Mediterrane Film Festival to be held in Malta this June 2023

Mediterrane Film Festival unites the film industry in Malta

May 4 2023

Between the 25 and 30 of June 2023, Malta will see the Mediterrane Film Festival being held to celebrate the creativity and talent of the film industry in the Mediterranean region.

The festival will be held in various areas around Malta, including Valletta, and will continue to strengthen Malta’s position in this industry and attract further talent to our shores.

The launch of the festival last Wednesday May 3rd 2023 in ‘Dar il-Mediterran’ brought together various ambassadors and representatives on behalf of the MED9 (France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Greece, Cyprus, Slovenia, Croatia and Malta).

The Film Commission introduced a new initiative called Sure Start, which will commit to €500,000 in investments for further education and training in this industry.

The investment will include an initiative known as ‘Time for Movies’, with the first ‘film summer camp’ for children aged 10 to 11 being held. The pilot project will be carried out in collaboration with the Education Ministry and the Foundation for Educational Services.

Another initiative called ‘Malta Create’ will see an investment of €100,000 in funds allocated for those who wish to produce their first ever short film. Through this fund, the resources required will be allocated to the creators, with the commission continuing to strengthen its vision for the future of this industry.

A Helpdesk will also be created to help in the negotiations and other required interactions in this industry. Various markets will be able to apply for various local and/or European funds and have contact with the banking sector to access more attractive schemes to help them in their operations.

Apart from all this, the Maltese government vows to remain committed to the Malta Film Studios infrastructure investment so that they are in a state-of-the-art condition.

Film Commissioner Johann Grech addressed the launch, saying that despite being such a small country, this never stopped Malta from participating in this sector and expressing our talent and creativity.

The Italian Ambassador for Malta Fabrizio Romano said that the festival will serve as a beacon of cooperation, unity and Mediterranean team-work.

On his part, Tourism Minister Clayton Bartolo said that it is through the spirit of this collaboration that we can look forward to build a better future for the industry, hand-in-hand with Mediterranean countries.

#MaltaDaily

Maltese AI creator pays tribute to island’s historic workers

May 4 2023

Right off the back of Worker’s Day, local creator @malta.ai paid tribute to the various workers who populated the islands and made it what it is today.

‘From the fields to the factories, from the mines to the docks, the workers of Malta have always been the backbone of our society’ the artificially generated images were captioned.

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‘Today, we recognise and thank them for their invaluable contributions’, they wrote, showcasing beautiful images of various labourers from across the island’s history.

Donning traditional clothing and wielding the various tools of their respective guilds and jobs, the figures take the viewer back some few hundred years to reimagine what life would have looked like for us Maltese.

What do you make of these images?

#MaltaDaily

Arnold Cassola instigated to suicide by fake Facebook account

May 4 2023

Posting to social media, politician and activist Arnold Cassola revealed a personal message he received by a fake Facebook account instigating him to commit suicide.

Cassola posted a screenshot of the message sent by one Herculis Silucreh, how insulted Cassola by telling him that he has nothing else better to do other than ‘picking on people’.

Mocking him for ‘not achieving the same level of success’ as the people he was criticising, he urged Cassola to buy a rope and end it all.

‘You don’t know what to do with your life’, said the fake account, going on to levy further insults at him. Cassola wrote on social media as a photo caption; ‘Instigation to suicide. The new culture of modern, progressive Malta.’

#MaltaDaily

European car tour? Italy could work on Sicily-Italy bridge

May 4 2023

The age old dream (and we really do mean old, as it goes back to Roman Empire times) of building a bridge between mainland Italy to Sicily might soon become a reality.

The massive engineering project might be realised after a decree passed by Georgia Meloni’s government last month following the plan’s revival by Transport Minister Matteo Salvini.

The bridge would be built across the Straits of Messina and would span 3.2 kilometres and would be the longest suspension bridge in the world.

Back in 2006, the bid to build a bridge was awarded to a consortium led by an Italian Firm now called WeBuild. However, the plans collapsed after the government of Berlusconi fell and the next Prime Minister Romano Prodi deemed it a waste of money and a risk.

The cost of the project is estimated at around €4.5 billion for the bridge and €6.75 billion for the infrastructure to support it. However, both geography and the involvement of the mafia present significant problems to the project.

The Strait of Messina is situated along a fault line where a 7.1 earthquake killed more 100,000 people in 1908, and remains the deadliest recorded seismic event in Europe to date.

So it remains to be seen whether the Maltese can pack their bags and hop into their vehicles for a Europe tour via the bridge. The project is ambitious at best and it could be a while before, if, it happens.

#MaltaDaily