Malta was chosen as being “especially fit” to explore the theme of this year’s annual international Small Cinemas film conference.

The theme of the three-day conference, which opened yesterday at the Blitz gallery in Valletta is ‘Filming locations: the fabric of culture, myth and identity in small cinema’. The organisers felt Malta provided a good example of the impact of physical smallness on a growing national film industry.

This is the first time that the conference is being held in a country, rather than a city. Principal organizer Charlie Cauchi, a Ph.D candidate in film at London’s Queen Mary University, said the origins of the conference lay in challenging how one tended to think of film success: a massive enterprise in big countries.

“I was approached this year by Oswego, in New York, the main affiliated institution. They decided it would be good for it to happen in Malta: great space, very small nation. Normally it would be in London, because I study there, but this works better held in what we’re addressing – the small nation.

“Since Malta is mainly renowned for our film servicing, the way location is used here was compelling. We’re used as a double for other places, and Malta doesn’t really seem to appear – it’s always being masqueraded in some way,” Ms Cauchi said.

The conference aims to create energy around the local film industry that is outward looking, yet connected to the past.

The conference will appeal to students of the new film MA and the whole exchange is, of course, relevant for those working in film:

For the conference programme and registration, visit http://smallcinemasmalta.com .