Ethereal: Cast Of ‘L-Għarusa’ Break Down ‘First Of Its Kind’ Dream Sequence Airing On TV Later This Year
Highly-anticipated series L-Għarusa will be dominating Maltese TV this October, but prospective fans are already being treated to teasers of what it’s going to look like. And from what’s been making the rounds, it’s going to be one spectacular, emotional rollercoaster… complete with a couple of stunning visuals.
Taking to Instagram this week, actress Cassandra Spiteri gave her 1,000 follower Instagram feed a teaser of what to expect. Sharing a set of hauntingly beautiful underwater photos, Spiteri described how tough it was to get the perfect shots.
“Never in a million years have I ever expected I’d be filmed floating underwater,” the young actress said. “Testing your breath is one thing, while diving down there with a weight hooked in one foot is another story. But above all, all I can say is that those long hours shooting during that night was so worth it with all the cast and crew who were there to help me.”
Cassandra thanked fellow cast members Davide Tucci, Mandy Grimaud and Rebecca Dimech, who shared another flawless shot from the night shoot.
Delving even deeper into the shot (pun intended), L-Għarusa writer Audrey Brincat Dalli gave her followers some more insight on the scene in a separate post on her blog.
“I can get carried away sometimes,” Audrey started. “I start writing and, all of a sudden, the protagonists are just in the most surreal surroundings. This is what happened when I was writing this particular dream sequence for L-Għarusa.”
“I never imagined how painstakingly difficult filming this would be for both the actors and crew,” Audrey said. “But if there is one thing I appreciate about this production, it’s the dedicated cast and crew that would go to any lengths to get the perfect shot.”
Filmed in one of the Malta Film Studios’ famous water tanks in Kalkara (courtesy of the Malta Film Commission, of course), the scene apparently took a whole night to shoot, from sunset right up to 5:30am. “Actually getting there was harder than anything I could ever wrap my mind around,” Audrey said of the final ethereal shots.
Sharing more snippets from that fateful night – taken by talented local photographer Reno Rapa – Audrey went on to highlight the logistical nightmare that turned her dream sequence into reality.
“The actresses had to have weights on their feet so that they wouldn’t float back up,” Audrey explained. “Needless to say, this was both hard to execute and dangerous, but we are working with some of the most professional people I have ever met. Not once did I hear anyone complain.”
Everyone from the make-up team (and their challenging underwater work) to other crew members who weren’t even scheduled for work but showed up to help anyway were praised by Audrey.
“We just can’t wait for the audience to see this scene, a first of its kind for Maltese television,” the writer concluded.
Filmed and produced by Sharpshoot Media (the same team who created the insanely popular Strada Stretta), L-Għarusa will air 26 episodes starting this October. The series is written by Audrey Brincat Dalli, and directed by Justin Farrugia and Steven Dalli.
Set in the 1930s and centred around the mysterious murder of a young woman, the whole show will also feature strong ties to the circus. Of course, the series will include a steaming new love triangle. Over five unique sets designed to replicate Maltese life in the 1930s have already been constructed, even though the story starts with a modern-day collector buying an antique wedding dress to add to a museum collection.
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