Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1082991
17 CULTURE maltatoday | SUNDAY • 17 FEBRUARY 2019 THE National Book Council is pleased to release the programme of cultural events for the Campus Book Festi- val 2019 (FKK19). As is customary, the festival will take place at the Uni- versity Quadrangle on 27, 28 and 29 March, from 9am–4pm on Wednes- day 27 and Thursday 28, and from 9am till late on Friday 29. The programme is packed with a va- riety of events and activities centred on literature and books – aimed at univer- sity students and members of the pub- lic alike. The events organised include discussions, presentations, interviews, animated readings, tours, quizzes, book launches and book presentations, among others. The international guest for FKK19 is British poet, literary critic and transla- tor Rod Mengham, who will be engaged in activities throughout the three days of the festival. At 1pm on Wednesday, together with Prof. Clare Vassallo and translator Kevin Saliba, Rod will talk about aspects of translating poetry. At 10am on Thursday a group of university and college students will discuss Rod's latest publication Grimspound and In- habiting Art (2018) during a book-club session with the author. At 5.30pm on Friday awardwinning poet Antoine Cas- sar will interview Rod about his work and career both as a poet and a literary critic. Later on the same day at 6.45pm Rod will be the special guest of the Open Mic session organised by Inizjamed. Language and literature enthusiasts should not miss Wednesday's events about English loan-words in Maltese and an interview with Oliver Friggieri about his childhood as narrated by him- self. On Friday, Gioele Galea's best-seller Tħabbat Xtaqtek: djarju milleremitaġġ will be analysed in terms of Christian spirituality, ethics and relationships, both from a spiritual and a secular point of view. On the same day, poet Antoine Cassar will be interviewed by Prof. Adri- an Grima about Erbgħin Jum, which won him the 2018 National Book Prize for poetry. A book talk on Wiċċna by Zvezdan Reljić is also a high- light for the day. For those interested in philosophy, two events are not to be missed. On Thurs- day Għaqda tal-Malti – Università will deliver a session of 'Filosofija bil-Malti' with Prof. Joe Friggieri, and on Friday at 12pm contemporary philosophers Kurt Borg, Francois Zammit and Robert Far- rugia Flores will talk about how contem- porary social conditions shape the way they think, what it needs to be a philoso- pher in 2019, and what are the the latest trending themes for contemporary phi- losophy. On Friday at 11am key speakers in the fields of film-making, translation and ad- aptation (namely producer Martin Bon- nici, translator Dr Giselle Spiteri Miggiani and writer Teodor Reljić) will discuss the award-winning short film Camilla, adapted from Clare Azzopardi's short story that goes by the same name. Other events based on historical anniversaries happening this year are the one revolving around the 100th-year anniversary since women got the right to vote in the US, and the first woman entered University in Malta; and the 60th since Barbie made her way into the world. Other highlights include events revolving around social sciences, publishing and proofreading, history, book conservation, and teaching and learning. New to this year is an art exhibition by various artists, showcasing original sketches and illustrations that became the hero on the covers of successful books published in Malta. The exhibition will be open on all three days of the festival. As usual, the FKK will wrap up with a live gig, this time by Maltese band The Busker, featuring original music inspired by the sixties and seventies. The Book Festival on Campus, which is set up by the National Book Council in collaboration with Għaqda tal-Malti – Università, is free and open to students, academics and members of the public. For more information follow our FB page and our website (www.ktieb.org). Campus Book Festival 2019: programme of events AS part of the 2019 plan to keep producing audiovisual work to promote authors for com- mercial and public broadcast- ing, the National Book Council is pleased to launch the calls for applications for two initia- tives for 2019: the Malta Liter- ary Short Film Contest 2019 and the new NBC Docudrama Series 2019. The deadline for applying is 30 March for both initiatives. Malta Literary Short-Film Contest 2019 The National Book Council has opened the call for appli- cations for the Malta Literary Short Film Contest 2019. The contest calls on film-making teams to submit a screenplay, together with a project plan, for a film based on a published Maltese short story. The pro- posed film should be of a dura- tion between 15 and 20 minutes and the screenplay must be in Maltese. It is imperative that the project plan includes a com- plete breakdown of the budget and the time frames for the pro- duction process. The winning entry will receive €20,000 in funding from the National Book Council (NBC), which includes expenses of lo- gistics, lighting and electricity. NBC will also allocate a €1,000 grant to theauthor of the origi- nal short story as compensation for the use of said story. An ad- judication board consisting of three judges will be appointed by the NBC for the purpose of selecting the best entry, which will receive both funding and consultation to produce the film in time for its first screening during the Malta Book Festival 2019 (6-10 November 2019). The teams submitting their proposal must have previous experience in film-making and the proposal must be based on a Maltese short story that has been published in book form. The original text of the story can be in English or Maltese, but the screenplay, excluding the dialogue, must be in Mal- tese. Applicants are asked to down- load a copy of the application and send it, together with the script and the project plan to Michael Mercieca by 30 March 2019 at National Book Council, Central Public Library, Prof. J. Mangion Street, Floriana, FRN 1800. Four hard copies of the application and the other docu- ments must be received in order for the application to be pro- cessed. NBC Docudrama Series 2019 The National Book Council is launching a call for application to select an audiovisual produc- tion company to produce a doc- udrama series comprising a to- tal of eight episodes. The theme of the docudrama shall be Mal- tese literature, which the project aims at promoting through the collaborative relationship be- tween literature and film-mak- ing in literary adaptations. Each episode of the docudrama series will focus on a Maltese author and his/her work/s, which have to be dramatised and placed in an artistic context. The authors to be featured should have won the National Book Prize in the past five edi- tions (2013-2018) and the Na- tional Book Council reserves the right to have a say in the editorial selection. Each episode will also feature an interview with the chosen author. This is to be shot in various locations with differ- ent settings. The focus of the episode has to remain on the au- thor's thoughts, ideas and work. The selected applicant will need be vetted by each author and the script must be approved by him/ her prior to production. To apply, prospective can- didates must submit a project plan, including a breakdown of the budget, and a letter of intent describing the proposal and the proposed selection of au- thors. Any additional informa- tion that may add value to the audiovisual production com- pany's application may also be submitted. Companies applying should have previous experi- ence in audiovisual production and preference will be given to companies that have in the past produced literary films or films based on literature. The selected team will be respon- sible for the execution of the docudrama series, including all development and post-produc- tion tasks, and must deliver a finished copy to the NBC prior to the Malta Book Festival in November 2019. The selected applicant will receive €10,000 per episode in funding from the National Book Council (NBC), which should cover all the technical require- ments and logistics, as well as the author's fee in details. The docudrama series will be aired on a major television sta- tion, and publication and distri- bution rights of the docudrama series will be retained exclusively by the National Book Council. Throughout the production period, the team must be in contact with NBC to ensure that the project is developing according to the proposal and in line with the application cri- teria and rules. Download the application form and the 'Requirements and Se- lection Criteria' document here: http://ktieb.org.mt/national- book-council-audiovisual-work- 2019-the-malta-literary-short- filmcontest-and-the-call-for-ap- plications-for-the-nbc-docudra- ma-series-2019/. Apply by sending in four hard copies of the application and the other documents listed to Michael Mercieca by 30 March 2019 at michael.mercieca@gov. mt at National Book Council, Central Public Library, Joseph Mangion Street, Floriana, FRN 1800. National Book Council audiovisual work for 2019 The winning entry will receive €20,000 in funding from the National Book Council (NBC), which includes expenses of logistics, lighting and electricity