Guest post by Jean Pierre Borg, film researcher and the brains behind the Filmed In Malta Facebook community

Who would have thought that Malta’s film industry was actually launched thanks to the British Admiralty back in 1926?For decades, it was thought that the earliest feature film to be shot in Malta was the 1931 war film Tell England. Following the discovery that Bolibar, a 1927 silent film by the same production company, had also been filmed on our shores, I decided to carry out in-depth research on this particular film company. My research led to the discovery of two earlier productions which had also been filmed in Malta – the 1927 Battles of Coronel and Falkland Islands and Sons of the Sea, filmed in 1925 and released in 1926.

The March 6 edition of The Daily Malta Chronicle of 1925 reported that the British Admiralty had granted permission for the filming of a fiction film aboard the Mediterranean Fleet, and in particular aboard HMS Malaya. The article highlighted the fact that this was a first for the Admiralty which had a long history of professed distaste for film. Over the years, however, the potential for propaganda offered by the medium became evident and this strict position had relented. Nevertheless, all the other films which the Admiralty had co-operated on were documentaries or re-enactment films thus making Sons of the Sea the first purely fiction film made with full Admiralty support.

The company behind Sons of the Sea was British Instructional Films (BIF), a company founded by Harry Bruce Woolfe in 1919. Starting off with a meagre capital of £3,000, the innovative film-maker Woolfe quickly propelled BIF to become Britain’s foremost producer of, amongst others, military re-enactment films. When in 1923 the Admiralty was seeking a film company to document the empire cruise of the Special Service Squadron, no tenders were submitted, and it was only after a last-minute appeal that BIF accepted the contract. The resulting film, Britain’s Birthright, proved to be a commercial failure, but by producing it the company won the Admiralty’s gratitude and may have spurred the Admiralty to allow the filming aboard its fleet, a privilege, which did not come without a fair share of strict conditions.

The author of the screenplay was Commander Taprell Dorling, a very prolific author of naval-centric novels who often also wrote under the pseudonym Taffrail. The storyline was developed around a romantic plot so as to make the film appealing to the general public. However, in order to promote the work of the navy, all sorts of naval scenes from air attack to big gun practice were to be included in the film. Before a second of film was even produced, every line of the script was read and discussed by the Lord Commissioners of the Admiralty.

In a letter sent by Woolfe from Malta while directing the film in March 1925, he mentioned scenes taken of salvos of eight fifteen-inch guns fired together on HMS Malaya, of gun crews in the turrets, wonderful views of a torpedo attack launched from airplanes, and cameras being mounted both on an airplane as well as on an observing ship. Enthusiastically, he pointed out that such a thing had never been filmed before and that there was no certainty that these scenes would be allowed in the film intended for the public. Indeed, every foot of film shot was scrutinized by the Admiralty and a number of scenes likely to give away sensitive information were deleted.

One further limitation imposed by the Admiralty on the film producers was that professional actresses were not to be allowed aboard warships. Lead male roles were played by naval officers while the daughter of a General took on the part of the heroine and adopted the screen name of Dorothy Barclay to further preserve a degree of anonymity.

According to the official press kit, the film follows the careers of two young men, Derek who enrolls as a Navy officer and Bill who trains to become a seaman. Diana, is smitten by Derek but when WWI breaks out, Derek is sent to fight in the Battle of Jutland while Diana joins up as a nurse and is sent to Malta. Having distinguished himself, Derek is given the command of the destroyer on which Bill is posted.

Shortly after the Armistice, Derek’s destroyer is sent to the Mediterranean where a chance meeting brings the two lovers together. However, the joy is short lived as Derek’s ship is under orders to sail at once. Diana seeks distraction by exploring a nearby island and has the misfortune to be kidnapped by a roving band of brigands who demand a ransom.

Derek’s ship is ordered to the rescue. Led by Derek, the blue-jackets rapidly come upon the brigands and after an exciting struggle in which Bill displays much bravery, Derek gallantly rescues the girl from her perilous plight.

