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maltatoday | SUNDAY • 12 JUNE 2022 5 OPERA Blat: Malta's first ever opera-film IT is March 1940, most of Eu- rope is embroiled in the war be- tween the Allied and the Axis but so far Malta has been spared the brunt of this war. Madeleine, a middle-class girl from Valletta is in love with Marco a devoted Italian fascist and this creates problems with Madeleine's fa- ther as the latter is a staunch Imperialist. In the meanwhile, Kelinu, a dockyard worker is also enchanted by Madeliene, but as Bessy, his Strait Street barmaid friend, warns him, he does not share the same social class. Before this love triangle has a chance to develop, war hits the islands, and everything is completely overturned as all are forced to take cover in the underground shelters. But what will the new Malta be like when people start facing the new reali- ty of postwar? This is the storyline in brief of the first ever Maltese opera-film Blat: The Island Fortress. The opera film has been produced by Mikiel Anton Vassalli College, Malta's national college for the performing and visual arts and represets a well balanced ele- ment of education and artistic perormance. The cast included both top professionals in differ- ent areas of the arts, several stu- dents from the 4 schools within the college as well as extra actors including parents of children at- tending these schools and others. Victor Galea, the Head of Col- lege Network of MAVC and executive producer of this pro- duction said that his experience of executing an Opera-Film, "brought forward a paradigm shift in our College where Ad- ministrators of these specialized schools for Art, Music Drama and Dance took some further roles, mainly that of motivating their teachers as well as students from their respective disciplines to take up such roles outside their normal tasks, and together with professionals from the En- tertainment Industries came up with such a high level produc- tion." The libretto is written by Gorg Peresso and Amy Borg, the mu- sic is by Dr.Reuben Pace, the screen play and direction is by Alan Fenech, costume design by Umberto Buttigieg and Glo- rianne Micallef Grimaud and Rodney Gauchi is the Director of Photography. The opera-film will be available for public viewing in local cine- mas from the 24th of June. A still from the trailer of Blat: The Island Fortress