Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/429113
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 7 DECEMBER 2014 THIS WEEK 37 THREE established Maltese musi- cians, Tony Sammut (Piano) and his brother Simon Sammut (Bass) along with young Joseph (Bibi) Camilleri (Drums), join their musical forces for an hour of jazz numbers associ- ated with some of the greatest jazz legends who were the pillars behind the development of Jazz as we know it today. The trio will cover works by Thelonius Monk, Wayne Short- er, McCoy Tyner, Bill Evans, Herbie Hancock amongst others. The performance will be held on December 14 at 16:30, at the Oratory of the Jesuits Church in Valletta and is part of the RIDT teatime concert series called The Oratory – Music and Art. Entrance to The Oratory is from Archbishop Street. Proceeds from the teatime con- certs will go towards the University Research Trust (RIDT). The Sunday teatime concert series is one of the RIDT's initiatives to raise funds and increase community participation in research contributions. The en- trance for the concert is against a suggested donation of €10. The Oratory – Music and Art is a fortnightly series and the following concert will be entirely dedicated to Christmas works from the Baroque Masters on December 28. THE three finalists of the European Union film prize – Class Enemy (Slovenia), Ida (Poland) and Girl- hood (France) – will be screened at the Don Bosco Oratory, Santu Wis- tin Square, Victoria on December 12 and 14. Ida (12) and Class Enemy (12) will be screened on December 12 at 19:00 and 21:00 respectively, while Girlhood (12) will be screened on December 14 at 20:30. The films will be screened with English subtitles. Entrance to the screenings is free of charge. Bookings: aedemalta@gmail.com / 9945 6851 Jazzy tunes for teatime at RIDT concert series Lux Prize films to be screened in Gozo On December 2, St Martin's Col- lege launched its first publication entitled Taking Flight: A collec- tion of short stories and poems by St Martin's College students. This collection of short stories and poetry explores the world of the teenage mind. Composed by students from levels 7 to 10, it deals with a spectrum of themes and ideas whether of loss, nostal- gia, aspiration or the power of life experiences. During this celebration of bud- ding talent, award winning Eng- lish novelist, Jim Crace, addressed the young authors, their parents, fellow students and teachers. Speeches were also given by Bernie Mizzi, Director and Laura Sciber- ras, coordinator of the School of Excellence Writing group, who had taught the students and encour- aged them to produce their best work. The young authors them- selves then treated the audience to a few poetic and narrative readings from the publication. The idea for the publication was originally conceived as the final product of a School of Excellence Writing Course, as a place to showcase the aptitude of students gifted in the area of writing. The process began in 2010, encompass- ing four years of selection, editing and design to make this idea be- come reality. St Martin's College students publish young adult short story collection Simshar director signs with Hollywood management company ahead of Oscar race THE Oscar race for Best Foreign Language Film is underway in Los Angeles, and for the first time Malta is participating. Simshar is one of 83 films competing for the five nomina- tion spots which will compete for the ultimate award during the 87th Acad- emy Awards ceremony to be held next February. Inspired by true events which oc- curred around the Maltese islands in 2008, Simshar tells the story of a fam- ily of Marsaxlokk fishermen who end up stranded in open water after an accident on the namesake vessel, and go on to get embroiled in the ongoing irregular immigration stirring waves in the same sea. Malta's Ambassador to the United States, Marisa Micallef, attended one of the campaign screenings of the film for Academy voters. "I was delighted to watch the film amongst these top industry professionals who received it so well. Many people in the USA are as yet unaware of the huge challenges faced by Malta and this very interest- ing film highlights the human faces behind these challenges." The film's reception has resulted in the signing of the film director Rebec- ca Cremona with Management 360; one of the top management compa- nies in Hollywood who represent A- list directors, writers and actors such as Julianne Moore (actress – Magno- lia), Marc Forster (director – WWZ) and Mark Boal (writer – The Hurt Locker). This phase of the project has been supported by the Ministry for Econ- omy, Investment, and Small Business. The film itself is the result of various private investments, and benefitted from the Film Fund grant as well as the initiatives offered by the Film Commission. "The conception of the film oc- curred in December 2008 and for the following six years work on Simshar has been ongoing, overcoming several challenges. The film was indeed only possible thanks to the hard work of the crew, cast, local councils and mul- tiple private and government entities which supported the project, Cremo- na said. "Simshar is nothing short of a national effort, and we are happy to be representing Malta in Hollywood," she added. Simshar will be back at Embassy Cinemas, Valletta on January 7 for a limited run of two weeks. Award-winning British novelist Jim Crace addresses students during launch The Jazz Trio will perform on Sunday 14 December at The Oratory in Valletta at 16:30 Discussing Simshar Still from Slovenian Lux Prize finalist Class Enemy