Calling All Filmmakers: Submit Your Shorts To Local Żvog Short Film Festival
The first edition of the Żvog Short Film Festival is calling all filmmakers, both seasoned and budding talents, for submissions as it prepares for its debut at the Spazju Kreattiv Cinema, for one night only on 14th of September later this year.
The festival’s mission is to celebrate local filmmaker talent, while fostering a community of passionate storytellers and providing them with a platform. Its primary focus is to continue to enrich the local film culture and to urge more people to tell their stories.
Żvog is asking for short films that must be 15 minutes long or less, and produced within 12 months preceding the submission dates, encouraging to receive fresh and reflective entries of current creative endeavours. Submissions must have English subtitles to ensure accessibility, but the use of the Maltese language is highly encouraged. The deadline of submissions is on 31st of July.
Żvog started as a group of friends who, over the last few years, have united to make their own films together, with members taking on their respective roles as actors, writers, and directors. Now, they’re working together to create a new platform for short films in Malta.
Miguel Formosa, local artist and Żvog’s festival co-director, emphasised the importance of strengthening the local film culture and made by Maltese people, with films that are honest and genuine, showcasing the Maltese identity.
Currently, Żvog has received 133 submissions from both the local and international scene. After the deadline, the festival directors will review all of the submissions in more detail and choose which films will be shown in the festival. While around 80% of the films will be local, the festival would still include films from the international scene to diversify the night.
On top of all this, while nothing is set in stone yet, Żvog want to use the selected films to inspire activities along the lines of workshops and discussions – all within the scope of encouraging more people to “make more films, more art – to żvog.”
When asked why the word ‘żvog’ was used as the leading term of the festival, Formosa mentioned that the word, to them, has many meanings. “Our perspective is that we’re tired of the banal excuses from the large entities, whose need for profit has become bigger than the need to tell a story. Through this verb, żvog, we’re giving a direct reply that film does not need to have a multi-faceted agenda. It is there for everyone, and everyone should have access to it.”
Formosa pointed out that a significant portion of the submissions received so far have been international, but with very promising Maltese films. He underlined the significance of our Maltese identity, and that “even though we’re part of [the western scene], we’re also Maltese – our own.”
He also mentioned that “it is a shame that we tend to copy other cultures for a need to feel better, or in hopes that the international scene will watch our film. Ultimately, in doing so, I believe that we’d be throwing away what makes us unique.”
“We tend to look at our small size as a disadvantage, but it’s actually not. We have lots of unheard stories that have not seen the light of day. Stories that shape us, and have moulded us through our history. It would be a shame to thrown these away.”
“It’s our stories and who we are. We are tired and we’re here to take action. Aħna qegħdin hawn biex niżvugaw,” concluded Formosa.
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