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maltatoday, SUNDAY, 17 MAY 2015 This Week 33 AS Malta continues to serve as a backdrop for many high profile international films, Maltese film- makers are reaching out and pro- moting local stories through film. In fact, a short Maltese language film called 'Sħab' (To My Little Turtle), by the award winning pro- duction company Shadeena Films, will shortly be shown at this year's Cannes Short Film Corner (CS- FC). The production, which is 15 minutes long, is only the second project funded by the Malta Film Fund to make it into this highly- competitive market, and the only Maltese entry to make it into this year's CSFC. "This project has been in the pipeline since 2011 and we're very excited to finally be in a po- sition to promote it," says Martin Bonniċi, the film's producer and director. "It was a difficult project on various levels and we couldn't have made it this far without our commercial partners: Turbulence Films (CH), Pasmania Entertain- ment (CH) and Panalight Nexos Mediterranean (MT), as well as the European Short Pitch, Invex Malta and the Malta Film Fund." 'Sħab' is a Maltese/Swiss co-pro- duced story about what happens to those who have been left behind after a death. The film introduces us to an old farmer, Joe, (played by Joe Cortis) who is mourning the passing of his wife (Cettina Scicluna) while still trying to fulfil her life-long wish of rising above the clouds and looking down on the surrounding white. He does this, on their anniversary, as his own struggles and thoughts of regret push him to take a leap of faith. Local actors Peter Galea and Jules Darville complete the film's small cast. This project was developed by Martin Bonniċi and Chris Galea at the 2011 edition of the Euro- pean Short Pitch, a short-film development and co-production workshop run by Nisi-Masa – a non-profit organisation promot- ing young professionals in the European filmmaking industry. To-date, this remains the only Maltese project to be accepted to this annual event. "Once that happened, the project continued to snowball," explains Bonniċi. "We engaged the servic- es of Cassi Camilleri, a local writer and graduate of Edinburgh Napier University, who took on the script writing duties, and sourced other professionals to join the team." In 2013, Shadeena Films received a grant from the Malta Film Fund providing the company with 35% of the required financing. The rest of the budget came through an investment from the Swiss co- producers and Panalight Nexos Mediterranean, who, together, provided around 15 per cent of the budget. The remaining 50% of the funding was provided by the film company, who believed it was important to ensure that all the personnel involved were paid for their work. Finally, a crowdfund- ing campaign on Indiegogo raised a small sum to cover some of the marketing of the project. Although Shadeena Films is based in Valletta, the short film was entirely shot in Gozo. The film then entered an extended post-production period, which saw the editing and visual-effects completed in Malta and handled mostly by talent at Shadeena. The colour-grading then took place in Los Angeles thanks to Turbulence Films. "Unfortunately, Maltese films rarely make it into larger markets and festivals, but we think of it as an important step in promoting our young industry," continues Bonniċi. "The Malta Film Fund has given Maltese filmmakers new opportunities to reach an interna- tional level of production, but it is then up to the filmmakers to push themselves and their products abroad. "We are proud to have distribu- tion agreements with reputable firms for a number of our short films. Meanwhile, at the Cannes Short Film Corner and Film Mar- ket we will strive to establish stronger relationships that will bring our next projects to life and enable more Maltese language features to be screened around the world," Bonniċi added. For more information please visit www.shadeena.com These fragments I have shored against my ruin TEODOR RELJIC speaks to Brendan Buttigieg, one of a trio of art education graduates exhibiting their work at St James Cavalier, Valletta under the 'Frammenti/Fragments' banner Could you tell me a bit about the dynamics of your 'team'? How did you first meet, and why did you decide to set up this exhibition together? This exhibition is in part fulfill- ment of our University Degree to become art educators. Therefore we met each other in October 2011 when we started our first year of study. As a group we researched, worked and studied together the different study units we had. Why did you think that 'fragments' made for a good exhibition theme? The chosen theme – Frammenti/ Fragments – deals with the com- plex and fragmented nature of re- ality. This reflects the differences between ourselves and our artistic works; therefore we think that the title represents the three of us. How would you describe your individual influences and styles, and how will they be made to fit in the exhibition? Our emotional frameworks, per- sonal and physical identities, our urban and natural surroundings, our social behaviour and relation- ship with contemporary technolo- gies and networks: all of these as- pects have influenced our work. We also carried out research on diverse fields such as: the history of art, literature and philosophy. These led each one of us to pro- duce our own personal work, making use of a variety of media and technical processes: digital photographic works, drawings and installations. How would you describe your evolution as artists so far? Which important lessons have you learnt in an academic context, and which have you picked up on your own steam? During the University course we have been taught by a number of lecturers and artists who have challenged our ideas and assisted us during the artistic process. We have explored how we can trans- late our thoughts into different media and technical processes. Through several study-units we have been taught several skills which we can apply to our artistic exploration. How would you describe the local arts scene in Malta? What would you change about it? As time is passing by, the lo- cal art scene is changing con- tinuously. There is a growing number of various art projects and initiatives which involve the participation of artists of all ages and from different environ- ments. We would suggest further opportunities to young artists to be able to participate in artistic events and eventually be intro- duced to the global art world community. What's next for you? This year we will be graduat- ing as Art teachers. We are also willing to participate in future collective and solo exhibitions. Moreover, as art educators we will also encourage our students to exhibit their art works by set- ting up exhibitions both at school and also in their communities. Frammenti/Fragments will be on display at St James Cavalier, Val- letta from May 22 to June 15. The other participating artists are Julia Grech and Matthew Schembri Brendan Buttigieg 'Shab' is a Maltese/Swiss production by Shadeena Films, partly-financed by the Malta Film Fund Maltese team to promote short film, local film industry at Cannes Short Film Corner Joe Cortis and Jules Darville in Shab