Leading journals of the time unanimously agreed that the intimate glimpses of British naval life ashore and afloat were outstanding features in this unique film. While the extremely vivid and varied scenes of the Navy were praised, the storyline was puerile when compared to the superior scenes of cadets in training at the Royal Naval College in Dartmouth, the glimpses of torpedoes and mines stored at Portsmouth, the flashes of Greenwich, Malta and Shotley and the numerous superb pictures of HMS Queen Elizabeth and other warships at sea and in action. Some attributed the poor storyline to the very severe restrictions imposed by the Admiralty, where for instance, none of the actors were professional.

The only known but incomplete copy of the film is stored in the National Archive at the British Film Institute (BFI) in London. Only four out of the original six reels survive today, but with over 85 per cent of silent era films considered lost, we can actually be thankful that at least we still have something! The first two reels contain the scenes of Derek’s and Bill’s training and also introduce us to Diana. It can be assumed that the two middle missing reels contained the bulk of naval scenes including the Battle of Jutland as well as Diana’s stay at Malta, while the final two reels have the heroine being kidnapped by the brigands and eventually rescued by her heart-throb.

Unless the two missing reels are recovered, it will remain a mystery if any Maltese locations were actually used for the scenes of Diana serving as a nurse in Malta. Film enthusiasts, who enjoy seeing Malta used as a film location, will be pleased to know however that the last two reels were completely shot on land and sea in the Għajn Tuffieħa and Ġnejna area. Malta, in this segment, is used to stand in for an unnamed island in the Eastern Mediterranean. Il-Qarraba is clearly visible a number of times and most of the action surrounding the kidnap and eventual rescue of Diana from the brigands takes place in the area known as il-Minżel tal-Majjiesa. While no specific reference to Maltese people being involved in this production has ever been encountered, one particular article referred to the “Maltese brigands” which leads one to wonder whether the people playing the part were actually Maltese extras.

While this film per se is frankly nothing out of the ordinary, it still carries with it the distinction of being the first feature film shot on our shores and the first fiction film to boast Admiralty support. For that alone, one cannot but hope that someday, though incomplete, it is restored and made more accessible.

For more information about the past and present filming industry in Malta, visit the Filmed In Malta Facebook community page.

This post was published on The TV Guide (Times of Malta). Check out the next issue on Saturday for another instalment from the Filmed In Malta series.

A Campus of Self-Entitled Twerps (oh yes she did)

Trending: Twerps

Those who actually bothered to read through both posts will have noticed that the subject in discussion is the student’s reaction to the ban and NOT a judgement re whether the lectures were really boring or not. Those who would like to check out the boredom quotient (if any) of said lectures for themselves can do so by clicking any of the below links (presentations were uploaded by the lecturer himself):

https://docs.google.com/open?id=0BxNobNun2jtsVWt0eTFMbUE0QUk

https://docs.google.com/open?id=0BxNobNun2jtseGJ6djFJby1JLU0

https://docs.google.com/open?id=0BxNobNun2jtsTl9NMERVTHZDRjQ

Those same readers will also notice that I have neither agreed nor disagreed with the laptop ban. As a matter of fact, I disagree. Uni students are adults and those whose mental capabilities only extend to Facebook browsing should be accommodated. The same principle that governed  Darwin’s theory will eventually catch up with them, so why hassle ourselves?

This doesn’t change the fact that a lecturer has a perfect right to ban laptops. I won’t repeat what Mark Anthony Falzon explained so eloquently here. But if students nowadays can’t accept a spot of rank-pulling at university, I’d love to see how they’re going to cope in the working world.

Oh, and please do quit whining that “not all university students” are the same. I know that perfectly well. If you’re not a “self-entitled twerp”, then the post doesn’t apply to you – simple as that.

I could go on, but quite frankly the topic is getting a bit boring now…

Now why doesn’t this sound that far-fetched?

