence, commercial firms look for competent technical artists to get top-drawer jobs done. This is what we prepare our students for.” In fact, Azzopardi has already landed a job as a web designer/developer at Logix Creative.

Cini’s books on Strait Street have formed the basis of dissertations by other students in the past, including Stefanelle Cachia, who graduated with a BA (Hons) in Dance Studies from the School of Performing Arts at the University of Malta in 2013, and Jurgen Camilleri, who gradutated BSc (Hons) in ICT from the University’s Faculty of Information and Communication Technology.