'A Frenchman in Gozo' sounds like the start of a joke you might find printed on a souvenir shop kitchen apron. 

But although it will make you smile, there's nothing tacky about a video with that title promoting Malta's sister island. 

The two-minute video is the brainchild of Italian-Maltese filmmaker Federico Chini, whose love for Gozo has seen him swap it for his childhood stomping ground of Rome. 

Federico Chini's video highlights some of the wonders of Malta's sister island.

"My mother is Gozitan and I used to come here every summer as a kid," he told the Times of Malta. "Then when I turned 20 I decided to move here." 

With production values rivalling those found in big-budget promotional videos, the short film features a beret-wearing, baguette-toting Frenchman wearing a marinière who introduces Gozo novices to the little Mediterranean gem. 

The walking, talking stereotype is fellow filmmaker Remi Jennequin, and it was pure chance that brought the two men together, Mr Chini explained. 

"He just happened to see my studio while he was here on holiday. We got talking and I mentioned this idea I had had for a while. I came up with a script, and he played the part." 

Mr Jenneqin's French tourist explains how Gozitans prefer pastizzi to croissants for breakfast, and tries his hand at a round of boċċi, exclaiming "Ah no, it's pétanque! It's a French game!"

The camera follows him as he zips around on a scooter, takes a dip at Xlendi and even gets to ring the bells at St George's Basilica. 

Since it was uploaded on social media last month, more than 50,000 people have watched the video on YouTube and Facebook.

For Mr Chini, a published author who shared a 2015 NBC-PBS short film award with Manuel Xuereb for an adaptation of Pierre J. Meilak's short story Dar ir-Rummien, the brief video is no one-off. 

He has since started a weekly video blog chronicling his experiences on Malta's sister island, and says he is brimming with ideas for more videos. 

Would he be interested in developing more films promoting Malta and Gozo? 

"Oh, absolutely, I'd love to do more. It's harder than ever for a promotional film to get noticed these days, ideas need to be fresher if they're to stand out. But there are so many things I'd like to do. Being able to promote the Maltese islands through film would be incredible."

To check out more of Federico Chini's videos, visit his YouTube channel.