I never thought the words “let’s send him to Panama” would inspire such hilarity. Context is everything, of course. In this case the context involved actor Colin Fitz in the role of the mad Teddy Brewster who is labouring under the impression that he’s President Theodore Roosevelt and that the basement beneath his house is the Panama Canal… well, you can see the source of my hilarity.
But let me start from the beginning: I’m talking about MADC’s recent production of Arsenic & Old Lace, directed by Josette Ciappara. Joseph Kesselring’s play is a classic that I’ve always wanted to see produced in Malta, albeit with a certain trepidation. The line between black humour and plain cheese is a fine one. This particular story revolves around two sweet, old ladies who have taken up the rather dubious pastime of bumping off elderly gentlemen with a dash of poison in their wine; they are discovered by their nephew Mortimer, who in the meantime must also deal with crazy bro Teddy and even crazier bro Jonathan.
So many things can go wrong with this type of plot, but in this case they certainly didn’t, mainly thanks to a cast that slipped into its collective role seamlessly and that was evidently having as much of a blast as the audience.
This particular show came with many stars. Fitz’s Teddy Brewster brought just the right amount of crazy; throughout the evening, the audience was practically ready to yell “charge” (Brewster’s catchphrase) every time he showed up on stage. The success of the character had a lot to do with Fitz’s comic timing (spot on) and the fact that his style of humour is extremely natural.
Then there was Edward Mercieca’s Mortimer Brewster and his amazing facial expressions, which got funnier and funnier with every “colpo di scena”. Mercieca is blessed with one of those extremely communicative faces and just one look at his audience was usually enough to dissolve everyone into laughter. The first time he discovers a corpse in the window seat was one of the crowning points of the evening.
If Mercieca’s Mortimer was funny, the two old ladies themselves – played by Polly March and Marylu Coppini – were alternately hilarious and creepy. I could tell that March and Coppini were thoroughly enjoying themselves, slipping in a touch of mischief to their interpretation that only made their roles more believable and fun. I also loved Joe Depasquale’s Jonathan Brewster. Depasquale does mad, bad and psychotic really, but really well. His looming skills are impressive, as is the mad glint in his eyes and the way his voice transforms from soft and persuasive to crazy nutter you really don’t want to cross.
However, this is one case when the entire cast truly contributes to the success of the whole production. Colin Willis’s police officer with his hilarious monologue shouted from on top the coffee table; Kate De Cesare’s alternately innocent and minxy Elaine Harper… I could go on. The only element that jarred was the very opening of the play, where we had an assortment of zombies “taking over” the stage in what I found to be a tad over-protracted and needless. I also was not over-fond of the character of Dr Einstein, however this is more because of the way the role is written rather than due to any fault of the actor playing him. I found the humour a touch too slapstick when compared to the rest of the dialogue.
From the production side, the introduction of live piano music used as background score was a stroke of genius. Alex Vella Gregory brought to the play what a good soundtrack usually brings to a movie, successfully defining the mood of every scene. To conclude, if you missed out on Arsenic & Old Lace it was definitely your loss. Thumbs up.

An edited version of this post was published on The TV Guide  (The Times of Malta).

Yep, she'd dead all right. Now how about a spot of massage?

“A mix of madness, Ian Dury and Judge Dredd… and it’s about necrophilia. But in a nice way.”

How can you not be intrigued when you hear a single being described in this way?

Meet Baron Bubblebeef – singer, man of mystery and evil genius extraordinaire. And if the zany name makes you think of a certain kind of canned meat, well you can stop it right there ‘cos the Baron is not the sort to take kindly to being called corny.

What’s more, the Baron is getting ready to conquer, Malta, Europe and the world and his grand plan kicks off tonight, which is when he’ll be launching his first single – Jennifer’s Dead, listen to sample by clicking here:  jennifer sample – to an unsuspecting public.

Well, more than a single you could almost say that Jennifer’s Dead is a cautionary tale set to ska and reggae beats.  Ladies, consider it a warning of the bad, mad things that could happen were you to catch the Baron’s eye. Well, given that the Baron opted to unleash his music on the world with a track that contains the below immortal lines, I’d say it’s fair warning and all.

