Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1407680
9 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 5 SEPTEMBER 2021 INTERVIEW discover Count of Montecristo'; and projected into the future… doesn't that also mean we will eventually run out of original film locations? No, I don't think so. Because there are so many different worlds within our island; for such a small country, there re- ally is a lot to play with; a lot that we can do. But yes, I would generally agree that we need to step away from the more obvi- ous, recognizable locations… the sweeping landscapes, the panoramic views, and so on…. and instead, focus more on the little corners of the island; the unexplored nooks and crannies, which is where you are likely to find the truly interesting sto- ries to begin with. And Alex was, in fact, adamant about this from the very beginning; he did not want the traditional 'pic- ture-postcard' look for Luzzu… One other aspect of Malta's use as a film-location, is that – thanks to a highly successful film-servicing industry, over the years – we have grown accustomed to hosting big- budget foreign productions such as 'Gladiator', 'Munich', etc. Naturally, we can't possi- bly compete with that: but to quote Martin Bonnici [direc- tor of 'Is-Sriep Regghu Saru Velenuzi'], this situation "has given some people a very nar- row view of what filmmaking actually is." Do you agree with that statement? Certainly, those big-budget productions are… 'intoxicat- ing'. But we definitely cannot allow ourselves to fall under their spell. A Maltese film in- dustry that is modelled on that of the USA, or UK…. that's clearly a non-starter. We don't have the resources to produce films on that sort of scale. It's just not going to happen. So instead, we should be look- ing closer to home. We need to look at other small European countries, and see what they're doing there: places like Estonia, Iceland… even Cyprus: where - though they did not have a tax rebate, like we do, until recent- ly - they still managed to pro- duce and export a few highly successful local films. In a sense, it's a bit of a chick- en-and-egg situation. The problem in Malta is a holistic one; we have issues, not only with audience development, but also with distribution… How do you mean, 'audience development'? Let me put it this way: it's not just the sort of foreign pro- ductions that Malta attracts as a film-location. It's also the sort of films that get screened in Maltese cinemas. Generally, these tend to be mainstream international titles: which, to be fair, is the same across large parts of the world. But if we limit ourselves only to that… if we do not import the sort of films that could al- so inspire tomorrow's Maltese filmmakers… how can we get them to imagine what sort of films they themselves can cre- ate? This is, in fact, something we tried to break away from, with the Valletta Film Festival. We tried to screen films in Malta, which – apart from providing local audiences with a more varied film diet – could also spur local film-makers to say: 'You know what? I can do that, too…' It's something I find my- self thinking all the time, when watching films at European fes- tivals. 'This is the sort of film that could easily be made in Malta…' But unless we start exposing audiences, from a very young age, to the sheer variety of work that is out there… they are, as you say, only going to think about 'film' in terms of Holly- wood, and British mainstream titles. And that's not very help- ful, at the end of the day. To be fair, 'Luzzu' itself seems to have already broken that mould. It has been shown at some of the world's most pres- tigious festivals, and has so far received rave international reviews. How do you yourself account for this success? To be honest, when we were making the film, it was our hope and dream that we would be able to achieve that kind of success. Because – and this ties in what I was saying earlier, about audience expectations – 'success', in this industry, is not just about money. It's not just about recouping your budget, and making a profit. There's much more to it than that. The success of a film is al- so measured by which festivals it gets screened at; what prizes it wins… this all impacts upon the film's future distribution possibilities, too. So for 'Luzzu' to have pre- miered at the Sundance festi- val was… let's just say, a pretty huge deal for us. And so was the critical response. What they praised most, I would say, was the authenticity of the cast, and of the performances… and also, the beauty of the island. On that level, the praise was almost gushing, in fact. Which brings me back to a point I made earlier: for all its restric- tions, Malta has a lot going for it, as a film-making location. Natural lighting, for instance… we are incredibly lucky, to have both the amount, and quality, of sunlight that we have. And Malta films beautifully, too. It's not just 'Beauty with a capital B'; there is also a certain 'rough' beauty in our surroundings… very different from the pic- ture-postcard look I mentioned earlier. And it is this type of beauty that we were very keen on showing, with 'Luzzu'. A beauty that arises from authen- ticity, rather than appearances: for instance, the rough side of how fishermen actually fish… the reality of being out at sea… And there is still a lot of that kind of beauty to be explored here. There are still any num- ber of stories that could be told… Coming back to the issue of film audiences: while we have been brought up on a diet of major international produc- tions, our actual expectations of local films may be consid- erably lower. To give an ex- ample: I recently attended the premier of 'Sriep'… and one recurring comment, in the dis- cussions afterwards, was: 'For a Maltese production, it was really good…" Do you feel that we may, perhaps, have a bit of an inferiority complex when it comes to filmmaking, too? [Laughing] I know what you mean. And I've heard that sort of comment, too. But at the end of the day, it is all about mentality. Obviously, we can't approach film-making on the premise that… 'for a Maltese film, this is good enough'. Clearly, that won't get us any- where; because while it might 'pass' for a local audience… it's not going to pass internation- ally. On the other hand, however: we can't go the other way, ei- ther. Sometimes, for instance, we are so insular, that we think we can do everything on our own: without any outside help, without any outside expertise. But the film industry doesn't work like that. You need tal- ent from many different places; you might need, for instance, a foreign script consultant; or to take your script to a workshop in Italy, or Germany. You might need a cinematographer, or a sound engineer, with a specif- ic skill-set. Or maybe you will need post-production facilities, that can't be found locally. These are the realities of working on a film; but some- times, I get the impression that here in Malta, we tend to be somewhat 'territorial'. Even when it comes to collaborating with other local film-makers, for instance… we tend to put up walls between us: 'I can do it, and I can do it on my own'. But no: it doesn't work like that. In film-making… it's the team that counts, not the indi- vidual. At the same time, howev- er… I also think it's because we're desperate to be proud of our work. We're desperate to be proud of our films, and of our art in general; and I think there's a lot to be proud of, ac- tually. But we do have a long road ahead of us. We are still strug- gling, as an industry, to find our feet. But it doesn't mean we have to make compromises. We have to be single-minded; we have to know where quality lies; and we have to just… go for it, really.