The producers of a fictional video passed off as real, showing a Syrian boy braving gunfire to rescue a girl, have defended their project.

Oliver Mallia, who handled the production in Malta, said when contacted that the intention was always to use the short film to raise awareness about the plight of children in the Syrian conflict.

“Had the filmmakers meant this to be an exercise in deceit I would not have put my name to it, but the hope was that this little piece of fiction would help people realise there was a bigger reality out there,” Mr Mallia said.

Had the film-makers meant this to be an exercise in deceit I would not have put my name to it

The You Tube video uploaded to the internet last week went viral and was picked up by various mainstream news portals that fell for the Norwegian filmmaker’s ploy.

Lars Klevberg, a 34-year-old film director based in Oslo, defended his project in the face of criticism that he tried to pass off a piece of fiction as the real thing.

He insisted it was always the intention to pretend the film was real in the hope that it would get people to share it and raise awareness of the situation in Syria. Mr Mallia said all those who worked on the film knew what it was all about, confirming that the boy and girl were Maltese actors and the voices in the video were those of Syrian refugees in Malta.

The film was shot in May at Fort Ricasoli, where epic films like Gladiator were filmed.

Mr Mallia said the filming was so good that many believed it was the real thing, though there were hints it was fake.

“The boy was hit and he stood up again, which was a clear hint the film was fiction. But many believed it and this hopefully stimulated a discussion. I’ve seen loads of real clips from Syria that depicted situations much worse than the one portrayed in this film.”

When contacted, Film Commissioner Engelbert Grech said the Malta Film Commission had not supported the production with any of its film industry incentives.

kurt.sansone@timesofmalta.com