“Some months ago I heard Jennifer’s dead,

She never spoke to me but but now she gives me h…”

The Baron claims that he only has eyes for Jennifer, but swiftly and creepily adds that he is looking for a car with a bigger boot. I believe what he mumbled under his breath was something on the lines of: “bloody Toyota Starlet” … and I’m not even sure he meant this figuratively.

One thing that gets him more excited than Jennifer is…well, two things rather. Nipples. Claiming to be the proud possessor of the smallest nipples in history, he says this has made him extremely interested in seeing those attached to other people. To date, he remains dumbfounded when people don’t oblige.

As a keen artist, the Baron is available to perform. He is quite reasonably priced  and will even see his way towards offering  a discount if you can guarantee a nipple display. Asked if he’ll require any contracts to be signed in blood, he replies that he doesn’t much like blood. But I should add that the ominous postscript – “but I understand its importance” – is not particularly reassuring.

I have to admit that by this point the Baron had me well and truly creeped out, so I decided to have a word with his alter-ego, ie Steve Hili – aka the breakfast show host from XFM – who tells me that the baron brings together his acting gene with his fondness for writing and that naughty streak he is known for.

As with many great ideas, he says,  inspiration knocked on the door with booze in hand.

“I had been wanting to write a funny song for a while. And I wanted to make it extreme! I figured if you are going to go for it, than really go for it.  I found out about a recording studio in England that offered a very good deal .I wanted to do it there not here to combine it with a holiday AND I wanted to be working with people who did not know me  and I booked a session.”

The result was Jennifer’s Dead – both track and video.  A second single called What’s A Catholic Boy To Do is set to follow. The title is hint enough of what to expect… Launch is set for end of summer.

“I am putting together a storyboard for the video at the mo.  If Jennifer’s Dead becomes the top-selling single in history and I become bigger than the Beatles I might launch it at the Vatican. If not I’ll have to re-think.”

There will also be an eventual EP with “some very extreme topics”.

“I am currently mulling over the lyrics of a song called Things That Go Blump in the Night. Don’t ask too much. You can never un-hear something. As for a gig… well, hopefully ASAP. Put it this way, if you’ve got nipples and you want me to sing for you we can sort something out.”

Jennifer’s Dead single and video will be launched tonight – check out this space tomorrow for video link.

The Animals’ The Animals

This is the soundtrack that defined my early childhood. My parents were (understandably) stuck in a ‘60s timewarp and I’d get to listen to this album on full blast regularly. When my mother explained what House of the Rising Sun is all about, 6-year-old me bawled bucketfuls.

CCR’s Mardi Gras

I mostly have my mother to thank for this (as opposed to both parents). She was obsessed with CCR and though they never were one of my own favourites I find this album extremely comforting, with Someday Never Comes giving that intense bittersweet feeling.

Queen’s  Innuendo

In 1990 I shamefully took a detour away from real music so that come Friday and Saturday I could go all moronic to the likes of Technotronic. Happens to the best of us…  go ahead, snigger away. I got back on track with the release of this album. To date, the title track sends shivers up my spine even though I rarely ever listen to Queen nowadays.

Bauhaus’s Bela Lugosi’s Dead EP

This album was the start of something beautiful. I’m one of those who believe that Pete Murphy can do no wrong. And the nine minute (I think) title track remains one of my favourite songs to date. This EP sort of got me into the whole post punk, dark rock sound. I very, very rarely listen to it but when I do it then haunts me for days.

Joy Division’s Unknown Pleasures

When I’m just in the mood for Joy Division, I cheat and put on Substance. But when I want to “reconnect” with everything that is me, this is the one I listen to. Again. And again. And again. Until it becomes a tad too morbid and I snap out of whatever it is.

The Clash’s London Calling

This is what I call punk for the common people – ie, for me. I was never a punk kid and more often than not I found the sound of pure punk too harsh. London Calling was a departure, probably because it’s more a fusion of different styles of rock than anything else. Whatever you choose to call it, there isn’t one song on this album that is not gold. Not to mention that it raised awareness about pressing social issues. This is the one that helped me open my horizons a tad further. And I also love the cover art, so there’s another plus point.

