Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/803478
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 26 MARCH 2017 39 This Week Maltese short film to premiere at Toronto International Film Festival PRICKLY Pear, a Maltese short film, will make its world premiere at the renowned Toronto Interna- tional Film Festival (TIFF), play- ing in their popular Kids series in April. The 12-minute film will screen on four dates – April 10, 13, 14, and 16 – at the famed Bell Lightbox theatre in downtown Toronto. TIFF is one of the most prestigious and influential film festivals in the world; it is also one of the world's largest publicly at- tended film events. Gaining official selection at TIFF marks an unprec- edented accomplishment for Mal- tese filmmakers. "We're thrilled to debut Prickly Pear at TIFF Kids," said the film's writer and director, Alex Camill- eri. "The festival showcases some of the best films from around the world. It's an honour to 'fly the flag' for Malta and bring the sights and sounds of the islands to To- ronto. We're doubly excited that this happens to be a city with a large Maltese community; they've already shown us tremendous sup- port in spreading word about the film." Prickly Pear tells the story of a boy who feels guilty that he told his sister she could eat the prickly pears that were meant for their grandmother's birthday. He em- barks on a mission to secure re- placement fruit, but the task isn't as easy as he expects and his quest to right his wrong means quite a distance to travel. Despite the auspicious festival debut, Prickly Pear was made on a shoestring budget, shooting on- location, and featuring primar- ily upcoming talent. The film was produced by Ryan Gatt of 360 Pic- tures. Cast includes Andrew Mal- lia and Iskander Zul Qarnen, with supporting roles by Aimee Vas- sallo, Andre Farrugia, Clare Agius, and Stephen Buhagiar. More information: www.pricklypearmovie.com. Still from Prickly Pear, directed by Alex Camilleri Most people treat wasps with respect, a respect that has nothing to do with reverence for life and everything to do with that handy stiletto hidden in the wasp's back end! Unfortunately, people find it hard to learn that wasps are not out looking for human victims to sting. LIke other animals, wasps have better things to do, like looking for food and raising a family. One of the several species of wasps that occur in Malta is the common paper wasp, that familiar black-and- yellow stripey fellow we see in our gardens. Like us, paper wasps (M: żunżan tax-xehda) have a sweet tooth, which is why they also patrol beaches for ice-cream wrappers and spilt sugary drink to lick off the precious liquid, it's like nectar to them. As for the name, they're called paper wasps because they build their nest out of paper, paper they themselves manufacture from chewed wood pulp. Yup, the humble wasp discovered paper-making millions of years before Homo sapiens came down from the trees. Time to get off our high horse, folks! Visit Friends of the Earth's website for more information about our work, as well as for information about how to join us. You can also support us by sending us a donation - www.foemalta.org/donate Text Victor Falzon Photo Desirée Falzon Insufficient financial resources are also a driving cause for the exploitation of farm workers and children, violating internationally recognized principles as defined by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Labour Organization (ILO). On the one hand, low and fluctuating prices for cocoa make it difficult for farmers to pay hired labourers at the legally required minimum wage and to provide adequate lodging and maintenance. In many cases workers are forced to work overtime and face dangerous conditions when working with chemicals and dangerous tools. On the other hand, farmers complain about the lack of labour and/or the high costs of the workers, one of the main reasons why children have to work on the cocoa farms. Currently, up to 2 million children are working on cocoa farms in Ghana and Ivory Coast alone, more than 500.000 of them involved in hazardous child labour, which seriously harms the physical and mental health of the children and strips them of their right to education. Nearly all the activities associated with cocoa farming have been identified as the 'worst forms of child labour' by the government of Ghana and Ivory Coast, which means no children under the age of 18 should be engaged in this work, even on a family farm. Furthermore, there is evidence of children being exposed to child trafficking and forced labour, especially in Ivory Coast. The trafficked children often come from Burkina Faso and Mali and besides abuses by landowners they are rarely paid. Such practices are serious violations of international human rights standards and are strictly prohibited under international labour law (ILO regulations 182 and 138). Bittersweet Chocolate Exploitation of Workers and Child Labour 550. PAPER WASP GREEN IDEA OF THE WEEK 453 PAPIER MACHE: Keep your kids entertained with this fun craft activity. With just newspaper and glue you can make whatever you can think of.