Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/444527
VII This week maltatoday, Sunday, 11 January 2015 This bird's official English name is Lapwing, but many also call it Peewit. It's a strange name that you will only appreciate if you get to hear its call. Last time I heard a lapwing I was almost certain there were kids playing a toy trumpet – over my head! But it was only a lapwing giving vent to its fluty squeak. Lapwings are wading birds of the plover family so they often visit wetlands to poke about for worms at the water's edge. But they are also very much at home in grassy meadows, where insects and worms are also to be had; in fact the few lapwings that turn up, usually in the winter months, often head for places like the airport. An adult lapwing (M: Venewwa) is unmistakable, with that giveaway long wispy black crest streaming out from the back of its head. A closer look will bring out the green-purple sheen on the bird's upper parts and the nice pattern around the face. And then in flight it spreads its surprisingly wide black wings, and flies rather flappily, a bit like a huge butterfly. All in all a magnificent representation of the bird world. But for all its beauty and elegance, the lapwing's name is on that fateful list of birds considered to be legal game. And so they get gunned down with righteous zeal. 436. NORTHERN LAPWING Green Idea of the week 339: Say no to ttIP This agreement could make it harder to stop fracking, protect our environment and combat climate change. Together we can stop these dirty deals. https://stop-ttip.org/ The European Commission this week published some of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) negotiating documents, as the European Ombudsman called on the executive to further increase transparency around the trade talks with the uS. It is the first time that the Commission has published the legal language and binding rules the Eu is pushing for during free trade agreement negotiations. The TTIP talks have been dogged by accusations of secrecy and suspicions that big business is having too much influence on negotiations. Ombudsman Emily O'reilly, who investigates maladministration complaints about the Eu institutions, began a probe into the issue in July. The eight texts cover competition, food safety and animal and plant health, customs issues, technical barriers to trade, and small and medium-sized enterprises. Government-to- government dispute settlement, which is different from the controversial investor-state dispute settlement clause, is also covered. The commission also stated that documents regarding market access, quotas and tariffs were too sensitive to be published. The ombudsman has demanded more disclosure and stated that it was not enough to keep certain documents secret, just because uS negotiators did not want them made public. She called on the executive to tell the uS that it had to justify any american request to not disclose a document. Commissioner Malmström also mentioned that the Eu could only publish its own documents. It was up to the uS to decide what they do with their papers, she said. Visit Friends of the Earth's website for more information about our work, as well as for information about how to join us www.foemalta.org. You can also support us by sending a blank SMS donation on 50618070 (€4.66) or 50619223 (€11.65). Text Victor Falzon Photo Aron Tanti Some TTIP papers published after pressure from EU Ombudsman E l'angelo partì da lei will be transposing its action from Milan to Malta after Malta Film Commission lured the production to our shores Thanks to its participation in the EuroScreen Interreg IVC project with a number of European film commissions, universities and regional development agencies, led by Film London, the Fondazzjoni Temi Zammit (FTZ) has em- barked on new initiatives to boost the local screen tourism industry. Among other outputs, FTZ has produced a local implementa- tion plan and a manual for the European partnership to exploit their potential film locations and enhance the economic benefits of screen tourism. As a result of its new networks and contacts in the industry, FTZ has also managed to attract the attention of film producers scout- ing for locations for their new projects. The first of these consists in a film based on Pino Farinotti's novel called 'E l'angelo partì da lei'. An article by Mauro Molinaroli in Piacenza's leading newspaper Libertà, published under the Culture and Entertainment page on 27 December 2014, claims that Farinotti has sold the rights of his novel to €-Sell, a Maltese company which, together with other groups, will produce the film. The article, entitled 'Farinotti's Angel for the movies', reports that this formal act bearing the signature of Francesco Colucci, sole director of €-Sell, effectively signifies the start of production. Farinotti, a Milanese author whose family hails from Pia- cenza, has also written the script of the film along with Claudio Malaponti, who will be directing it. Malaponti is the director of 7 km da Gerusalemme, based on Farinotti's 2007 bestselling novel. The decision to relocate the film to Malta was taken after meetings with the Malta Film Commis- sioner, Engelbert Grech, where the incentives offered by the Maltese Government to film producers were discussed. Even the Malta Tourism Authority is supporting the production, which has also won the support of some other Eu- ropean contributions. The budget amounts to around €3.4 million. "The story," Farinotti is quoted as saying in the article, "will be set mainly in the Mediterranean island that, as return on invest- ment, will have some of its most important and evocative locations depicted". Filming is expected to begin in May. Malaponti clarifies that although the novel developed its story in Milan, the film will be transpos- ing it to Malta. "It hasn't been dif- ficult to relocate the story to the island, in the script," he said. "Vanni, the head of the family, is an architect who gets an 18- month contract to work in Malta. In Valletta there is everything, the school for little Massimo, the right streets and squares, the cathedral and the hospital, the shops and all necessary facilities. Eventually we realised that the magnificent scenery of the island, the sun, the sea and all the rest, was an added value that took nothing away from the identity of the story. And even in terms of export, the choice has been appreciated." The cast is now being finalised. One of the confirmed names is that of Luca Ward, protagonist of 7 km da Gerusalemme, who will return as the same character Alessandro Forte. Pino Farinotti will have a cameo role where he will play himself – the writer – in a prologue of events leading up to the novel. For the main ac- tresses Elena, the mother, and the "mysterious foreign lady" Maria, contacts are ongoing, according to Malaponti. "They will be important and proven actresses, from different countries," he said. "A European network for distribution of this feature film, which will be in theatres in early 2016, is also being completed." Italian feature film to be shot in Malta this spring Film director Claudio Malaponti (left), with €-Sell's Francesco Colucci and author Pino Farinotti (right)