Nirvana’s Nevermind

The sound that totally blew my mind the first time I heard it. “Dancing” to Lithium, Smells Like Teenspirit, Come As You Are in a basement garage… one of the best memories from my 16-year-old self. This album heralded what was probably one of my best years ever; fresh out of secondary school and with that magical feeling that nothing is impossible. And nothing was, really, because when you’re 16 what is there to stop you?

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds’ Murder Ballads

This is the one that became synonymous with a particular stage of change in my life. And what better soundtrack when making life-changing decisions, than The Curse of Millhaven, Henry Lee and the like? Tends to put things into perspective.

Placebo’s Sleeping With Ghosts

My guilty pleasure. The one that brings out the latent drama queen in me… teenage angst with a touch of emo that brings me broody all over until eventually (very eventually) I dissolve laughing at the silliness of it all. Though I have to say that Bitter End remains one of the coldest songs ever. Why would I want my kids to have this? Simple: to let them know that being broken is fine and no-one expects you to be perfect the whole time. Also, because a lot of Placebo tracks are ace for dancing to.

Muse’s Absolution

There just has to be a Muse album here. My dog (who had great taste in music, of course) loved this album as much as I did. She knew that the intro to Apocalypse Please blaring out of my headphones meant one thing: walkies. She is with me no more but I like to think that wherever she is there is someone singing to Muse and waiting patiently for her as she sniffs every single corner. Yes, we are allowed to think silly thoughts sometimes.

Now I want to know about YOUR life-changing albums, the ones you would you want to pass on to your hypothetical/real offspring to listen to in order to “shape” them. Comments below, give me an insight into your musical personality. The rules are these:

• No Best Of/Greatest Hits
• No Compilations
• Must be albums not singles

If you don’t have a nice, free evening and wine to mull over a whole TEN albums like me, give me 1, 2, 3, 4…whatever.

Ps – incidentally, the cassette tape image is actually a lamp designed by ooomydesign.com.

I realise that I’m totally going against the current here, but someone needs to say it: the incredible success that this movie is enjoying just goes to show how easily satisfied we have become. If you’re a committed fan you can stop reading this right now, because you certainly are not going to enjoy my “review” here.

So, let’s start with the very basics: how many of those of you who are raving about protagonists Katniss and Peeta have actually bothered to read the books on which the story is based? Hmm, thought so. Not that this post is going to take my typical stance that “the books are so much better and the movie totally massacres the plot”. I wouldn’t know, because I haven’t seen the movie.

I have, however, read the books – hence the eye-rolling. I read the trilogy pretty much as soon as it was released about four years ago because I was curious about all the hype that already surrounded it. Author Suzanne Collins is in fact more well-known for her television scripts than her books and at a pinch I’d say that even when writing the books it was the movies that she really had in mind.

Not to say that this is necessarily a bad thing. After all, if an author dreams up a plot that is likely to rake in the money at the box-office, well good luck to her. Far be it from me to pour cold water on anyone’s original work just because it’s over-hyped. Except that Suzanne Collins’s work is far from original. In fact, I’d go as far as to say that it’s a total rip-off of Japanese cult classic Battle Royale, penned by Koushun Takami. This, too, was turned into a movie by celebrated director Kinji Fukasaku in 2000 and no, the movie didn’t ruin anything. It is, in fact, considered a masterpiece and has been nominated for myriad awards, winning three.

The plot basics of The Hunger Games and Battle Royale all square off: a group of children are dropped on an island/isolated arena where they are forced to fight each other to death, with only one winner surviving. Both stories chronicle the disintegrating moral squeamishness of the participants – in particular the two protagonists and the determination to rebel against the dystopian dictatorship. The two stories mirror each other perfectly.

Except that Battle Royale is more gutsy, more intense and more believable. Not to mention less sanitised and totally unaffected by the Hollywood make-over that is sweeping over all commercial works aimed at young adults. You know what I’m talking about; the couple is always cute and innocent, the plot is always rife with clichéd moral dilemmas, the love-story is always semi-doomed… and creativity and artistic integrity be damned.

