The third edition of the Valletta Film Festival is coming to Malta this weekend, and with multiple venues (including outdoor ones) all over the beautiful capital, high profile guests, an ongoing VR experience and 40 Maltese premiers of international films from Japan to Sweden (and everywhere in between), it’s shaping up to be the most promising one yet. 

Three Maltese films will also be competing for various awards, and they all look extremely interesting. 

1. Arcadia (Jamie Vella)

How do you manage to condense a couple of years’ worth of national controversy, sociopolitical debates and environmental protests into 25 minutes? Well, if you’re filmmaker Jamie Vella, it’s actually not that difficult. A father and son finally manage to move to the beautiful Maltese countryside, only to find that the construction industry has followed them and set its sights on their land. 

Arcadia will be showing on Saturday 17th and Wednesday 21st June as part of the Short Film Programme A, and you can find more information on the other films in this category here.

2. Prickly Pear (Alex Camilleri)

Is there anything more traditionally quaint than the prickly pears which dot the Maltese countryside? How about a young boy who mistakenly lets his sister eat the prickly pears which were meant for their nanna‘s birthday, embarking on a quest to right his wrongs and meeting farmers, immigrants and helpful villagers while folk sweethearts Stalko play in the background? Yep, we thought so.

Prickly Pear will be showing on Sunday 18th and Thursday 22nd June as part of the Short Film Programme B, and you can find more information on the other films in this category here.

3. Lejliet (Eve) (Matthew James Ellul)

On Christmas Eve, a sexton and a teenager end up on the church rooftop, and a reluctant conversation quickly turns hostile. However, they unexpectedly end up finding common ground, which the 13 minute short by Matthew James Ellul doesn’t really divulge. During a particularly intense moment in the trailer, however, the old man grabs the boy and shouts “M’hemmx skop! M’hemm xejn ħlief deċiżjoni” (“There’s no purpose! There’s nothing but a decision”) in his face, so expect an emotional rollercoaster.

Lejliet will be showing on Monday 19th and Friday 23rd June as part of the Short Film Programme C, and you can find more information on the other films in this category here.

Malta will also be represented at the VFF by the very talented (and highly successful) Marama Corlett, who stars in a UK short entitled A Girl Does For Dinner, which looks equal parts cool and twisted.

Even though we’re obviously excited about all the Maltese talent which will be taking the stage over the next couple of days, the VFF is about more than just that. 

Sicilian Ghost Story, for example, is a feature film which won the prestigious 2016 Sundance Institute Global Filmmaking Award and even opened the Critics’ Week of this year’s Cannes Film Festival. Directors Antonio Grassadonia and Fabio Piazza (who will be present at the VFF) have been winning a long list of impressive awards ever since their first feature film Salvo back in 2013, and with their latest project, it seems like they’re not stopping anytime soon.

Another notable guest is Agnieska Holland, a Polish director who has directed several episodes of popular TV series The Wire and House of Cards. Her work on feature films includes Europa Europa (1990), which received an Academy Award nomination for Best Screenplay (oh, and it casually has a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes). Holland will be in Malta for the screening of her film Spoor, which will be competing at the festival and was recently awarded a prize for “opening new perspectives on cinematic art.” How’s that for a portfolio?!

The Valletta Film Festival will be going between the 16th and the 25 of June. For more information on the participating films, the festival’s different venues around Malta’s capital and a full programme, check out the official VFF website.

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David Grech Urpani

Lovin Malta's Head of Content, Dave has been in journalism for the better half of the last decade. Prefers Instagram, but has been known to doomscroll on TikTok. Loves chicken, women's clothes and Kanye West (most of the time).