The second edition of Malta’s Mediterrane Film Festival (June 22-30) aims to create an even bigger platform for filmmakers and industry professionals to connect, exchange ideas and create partnerships for future projects while showcasing films from across the Mediterranean region and beyond.
This year’s theme, ‘Unity through Film’, includes four sections: the main Competition features films from the Mediterranean; Out of Competition highlights international films; Mare Nostrum (meaning ‘Our Sea’) focuses on narrative and documentary films about sustainability and the environment; and Future Visions offers a selection of immersive VR projects.
Teresa Cavina, the newly appointed artistic director, oversees the programme for this year’s festival. She is a well-recognised figure on the international festival circuit with more than 20 years of experience in programming and artistic roles. Her extensive background includes contributions to notable festivals such as Locarno, El Gouna, Rome, Venice and Abu Dhabi.
Cavina says the festival has expanded from the inaugural event’s MED9 nations (Croatia, Cyprus, France, Greece, Italy, Malta, Portugal, Slovenia and Spain) to take in all the countries that share a coastline on the Mediterranean Sea.
“I want Malta to be the place in which both Mediterranean and global filmmakers are able to meet their audiences and engage in creative discussions,” says Cavina.
“Our ambitious industry programme will facilitate meetings between professionals, to allow ideas to find the perfect ecosystem and become projects that evolve into visual objects.”
Taking place in Valletta, the festival is hosting screenings in a purpose-built open-air cinema in St George’s Square, the capital’s largest and most prominent square.
The Competition strand is set to have 12 to 14 features competing for the Golden Bee Award this year, up from the nine in its inaugural year.
Awards across categories will include best feature, acting performance, screenwriting and production design and will be chosen by a nine-strong jury. Its members include filmmaker Jon S Baird, whose credits include Stan & Ollie and Tetris; Los Angeles-based casting director Margery Simkin; Uruguayan cinematographer Pedro Luque; Maltese director, producer and writer Mario Philip Azzopardi; UK production designer Nathan Crowley; and Canadian director and writer Richie Mehta, best known for Amal.
There will also be awards for creative technical performance and the special jury award to be handed out during the festival’s closing ceremony on June 30.
Packed events
Alongside screenings, the festival’s industry strand will have a series of panels, round tables and masterclasses, including one with the multiple award-winning UK writer/director Mike Leigh. He will discuss his career and films, including Secrets & Lies, Vera Drake, Another Year and Happy-Go-Lucky.
Leigh will be in Valletta to pick up the festival’s first career achievement Golden Bee and participate in an in-conversation event hosted by Adrian Wootton, CEO of Film London and the British Film Commission. The British and Malta film commissions signed a memorandum of understanding in 2023.
Malta’s film commissioner Johann Grech emphasises the important role Mediterrane Film Festival has in strengthening Malta as a prominent film hub. “Malta’s strategic geographical position has historically served as a bridge between various Mediterranean countries. A bridge between the continents of Europe and Africa. A bridge between Europe and the world,” he states.
Malta boasts a strong cash rebate, versatile locations, globally renowned water tanks and a growing and experienced crew base.
The festival aims to play its role in showcasing the territory as an international film hub to industry visitors. “The festival serves as a creative platform for us to engage with the global film community, showcasing Malta as a world-class film destination,” says Grech.
Contact: Mediterrane Film Festival