Battle Royale is none of these things. Like The Hunger Games, it promises viewers a cold and broken world where the ordinary mores that we are accustomed to no longer apply. And boy, does it deliver. Unlike The Hunger Games, it doesn’t sugar-coat.

Collins claims that the inspiration to write The Hunger Games hit her while channel surfing on television, seeing the juxtaposition of a reality show against war footage. A sweet story to sell to those who aren’t well-versed in pop culture, but the rest of us aren’t buying it. The only question I have is why on earth she didn’t just call a spade a spade by calling the trilogy a re-make of a Japanese cult classic.  Books 2 and 3 of the trilogy are completely unrelated to Battle Royale; in fact the plot is weak, with pacing that is completely different from the first volume.

To conclude, all those of you who are thinking of going to watch The Hunger Games, do yourselves a favour and read/watch Battle Royale first. At least your opinion will be an informed one.

PS – To those who, in turn, argue that Battle Royale is a rip off of The Most Dangerous Game, I’d say that the comparisons between human nature are there but the plot-lines are too different from each other. Not to mention the fact that one is a short story while the other is a full-length novel.

An edited version of this post was published on The TV Guide (The Times of Malta).

I don’t want to sound unsympathetic to those who do fall victim to some online scam or other because really, I do feel for them. But more often than not, before I actually start feeling sorry for them I also suffer an attack of most unladylike sniggering.

Take the latest scam that is doing the rounds: the Malta Bankers’ Association issued a warning that people are being contacted by phone and advised that they are due a refund in bank charges. The catch – because, yes there always is a catch – is that you need to put forward a €100 payment before the refund can be affected.

Harrumph. I seriously hope that this statement was released more in the spirit of prevention, rather than because some nitwit has actually fallen for the scheme. How, in the name of everything whose IQ at least matches that of a cocker spaniel, does anyone actually fall victim to this sort of thing?

Read more here.

Whenever a film crew lands in Malta the gossip grapevine starts buzzing. Who will the actors and directors be? Where will the filming take place? How many extras are being taken on board? Nothing gets the questions going as fast as Hollywood. And no-one supplies the answers quite as fast as Filmed in Malta. The page, I was to learn at this year’s Malta FilmSpeak Convention, is the brainchild of Jean Pierre Borg. Jean Pierre is nothing if not a committed film buff, a walking encyclopedia of movie titles, actors, set information and all. I met up with him to find out more about how the whole enterprise came about.

“Filmed in Malta started out of my personal interest in the local film servicing industry. I spend hours researching the web for reliable news reports about what is going on; with the advent of social media I decided to share this information. Since then the page has taken on a life of its own, with the number of followers growing on a daily basis. It’s pretty much a round the clock endeavour now, in actual fact,” Jean Pierre tells me.

Jean Pierre caught the film bug years ago in 1994, when he ended up on the Cutthroat Island  film set located at the Cottonera Waterfront. For Jean Pierre, this experience opened up a new world, a world of intricate decor, of fantastic designs, of a highly charged atmosphere with crew, actors and extras buzzing around. The way the “dressed” location easily adapted itself to become Port Royal in Jamaica was to be the beginning of a new obsession.

“After that first experience it became somewhat of a passion of mine, finding out about the films that were shot in Malta. I have always been into movies from a very young age, and I was obviously intrigued both by the new productions that were coming to Malta and by the older ones that no-one spoke about much anymore.”

Jean Pierre’s mission was to find out as much information as he could about movies that have been filmed in Malta throughout the years. Unfortunately, he was to discover that until recently no individual or entity ever bothered to compile an organised database, let alone set up an archive about all these productions.

“Keep in mind that until a relatively short time ago we had no internet and no archives of any sort. It was to be an uphill process and as new productions keep getting discovered and others filmed, the compilation of a chronological list of films is a constant objective of mine. New productions keep cropping up but obviously it’s not always possible to verify. I will only accept a movie on my list if there is documentation or if I obtain first person confirmation from someone who was on the crew.”

