Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/396532
maltatoday, Sunday, 12 OctOber 2014 38 this week Pierre J. Mejlak takes EU literature prize Novelist and short story writer Pierre J. Meljak has won this year's european Union Prize for literature, for his 2011 short story collection 'Dak li l-lejl ihal- lik tghid'. the award was announced at the Frankfurt Book Fair on Wednesday by european Com- missioner for education, Cul- ture, Multilingualism and Youth Androulla vassiliou. this marks the second time that a Maltese writer has taken home the prize, with immanuel Mifsud securing the honour in 2011 on the strength of his fatherood-and-wartime novella 'Fl-isem tal-Missier (u tal-iben)'. 'lejl' is Mejlak's second short story collection after 'Qed Nis- tenniek Niezla Max-Xita' (2009), and sets out deal with themes of "nostalgia, lies, loneliness and love". A story from the collection, 'Nixtieq Nghajjat lil samirah', won the sea of Words european short story Award in 2009. this year the laureates for the eU literature Prize come from 13 countries: Albania, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Greece, iceland, latvia, liechtenstein, Malta, Montenegro, serbia, the Netherlands, turkey and the United Kingdom. "the european Union Prize for literature is the only inter- national prize of its kind: it cel- ebrates the best new talents in european fiction and enables the public to discover emerging au- thors from different countries," vassiliou said. "the Prize is also an oppor- tunity to highlight the fact that funding is available through the eU's Creative europe pro- gramme to support the transla- tion of new literature so that it reaches new audiences across frontiers." Malta in Oscar race for the first time with 'Simshar' CARlo o. D'emanuele has released his second novel, following his debut last year – 'l-Anġlu tal-lament'. Published by Horizons, 'iż- Żeffiena tal-Kerubini', is set in contemporary Paris and its environs, as opposed to lisbon in the earlier novel. the story is described from the eyes of the same narra- tor, whose true identity re- mains a mystery to readers. He meets Amabelle, a beau- tiful lady with a shadowy aura, on his flight to this beautiful city. the novel unfolds quickly as we are taken for walks across the riverbank of the seine and the dark roads of the Pigalle. We are also taken, often with humour but also with a critical eye, towards our own culture, beliefs and politics, with questions we do not dare to ask or discuss. Perfume is omnipresent as it is the scent accompanying us all throughout, as it also reflects on the narrator's medical condition. it is also through this condition that we see and endure Ama- belle's various characters. Music is also a major player to this adventure, often accompanying our characters through various nuances, styles and moods according to the situation. Red, black, white and many other shades of colours, textiles and jewellery, new characters and old make this novel an original blend of magical realism and the philosophy of art nouveau. At moments we are project- ed into a surreal world, like watching life from a salva- dor Dali painting. A fast-paced page turner, this novel is very colourful, though we are left in the dark until the very end on the true reason why Ama- belle has become part of the narrator's life when trag- edy strikes. And the end- ing to this novel is one that you would definitely never guess. Get ready to be immersed into a new and exciting world with the erotic over- tones and the mundane delights which only Paris, in our collective conscious- ness, can give. to learn more about the author and his works, sim- ply 'like' his Facebook page by searching for 'Carlo o. D'emanuele' Marking the second time a Maltese author has won the award – after Immanuel Mifsud in 2011 – Gozo-born author Pierre J. Mejlak has won the european union Prize for Literature Carlo O. D'Emanuele releases second novel siMsHAR, the movie about the ill- fated fishing trip by Marsaxlokk fish- erman simon Bugeja, is the first Mal- tese film ever to be considered for the foreign-language film category for the 87th Academy Awards. the entries include four first-timers: Kosovo, Malta, Mauritania and Pan- ama. Rebecca Cremona's film is about the Marsaxlokk fishing trip that ended in disaster and only one survivor, si- mon Bugeja, who survived on board a makeshift raft made of blocks of polystyrene for eight days. His son theo died of exposure and dehydra- tion at sea, along with Bugeja's father Karmenu, 61, and fishermen Noel Carabott, 33 – who died in the explo- sion of the boat simshar – and somali national Abdulrahman Abdala Gedi, 21. Oscar contest Also new to the race: the name of the director will be engraved onto the oscar statuette, in addition to the name of the country, variety Maga- zine announced. the five nominees will be an- nounced on January 15, along with contenders in all the other categories. But a week before then, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & sciences will release a shortlist of nine foreign- language semi-finalists. each country can submit one film, determining on its own how this choice will be made. Any film that opens commercially in the U.s. in calendar 2014 will be eligible in other categories as well. the last foreign- lingo film to score a best picture nomination was the 2012 Amour. the category was created in 1956. Dreaming of Oscar glory: director Rebecca Cremona's Simshar is the first Maltese movie to be submitted for consideration to be nominated for an Oscar Pierre J. Mejlak