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Films Maltin

Films Maltin

由OLS community Manager Sarah發表於
Number of replies: 1

Kurżità dwar il-gżejjer Maltin hija li ix-xenarji mill-isbaħ ta’ dan il-pajjiż ċkejken minn dejjem lemħu l-għajn ta’ artisti internazzjonali fosthom poeti, pitturi u skulturi. 


Nibda billi nsemmi l-kapolavuri ta’ Mattia Preti fuq is-soqfa tal-Kon Katidral ta’ San Ġwann fil-kapitali Maltija, Il-Belt Valletta. Ma jonqosx ukoll, fl-istess Katidral, ix-xogħol ta’ Caravaggio. Il-pittura magħrufa tax-xena ta’ Qtugħ ir-Ras San Ġwann il-Battista (The Beheading of St John the Baptist) hija xempju tat-teknika tal-chiaroscuro ta’ dan l-artist. 


Fid-dar tal-familja nobbli DePiro il-Belt Valletta, li llum hija miftuħa għall-pubbliku, ħa ssibu ritratt impitter tal-poeta Lord Byron. Byron għamel xi żmien jgħix il-Belt ispirat mill-ibħra Maltin u il-fortizzi li jipproteġi l-ibliet tagħna fil-kitbiet tiegħu. 


Fid-dinja kontemporanja ma jonqosx li nsemmu il-kontribut ta’ Malta fil-films. Bħal ħafna artisti fl-antik, bosta diretturi taċ-ċinema għażlu lill-Malta bħala l-gżira ideali għall-films tagħhom. Minkejja li l-industrija tal-films splodiet bil-kbir biss f’dawn l-aħħar snin, hija industrija li ilha teżisti fuq il-gżejjer Maltin u li filfatt għalqet mitt sena fl-2025. Mitt sena ta’ produzzjoniet kemm lokali u internazzjonali li saru fi xtutna. 


Ħa nsemmi titli li żgur tafuhom. Nibdew bis-serje ta’ Gladiator mid-direttur Ridley Scott. Kemm l-ewwel kapitlu ta’ din l-istorja u t-tieni wieħed inġibdu Malta f’set inkredibbli fl-Irnella li nbena mill-idejn kapaċi ta’ mastrudaxxi Maltin. 


Malta kienet popolari ħafna mal-koppja Brad Pitt u Angelina Jolie. Tant hu hekk li kienu ukoll investew fi propjeta privata fil-gżira ta’ Għawdex. Pitt ġie Malta fuq xogħol bosta drabi fosthom għall-ġbid tal-films Troy (2004) u World War Z (2013). Fl-2015 ħadem fuq film mal-ex mara tiegħu Angelina Jolie jismu By the Sea li nħadem kollu Għawdex. 


Biex insemmi xi eżempji oħrjan li forsi tridu żżiduhom fil-lista tagħkom ta’ films li tridu taraw fil-ħin liberu hemm The Count of Monte Kristo (2002), Popeye (1980), Assassin’s Creed (2016) u Jurassic World: Rebirth (2025) fost ħafna oħrajn. 


Imma la qegħdin fuq is-suġġett tal-films, naħseb li bix-xieraq nintroduċikom lil xi films lokali, minn diretturi Maltin li mhux biss inġibdu Malta imma juru t-talent ta’ atturi Maltin kif ukoll huma miktuba bil-Malti. Naħseb li jekk intom akkaniti taċ-ċinema, żgur li tieħdu pjaċir tisimaw u tippratikaw xi ftit il-Malti billi taraw dawn il-films. 


 Simshar (2014)


Dan il-film ta’ Rebecca Cremona huwa bbażat fuq storja vera li seħħet ftit snin qabel l-għamla tal-film. Traġedja fuq il-baħar li laqtet familja Xlukkajra u li ħasdet il-pajjiż għal ġimgħat sħaħ u li għadna niftakruha sal-lum. 



Cremona tirrakkonta l-istorja f’dettall bil-għajnuna ta’ atturi lokali u internazzjonali li libsu ż-żarbun tal-Maltin involuti f’din l-istorja li spiċċat ħadet magħħa ħajjet tifel ċkejken. 

Film li huwa wkoll xhieda ċara tan-natura bilingwi tal-pajjiż. Fih ħa taraw ħafna dak li nsejħulu “code-switching” jiġifieri l-ħeffa li biha l-Maltin jaqilbu mill-Malti għall-Ingliż tul l-istess konversazzjoni. Dan mhux biss minħabba n-neċessità tal-użu tal-Ingliż mal-barranin li jgħixu Malta imma anke minħabba li l-lingwa Ingliża hija waħda mill-lingwi uffiċjali ta’ Malta u tintuża ta’ kuljum. 