Jean Pierre cites James Bond’s The Spy Who Loved Me and Never Say Never Again as two of the unverifiable productions; both movies list Malta as one of the filming locations on IMDB (the International Movie Database), however Jean Pierre has not managed to find any third party confirmation, yet.

“Before the Malta Film Commission was set up in the year 2000, some productions which did not make use of the tanks at the Mediterranean Film Studios used to come to Malta, shoot, and leave. For these there is no paper trail or records of any kind to consult. Hence the difficulty. In the meantime, in collaboration with the Malta Film Commission – with whom I work quite closely – we published an official list of 105 feature films that were shot on our islands. However, the list is always on the increase as new discoveries are made and new productions are filmed,” Jean Pierre explains.

As for those who imagine that the local filming industry only sprouted up in recent years, nothing could be further from the truth. Jean Pierre mentions the 1925 silent feature film, Sons of the Sea, which was filmed on the admiralty vessel HMS Malaya, as likely being the first production to shoot in Malta. Scenes on land were shot at the area known as il-Minżel tal-Majjiesa.

The movie was followed by The Battles of Coronel and the Falkland Islands in 1927, also filmed on ships from the Mediterranean fleet stationed in Malta. In 1928, Bolibar was shot partly in Ħaż-Żebbuġ and also supposedly in Mdina, although this latter part remains unconfirmed. In this movie, Malta was used to stand for a Spanish town during the Napoleonic Wars. In 1930, another movie called Tell England, based on the landings of Gallipoli was also shot here. The movie was based on Ernest Raymond’s eponymous novel and Malta was used to stand for Gallipoli, with the beaches at Mġiebaħ, Għajn Tuffieħa and Marsaxlokk used to re-create the tragic landings of the Anzac forces in 1915.

“Till now I have not met a living person who can tell the tale of any of these productions, but the documentation exists. All these movies were shot by the same company, which had very close ties to the Admiralty and thus benefitted from a lot of support from the Mediterranean fleet stationed on our islands. Getting permission to shoot on one of their vessels was no easy task, I’m sure. I managed to hunt down an original poster and publicity material for ‘Tell England’ from various collectors in Malta and elsewhere,” Jean Pierre continues.

Jean Pierre tells me that he actually managed to view part of Sons of the Sea, through the four reels that have survived. However, he wasn’t so lucky with Bolibar – Jean Pierre recently travelled to the British Film Institute in the UK, where he had been informed that the reels were kept. Unfortunately, upon arriving there, he was told that these had been misplaced.

“Over a thousand Maltese extras are reputed to have taken part in Bolibar, according to the movie programme. From stories I’ve gleaned, the whole thing was considered a massive event in Ħaż-Żebbuġ, with people showing up from miles away in order to witness the filming.”

Jean Pierre tells me that he has managed to collect all sorts of memorabilia from the movies that were filmed here. These include anything from posters to flyers, press packs, scripts, set designs and more. And in the meantime, there is also Filmed in Malta to keep alive.

“The amount of communication I receive through Filmed in Malta is incredible. It’s extremely fascinating because nowadays people who are interested in the industry tend to contact me directly with queries. There’s also a certain responsibility to it as I always cross-check sources before running anything and anything I run comes from official sources,” he tells me.

Jean Pierre also keeps an eye out for people posting unauthorised production photography that wasn’t released by the filming company itself. “Extras are usually very keen to share photos, particularly on Facebook and the enthusiasm is understandable. However it’s not always a good idea, particularly when issues of spoilers in relation to costumes and sets emerge.”

Jean Pierre proudly also admits that he intentionally gives prominence to local talent. “Over the past years, one has witnessed a surge in quality of local productions. There are a number of local directors who I am really following closely as I’m looking forward to their swift progress. Similarly I also wish to find the time to dedicate a space to pay tribute to pioneer Maltese filmmakers like Cecil Satariano and Alfred Vella Gera”.

