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maltatoday, SUNDAY, 4 MAY 2014 14 News THE based-on-true events, home- grown feature film Simshar has fi- nally made its way into local cinemas last week, capping off a film produc- tion journey which took some seven years – and financial help from sev- eral quarters – in its drive to tell the story of the titular boating tragedy on the big screen. But while Rebecca Cremona's film (see review on page 34) may have proven that a local filmmaker can – with some perseverance – pull together a 'serious' feature film that tackles relevant and weighty topics, what about less thematically ambi- tious films, made on even smaller budgets but helping Maltese film- makers learn their craft, while also responding to local 'prompts' – like social scenarios – in a more 'fun' way? What if, for example, a tradition of local 'B-movies' began to be es- tablished – perhaps opting for the easy-to-appropriate horror genre to start with – bridging the gap be- tween festival friendly mainstream offerings of the Simshar ilk and the unsatisfying – and far too ambitious – fare like last year's 'epic fantasy' Adormidera? Filmmaker, actor and producer Mark Doneo – who apart from be- ing a fixture of local television, also released the feature length film Sil- houette last year – agrees that "a de- cent B-movie scene is sorely missed, locally". "Writers and creatives (myself in- cluded) have to date either opted for more 'flamboyant', feel-good projects, or thematically overly am- bitious features and have overlooked stories from our own backyard that could (and would) work on a simple artistic level. I'm not necessarily say- ing that one is good or bad. Only that it's missing," he said. Doneo contends that, perhaps pre- dictably, it's financial considerations that would pose the biggest challenge to such productions. Since B-movies would be the least likely to attract any governmental support, owing to the fact that their subject matter would not be considered artistically 'worthwhile', securing financing and ensuring that you make some of your money back would be, understand- ably, a priority. "Another reason would be lack of ambition. Again, I'm not pointing my finger at anyone here except my- self. I targeted 'my' audience. I didn't look beyond these shores and work towards something that would hold its own in an international arena. I did my research and decided that if I was to ever be in a position (fi- nancially) to pen and produce any- thing with an 'international' appeal, I would need to make money from my first project. Which I did. Now, my reasoning has changed. The next two features I'm working on have a com- pletely different approach and target audience," Doneo added. Malta certainly isn't lacking for raw material ready to be converted into B-movie gold, if filmmaker Martin Bonnici is to be believed. "If you think of all the abandoned forts, caves and complexes scattered around the Maltese countryside, aes- thetics like Cikku Fenech's infamous land rover (ask anyone who lived in Mosta and they'll tell you what I'm talking about), even sub-cultures like the over-the-top party scene that is normal for Malta. We just have to work with what we have, so no big labs set up by evil corporations, no westerns unless you want the child- ish 'Popeye Village' look," Bonnici said. Bonnici however added that a cur- sory glance of the 'types' of local film- makers seems to suggest that a cult sensibility still needs to be cultivated in Malta: those who are enamoured by the "spectacle" that comes with the filmmaking world, while remain- ing unaware of the logistics that need be taken into consideration; those "technical experts" who cut their teeth servicing big budget technical productions and now want to make films within that range, and "the ones who have invested too much in looking intellectual to consider risk- ing making a fun film". "I guess Malta is missing the fourth type, the filmmaker who understands that film is a business, so you need to develop it gradually, learn the ropes, try and have as much fun as you can along the way and get a return on your investment," Bonnici said. But Maltese film producer Jean Pierre Magro – currently preparing to launch the British-produced film We Are Monster at this year's Edin- burgh International Film Festival – contends that it would be difficult to get anything going in Malta at all if the current lacuna in the educational system, with regards to filmmaking, is not addressed. "Education is our starting point. And we have been failing for a number of years. If we do not have the necessary lecturers then we need to import. The script is the basis of everything. However every year I hear each administration claim that steps are being done to rectify the situation. I lost faith in that. We need administrators that understand the industry. Unfortunately most of the administrators are amateurs who have no qualifications or experience in this particular field," Magro said, adding that if it were up to him, the Malta Film Fund would be tempo- rarily scrapped in favour of a system that would "train the trainers" – i.e., creative and technical profession- als. "We will not become a film mak- ing nation tomorrow. This is a long term commitment," Magro said. On his part, filmmaker Kenneth Scicluna is wary of seeing any type of filmmaking – B-movie or other- wise – as a creative solution in and of itself. "I do not think that making a film specifically look like it was made with little money, that mimics other cult films (a fallacy in itself since, practically by definition, cult films are one-offs that attain a loyal fol- lowing based on their unique traits), and that tries to do anything other than be a good film, is a good place to start from. "That one has a story and tries to turn it into a film that could be made with a fairly low budget is one thing, that one builds an aesthetic on a visual and aural approach that does not call for expensive effects during or after filming is also an- other possibility. And yet, those are limits that still allow ample scope for creative filmmaking. "As admirable as it is for an am- putee to dance – and I have seen beautiful work in that respect – don- ning a straightjacket and attempt- ing to do the same would be a false start, if not a case of mockery, for the former seeks a higher sense of being, and the latter is a forced, self- limiting attempt," Scicluna added. treljic@mediatoday.com.mt With Simshar finally making its way into local cinemas, Malta has arguably won its first 'exportable' feature length film. But would it be realistic to hope for a more raw – or 'cult' – sensibility to emerge from Maltese filmmakers, TEODOR RELJIC asks? MINISTRY FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT THE ENVIRONMENT AND CLIMATE CHANGE Agriculture Directorate Consultation on the Draft Legal Notice for the Implementation of Marketing Standards for Fresh Fruit and Vegetables The Directorate of Agriculture within the Ministry for Sustainable Development, the Environment and Climate Change is informing the public and all interested parties that it intends to publish a Legal Notice establishing Marketing Standards for fruit and vegetables. Those interested parties as well as the general public are invited to send their feedback regarding the draft Legal Notice that is available on the Agriculture Directorate's web page, on john-baptist.cassar@gov.mt by the 13th June 2014. Are 'cult' films a possibility for Malta? Cheap as chips, sharp as a razor: the original Evil Dead (1981), now a cult classic, was made on comparatively paltry budget of $350,000