F’Simshar ħa tieħdu idea tal-ħajja ta’ kuljum ta’ sajjied minn Marsaxlokk u l-perikli li dan ix-xogħol iġib miegħu. Is-sajd huwa parti integrali mill-ekonomija ta’ Malta u Marsaxlokk għadu sal-lum jattira bosta turisti għal ikla ħut friska max-xatt ta’ dan il-villaġġ. 


  Ciao Ciao (2025)


Dan il-film satiriku joħroġ biċ-ċar aspetti soċjali tal-ħajja Maltija u anke joħloq kuntrast bejn nies li ġejjin minn klassijiet soċjali differenti f’Malta. 



Il-film huwa ta’ Keith Albert Tedesco u fost l-atturi naraw prestazzjonijiet minn uħud mill-aqwa atturi ta’ Malta bħalissa bħal Simone Spiteri u Ruth Borg. Insegwu l-istejjer ta’ tlett gruppi ta’ nies li b’xi mod jew ieħor jispiċċaw f’ħajjet xulxin u naraw kif l-istorja tiżvolġi b’mod assolutament mhux mistenni…


Minkejja li “Ciao” hija kelma Taljana, hija waħda li daħlet sew fil-lingwa Maltija minħabba l-influwenza tal-kultura Taljana u tal-ilsien Taljan f’Malta. Il-gżejjer tagħna mhumiex biss qrib ħafna l-Italja ġeografikament imma kulturalment u soċjalment ukoll. Nixbħu ħafna lit-Taljani fil-kċina tagħna, fl-imġieba tagħna u anke fil-mod kif nesprimu ruħna. Fil-fatt “Ciao” hija il-kelma li nużaw ta’ spiss biex insellmu lil xulxin fi tmiem konversazzjoni. 


Limestone Cowboy (2018)


Storja li tikxef il-fanatiċiżmu politiku tal-Maltin. Limestone Cowboy isegwi protagonist li forsi nistgħu niddeskrivuh bħala delużjonali u li daħħalha f’moħħu li ħa joħroġ għall-politika u jirbaħ l-elezzjoni. 



Minkejja li din hija storja fittizja, mhux l-ewwel darba li rajna kif is-saħna politika telgħet għal ras bosta nies Maltin li minkejja li m’għandhom l–ebda sfond jew għarfien politiku ħarġu għall-elezzjoni u qasmu maċ-ċittadini ideat ta’ barra minn hawn. 


Dan il-film ta’ Abigail Mallia jirrakkonta l-istorja ta’ Karist b’tali mod li dawn l-aspetti kulturali Maltin marbuta mal-politika u r-reliġjon joħorġu ċar kristall u naraw kif sal-lum jitħalltu flimkien u jaffettwaw il-progress soċjali ta’ Malta. 


Limestone Cowboy ġie milqugħ tajjeb ħafna u rċieva kassifikazzjoni ta’ erba’ stilel fuq Letterboxd. 


Luzzu (2021)

Fl-aħħar nett ħa nerġgħu lura għall-baħar u s-sajd bil-film Luzzu. Dan huwa film riċenti li intwera ukoll fil-festival tal-films Sundance dakinhar tad-29 ta’ Jannar 2021 u daħal ukoll fiċ-ċans li jirbaħ il-premju tal-Best Feature Film. 



Il-film ta’ Alex Camilleri jsegwi l-istorja ta’ sajjied Malti li jasal jagħmel minn kollox biex ikun kapaċi jipprovdi il-ħobża ta’ kuljum lill-familtu: mara u tarbija ċkejkna li mhux qed tikber u tiżviluppa kif suppost. 


F’dan il-film naraw aspett ieħor tal-ħajja fl-industrija tas-sajd li mhux biss tikxef il-perikli tax-xogħol imma anke x’jasal jagħmel dak li jkun peress li din mhux karriera li ddaħħal ħafna flus. 


Ma nistax ma nsemmix il-prestazzjoni ikreddibli ta’ Jesmark Scicluna  fl-irwol tal-protagonist tal-film. Interessanti li Scicluna fil-ħajja ta’ kuljum huwa verament sajjied allura tul il-prestazzjoni tiegħu seta’ joffri awtentiċiżmu lill-irwol tiegħu.

Sarah, OLS Community Manager - Maltese

In reply to OLS community Manager Sarah

Re: Films Maltin

由OLS community Manager Sarah發表於
A curious fact about the Maltese islands is that the breathtaking scenery of this small country has always caught the eyes of international artists, including poets, painters, and sculptors.

Let me start with the masterpieces of Mattia Preti on the ceilings of the Co-Cathedral of St John in the Maltese capital, Valletta. Also not to be missed, in the same cathedral, is the work of Caravaggio. The famous painting of The Beheading of St John the Baptist is an example of this artist’s chiaroscuro technique.