Jean Pierre’s on-going ambition is to continue with the formal cataloguing of all the memorabilia he has collected; he also dreams of the day when all movies that were shot in Malta are catalogued, restored where necessary, and made accessible.

“As things stand, those who would like to see all the movies that were shot here cannot. I also dream of publishing this research and contributing towards the setting up of a temporary or permanent exhibition on the matter,” he concludes.

This interview was published on The TV Guide (The Times of Malta).

When retired banker Julian Holland was still based in Cairo, he happened to attend a concert by an all-female orchestra that left him somewhat perplexed. The reason behind this perplexity involved the way the conductor seemed to go off stage during the actual performance of every piece.

“I had arrived late, after the concert started, so I missed the opening address. When I saw what this conductor was doing I was mystified. There’s someone who is being paid for nothing, I thought to myself!”

The observation puzzled Julian enough that after the concert he made enquiries into this strange way of conducting an orchestra. His acquaintance, however, turned out to be already acquainted with this particular orchestra and was quick to reply with a smile.

“Imagine my surprise when she explained the orchestra that had just played such amazing music was made up of visually-impaired women. Hence the novel way the maestro used to conduct them, of course. I was flabbergasted at the way they managed to create such beautiful music despite the obvious challenges and from that day onwards I was a devoted fan,” he explains.

Not being one to let the grass grow under his feet, Julian didn’t take too long to approach the people behind the orchestra. Despite not considering himself an entrepreneur, he was so impressed by the musicians’ performance that he wanted to try and organise a similar concert in Malta. Before he knew it, plans were finalised for Al Nour Wal Amal (which translates to Music, Light and Hope) to give a concert on our island in March 2011.

“Everything was planned. Then, suddenly, the Arab Spring happened. Egypt was thrown in chaos and the concert had to be postponed. It was a massive disappointment, of course. I myself had only just left Cairo the day before the rioting started. In a way, I am sorry that after living in the country for so long I didn’t have the chance to witness the Egyptians’ move for freedom first hand,” he tells me.

Now that the political climate has quietened, Julian decided that it’s the right time to resurrect the plan. Which is why on Sunday, May 6 the 38-strong orchestra will be performing a selection of works from the classical composers – including two pieces from Malta’s own Joseph Vella – at the Manoel Theatre.

“From a logistical perspective it’s not easy. There’s a whole contingent of 52 people because obviously the musicians need a degree of assistants. However it really seems that these are people who are ready to take up any challenge. This is not the first time that they have performed overseas and they have already travelled to some 25 countries I believe,” Julian continues.

The orchestra has already performed twice in Austria and Germany, in Jordan, Kuwait, England, Sweden, Spain,. Qatar, Morocco, Japan, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, Canada and Greece and more recently in Slovakia. In each of these countries the orchestra has been received with great enthusiasm, receiving acclamation and many a standing ovation.

The orchestra is unique and all the musicians forming part of it are members of a music institute that was founded with the aim of introducing the girls to this art form and to enable them to hone their musical talent with a creative way that also expresses their emotions.

“What they have achieved is amazing. We are holding this concert in Malta also with the support of the Malta Society of the Blind; the idea is to offer members of the local society the possibility of interacting with – and maybe, getting inspired from – these musicians. The orchestra will also be raising funds for the Malta association.”

For the Malta concert, the orchestra will be playing classics by Mozart, Rossini, Verdi, Brahms, Tchaikovsky, Khachaturian and Bizet, as well as Theodorakis, Delibes and a few pieces by composers from the Middle East and India.

“As a tribute to the country they are playing in, Al Nour Wal Amal also like to include works by local composers and in fact two pieces by Maestro Joseph Vella have been chosen for the occasion: Romanza and Elegy,” Julian added.

Al Nour Wal Amal Chamber Orchestra will be performing at The Manoel Theatre on Sunday May 6. For more information and bookings contact the Manoel Theatre ticket office on 2124 6389 or email bookings@teatrumanoel.com.mt or visit www.teatrumanoel.com.mt.

This interview appeared on The TV Guide (Times of Malta).