Ahead of the upcoming premiere of the much-anticipated ghost horror film The Weeping House of Qala, director Mark Doneo has played down concerns that his decision to film it entirely in Maltese will harm its appeal. 

“Many people have asked us why we filmed it in Maltese and not in English so as to perhaps give it more of an international appeal,” Doneo said. “Amazingly, the people who ask me these questions tend to be Maltese.”

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He said it has always been his childhood dream to direct films in Maltese, having watched foreign films in several languages and wondering what they would look and sound like if they were in Maltese.

“If the story is about Maltese people living in Malta and walking the streets of Malta, does it make sense for them to speak in English just for the sake of giving it a wider international appeal?” he asked. “I never liked this idea, and [filming it in Maltese] actually makes more sense for a small independent film like ours. After all, we’ve all seen films in Persian, Spanish, Italian, right?”

The Weeping House of Qala follows a Maltese documentary crew who spend a day at an abandoned house in the Gozitan village of Qala in the hope of solving the mystery of why a woman and her three children had disappeared there four decades ago.

It stars Doneo himself, his wife Louise Doneo and his nephew Darien Doneo, as well as Lawrence Buontempo, Lindsey Brincau and Ryan Paul Mercieca.

It is currently being shown at international film festivals, including at the Cinefantasy festival in Brazil, and it will premiere in Malta at the Eden Century Cinema on 20th September.

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