Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1510125
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 22 OCTOBER 2023 6 ALMANAC My essentials BENJAMIN ABELA 23, Writer, director, actor My life is split in equal parts - corporate and artistic. But theatre is where my passion really lies. I first infiltrated the theatre scene as an actor, though I've since grown into the shoes of a writer-director. My next play, NOSTRUM, will be staged at Spazju Kreattiv this November, having recently produced an original satire, Popolazzjoni: 4, with the Ħassle Mejjet Theatre Collective. 4 5 1. Book 2. Film 3. Internet & TV 4. Music 5. Place I hate to admit it, but I spend way more time on the inter- net than I should. Having said that, my doom-scrolling sessions do occasionally re- ward me with an interesting find, and it's mostly thanks to YouTube. The one video I'm happiest I discovered is the music video to James Blake's I Can't Believe the Way We Flow. This video collage takes a perfect song and elevates it even further through its un- conventional depictions of unconditional love. Honestly, this is what all music videos should aspire to be. TWIN Fantasy by Car Seat Headrest was quick to become one of my all-time favourite albums; I just never really ex- pected to find so much of my- self in an American indie rock band's record. Though the album starts off on a some- what positive note with the hopeful My Boy (Twin Fanta- sy), it doesn't take long before it delves deep into the com- plexities of romantic relation- ships, unrequited love, mental health, and sexuality. Twin Fantasy will make you dance like a maniac and cry your eyes out at the same time. IT'S got to be San Blas Bay in Gozo; it might be a chore to get to, but it's oh so worth it. Visit- ing the bay during the off-season has got to be a part of everyone's Gozo bucket list. Unfortunately, very few places around the Mal- tese Islands remain so unspoilt, serene, and picturesque – then again, it has been a couple of years since I last visited. IT has to be Anthony Bour- dain's Kitchen Confidential – for a multitude of reasons. Not only did this book teach me some priceless lessons about dining out (like steering clear of the specials, especially if they involve mussels), but it also offered me a window into the gritty, morally question- able, and incredibly stress- ful life of a hedonistic cook working his way up the ranks. Bourdain's book is also a mas- terclass in character writing, something no writer can ever be too good at. I could go on for ages about Sound of Metal's beautiful simplicity, or the incredibly layered nature of First Re- formed, but if I had to choose a single film I could watch over and over again, it would have to be Rob Reiner's Stand By Me. Based on a Stephen King novella, this coming-of- age film is equal parts heart- warming and heart wrench- ing in its depiction of a young friend group's unforgettable bond and the characters' loss of innocence. 2 Compiled by Laura Calleja suggestions by email lcalleja@mediatoday.com 1 3 This article is supported by Arts Council Malta