The Malta Film Commission is launching the Mediterrane Film Festival to take place in the capital Valetta and other locations in the country from June 25–30.
The event will feature a line-up of titles from the MED9 nations of Croatia, Cyprus, France, Greece, Italy, Malta, Portugal, Slovenia, and Spain, with details to be announced at the Cannes Film Festival later this month, Organisers plan to include conferences, keynote talks, workshops and visits to current and historic film sets.
Recent films to shoot in Malta include Ridley Scott’s Napoleon for Apple, and Universal Pictures’ Jurassic World: Dominion.
The aim of the event is to attract further international film business to the islands and foster collaboration with the MED9 nations.
The event is aiming to attract attendees from the local Maltese industry as well as international guests, including from the British Film Commission.
Education focus, short film fund
At the press conference held in Valletta today (May 3), Malta’s Film Commissioner Johann Grech said the event would also focus on helping local young people secure jobs in the film industry as part of a long-term strategy for developing the sector in Malta.
He said: “We will actively participate in the education of our children for early schooling, creating resources for teachers. We will be in schools inviting foreign experts into the classrooms, opening the doors of the wonderful studios for students to visit sets. We will foster an environment of learning and growth.”
In addition to the festival, the Malta Film Commission has created a fund of €100,000 for a Maltese short film to be produced, with “necessary mentoring and support” for the project.
Speaking of the fund, Grech added: “The film industry in itself is not an exclusive, private club. We want to see more social mobility. We want to inspire a new generation of filmmakers and crew. To do so, we are increasing funding to new filmmakers.”
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