In the home of the noble DePiro family in Valletta, now open to the public, you will find a portrait of the poet Lord Byron. Byron lived in Valletta for some time, inspired by the Maltese seas and the fortifications that protect our cities, which appear in his writings.

In the contemporary world, Malta’s contribution to the film industry cannot go unmentioned. Just like many artists in the past, numerous film directors have chosen Malta as the ideal island for their movies. Although the boom of the film industry is quite recent, it has existed in Malta for a long time, in fact celebrating 100 years in 2025. A century of local and international productions that were filmed on our shores.

Here are some titles you probably know. Starting with Gladiator, directed by Ridley Scott. Both the first and second chapters of this story were filmed in Malta on an incredible set in Ir-Rinella, built by the skilled hands of Maltese craftsmen.

Malta was also very popular with the couple Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, so much so that they even invested in private property on the island of Gozo. Pitt came to Malta several times for work, including for the filming of Troy (2004) and World War Z (2013). In 2015, he worked on a film with his ex-wife Angelina Jolie called By the Sea, which was entirely filmed in Gozo.

To name some other examples you might want to add to your list of movies to watch in your free time, there’s The Count of Monte Cristo (2002), Popeye (1980), Assassin’s Creed (2016), and Jurassic World: Rebirth (2025), among many others.

But since we’re on the subject of films, I think it’s appropriate to introduce you to some local films by Maltese directors, which were not only shot in Malta but also showcase the talent of Maltese actors and are written in Maltese. I believe that if you are cinema enthusiasts, you will definitely enjoy listening to and practicing a bit of Maltese by watching these films.

Simshar (2014)
This film by Rebecca Cremona is based on a true story that happened a few years before the film was made. A tragedy at sea that struck a family from Marsaxlokk and shocked the country for weeks, and is still remembered today.

Cremona tells the story in detail with the help of local and international actors who stepped into the shoes of the Maltese people involved in this incident, which ended up claiming the life of a small boy.

This film is also a clear testimony to the bilingual nature of the country. You will see a lot of what we call “code-switching,” that is, the ease with which Maltese people switch between Maltese and English during the same conversation. This is not only due to the need to use English with foreigners living in Malta but also because English is one of Malta’s official languages and is used daily.

In Simshar, you’ll get an idea of the daily life of a fisherman from Marsaxlokk and the dangers this job brings. Fishing is an integral part of Malta’s economy, and Marsaxlokk still attracts many tourists today for fresh fish meals along the village’s waterfront.

Ciao Ciao (2025)

 This satirical film clearly exposes the social aspects of Maltese life and creates a contrast between people from different social classes in Malta.

The film is by Keith Albert Tedesco and features performances by some of Malta’s top actors today, including Simone Spiteri and Ruth Borg. We follow the stories of three groups of people who, in one way or another, end up in each other’s lives, and the story unfolds in a completely unexpected way…

Although “Ciao” is an Italian word, it has become well integrated into the Maltese language due to the influence of Italian culture and language in Malta. Our islands are not only geographically close to Italy but also culturally and socially. We are very similar to Italians in our cuisine, behavior, and even in the way we express ourselves. In fact, “Ciao” is the word we often use to say goodbye at the end of a conversation.

Limestone Cowboy (2017)
A story that reveals the political fanaticism of the Maltese. Limestone Cowboy follows a protagonist whom we might describe as delusional, convinced that he will enter politics and win the election.

Although this is a fictional story, it’s not the first time we’ve seen how political fervor has gotten the best of many Maltese people who, despite having no political background or knowledge, have run for election and shared outlandish ideas with citizens.

This film by Abigail Mallia tells the story of Karist in a way that clearly brings out Maltese cultural aspects related to politics and religion, showing how these still intertwine today and affect Malta’s social progress.
Limestone Cowboy was very well received and earned a four-star rating on Letterboxd.

Luzzu (2021)

 Lastly, we return to the sea and fishing with the film Luzzu. This is a recent film that was also shown at the Sundance Film Festival on January 29, 2021, and was in the running for the Best Feature Film award.

The film by Alex Camilleri follows the story of a Maltese fisherman who goes to great lengths to provide for his family—his wife and their small baby, who isn’t growing or developing as they should.

In this film, we see another aspect of life in the fishing industry, which not only reveals the dangers of the job but also what someone is willing to do, since it’s not a career that brings in much money.

I must mention the incredible performance of Jesmark Scicluna in the role of the film’s protagonist. Interestingly, Scicluna is a real-life fisherman, so during his performance, he was able to bring authenticity to his role.

Check out the Maltese version of this blog post for the trailers of all of these films! Enjoy :)
Sarah, OLS Community Manager - Maltese