14/06/2017 - Malta’s most important film event, the Valletta Film Festival, celebrates its third edition with an impressive line-up spread across seven different sections

Malta’s biggest film event, the Valletta Film Festival, is just about to launch its third edition, which will take place from 16-25 June and be opened by Sergio Castellitto’s Lucky [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Sergio Castellitto
film profile], featuring Jasmine Trinca, winner of the Best Actress Award in Cannes’ Un Certain Regard this year. The line-up of the gathering remains impressive, as more than 60 films will be screened over ten days. Almost 40 movies will be in competition (seven fiction features, seven documentaries and 23 shorts) and the rest of them in the VFF’s parallel sections.

The films participating in the Official Competition – Feature Film, will be competing for six Triton Awards handed out by an international jury. The selection comprises Spoor [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Agnieszka Holland
interview: Zofia Wichlacz
film profile] by Agnieszka Holland (Poland), Insyriated [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Philippe Van Leeuw
film profile] by Philippe Van Leeuw (France/Belgium), Tom of Finland [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Dome Karukoski
film profile] by Dome Karukoski (Finland/Sweden/Denmark/Germany), Columbus by Kogonada (USA), Sicilian Ghost Story [+see also:
film review
trailer
making of
film profile] by Fabio Grassadonia and Antonio Piazza (Italy), Daphne [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Peter Mackie Burns (United Kingdom) and The Black Pin [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ivan Marinovic
film profile] by Ivan Marinovic (Serbia/Montenegro). The films are all having their Maltese premieres and are also eligible for the Audience Award.

Furthermore, the Official Competition – Documentary boasts a powerful international line-up, as the selection comprises Beuys [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Andres Veiel (Germany), Everyday Heroes by Anne Dauphine-Julliand (France), The Good Postman [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Tonislav Hristov (Finland/Bulgaria), Taste of Cement [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Ziad Kalthoum (Germany/Lebanon/Syria/United Arab Emirates/Qatar), Brexitannia by Timothy George Kelly (UK/Russia), Tokyo Idols [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Kyoko Miyake (UK/Japan/Canada) and Rumble – The Indians Who Rocked the World by Catherine Bainbridge and Alfonso Maiorana (Canada).

All three parallel programmes have been carried over from previous editions, and 15 feature films will be screened in total, five in each section. Islanders is open to productions by filmmakers who are citizens or residents of an island, the Without Borders section will this year focus on the cinema of Latin America, and for the second year in a row, Teens Only will present films aimed at an audience of 14- to 17-year-olds.

A series of “master talks” and workshops has also been organised. Everyday Migration focuses on the use of online media as a tool to raise social awareness, Starting an Animation Studio from Scratch will present a case study on Lynx Animation Studios, while Script Presentation and Film Pitching is more closely related to the film industry.

Two Maltese documentaries will also be presented at special screenings during the third VFF: Burning Bikinis by Emmanuel-Tut-Farah and Alessandro Tesei, and Fishers of Men by MOAS (Migrant Offshore Aid Station). Finally, Jean-Pierre Jeunet will be the Valletta Film Festival’s 2017 Master of Cinema, and some of his most highly acclaimed films will be screened during the event.