ART
Gozo artists at home in Bugibba
8 – 10, 22 – 24 August
Paintings, jewellery, sculptures, metal works, gifts and more by Hermine A. Sammut, Jackie Roberts and other Gozo artists can be found at Windy Corner, 44, Bognor Beach Street, Bugibba on the above dates. Visiting hours are as follows: Friday and Saturday: 10am – 1pm, 6pm – 8pm, and Sunday: 10am – 1pm.
Jorg Bottcher’s exhibition of new works
22 to 24 August, The
farmhouse gallery, Zebbug, Gozo
German artist Jorg Bottcher is presenting his new works this summer in Gozo, on the feast-day of Zebbug. The exhibition will be a mixture of media including new colourful, abstract works, as well as some of the best photos from his Easter photographic exhibition entitled “Vanishing Gozo”. For his new acrylic on canvas abstracts he uses primarily the prime colours “red-blue-yellow” and puts thin layers of colour on top of each other, similar to the watercolour technique. The new works continue to reflect a vibrant and bright inner spirit.
The exhibition will be held at The farmhouse gallery in the centre of Zebbug, Gozo from 22 to 24 August, from 11am to 7pm. The preview and opening will take place on Thursday 21 August at 7pm. After the exhibition the gallery will be open every Saturday and Sunday from 11am till 7pm, or by appointment. Contact details: The farmhouse gallery, 21, Scapuccina Street, Zebbug, Gozo. Tel. 2156-1434 or Mob. 9922-8770. To view more of the artist’s amazing works visit www.joergboettcher.com.
THEATRE
‘La Mandragola’
13, 14 August 8.30pm at the Old University Courtyard, Valletta
This adaptation of the play La Mandragola by Niccolò Machiavelli by the Compagnia Balagàn in collaboration with the Istituto Italiano di Cultura brings together the main themes of the play by the well-known 16th century playwright, using intrigue and comedy. The aim is to follow the Italian tradition of taking an erudite text and presenting it to a general audience in a fresh and amusing way using masks and the physicality of the actor. The characters are those typical of the Commedia dell’Arte: young lovers, older people who oppose their love, boastful masters, and clever servants who manage to turn every situation to their advantage. The play will be characterised by the use of musical interludes and noises “off” in the form of musical and percussion instruments. The basic needs of Man will be emphasised – hunger, love, power, and sex, whilst the involvement of the audience will also be encouraged. This is an Evenings on Campus Event and entrance is €8.
DANCE
‘Beyond’
25, 26 August
This is a dance project directed and choreographed by Christina Camilleri B.A. (Hons). The aim of this project is to enhance dance opportunities and to create awareness by introducing innovative artistic perspectives of the dance world.
‘The medium of
perception’
29, 30 August
Two highly qualified Maltese artists, who lecture abroad, Ms Christina Camilleri and Ms Maria Cassar, will be leading a project together with five young, foreign dancers. The medium of perception is an innovative dance project that portrays contemporary ideas in the dance world. It is an exploration of movement inspired by the human senses. Choreographers Christina Camilleri and Maria Cassar merge together two different dance genres to create a fusion of classical and contemporary techniques. This dance project represents the collaboration of Maltese and foreign dancers from the UK and Ireland. This project is another Evenings on Campus event and the entrance fee is €8.
Both dance projects are being held at 8.30 pm at the MITP Courtyard, Valletta.
MUSIC
Beangrowers
Vanessa and The O’s
23 August, 8.30 pm at MITP Courtyard, Valletta.
It’s been nearly 10 years since Beangrowers first exploded onto the local scene with their debut single Astroboy. With four albums under their belt the band has worked with several international record labels releasing their music in the UK, USA, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, Australia and even Korea. Award-winning director Wim Wenders (Buena Vista Social Club, Wings of Desire) is a fan and even used the song The Priest (from their 2006 album Dance Dance Baby) for his movie Land of Plenty, alongside David Bowie and Leonard Cohen. The band’s music has been used for other films such as Liebe Deine Nachste and Passing Summer and for the popular TV series Ghost Whisperer and Wildfire as well as a number of commercials. Their new album Not In A Million Lovers has a more mature element than usual, both lyrically and musically. The Beangrowers are now looking forward to their forthcoming North America release via acclaimed record label Minty Fresh (The Cardigans, Veruca Salt).
On the other hand Vanessa Contenay-Quinones is French, Paris born and bred. She went to London during the 90’s, released an album as Espiritu on Heavenly Records, remixed the B52’s and collaborated with A Guy Called Gerald. In 2004 she met up with Lou Reed in a NY studio to record an electro/pop version of the Velvet Underground’s classic Sunday Morning. In 2005 she started a band called The O’s with ex Smashing Pumpkin James Iha. Vanessa and the O’s debut album La Ballade d’O was Rough Trade’s album of the week and was described as “a fantastic album of european cool with breathy vocals over music that sounds like The Concretes, Stereolab or a more modern take on the Velvet Underground…”, and by leading French music journal Les Inrockuptibles as an “…..amazing album of ultra pop, between Bardot and the Velvets”. Vanessa was also guest vocalist on Scott Walkers album The Drift, his first release in 11 years. In 2007 Vanessa and The O’s contributed a track to the Ennio Morricone tribute album We All Love Ennio Morricone alongside Bruce Springsteen, Metallica and the Maestro himself. Entrance fee is €8
CINEMA
Ensemble Films X 4
4, 11, 18, 25 August, 8.30pm at the Old University Courtyard, Valletta
This year’s films forming part of the Evenings on Campus events are of the ensemble genre and include some true cult movies. Most ensemble films centre on a single character or location – it is their connection to either the location or the person that makes their story valid in the ensemble. The strong characteristic of these films is the ability of the directors to create a dynamic between one story and another until the stories draw a tighter circle, become closer until they become one. A typical example would be the film Magnolia where the interaction among several characters during one normal day interweaves nine separate yet connected storylines. Other examples are American Beauty and Pulp Fiction as well as most of Woody Allen’s movies. The films will be shown under the stars. Entrance fee is e5
‘Midnight Express’
8 August, 8.30pm at the Old University Courtyard, Valletta
Midnight Express will be screened on 8 August with the initiative of Cineforum. The film will be celebrating the 30th anniversary of its first showing. The idea is not just to remember this brilliant film but also to organise a reunion of all the Maltese actors involved then. Entrance fee is €5.
‘Love in the Time of Cholera’
20 – 23 August, 9pm; 24 - 26 August, 6.30pm
St James Cavalier, Valletta
Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s novel Love in the Time of Cholera straddles the line between pop and art, and manages to be both a bestseller and a literary masterpiece. As a young man in 19th-century Colombia, Florentino Ariza falls in love with a beautiful woman named Fermina. But an overprotective father and too much reality intrude on their romance, and Fermina marries a successful doctor, Juvenal Urbino. A wedding ring and the passing decades aren’t enough to dissuade Florentino from his love, even as he beds hundreds of women as he tries to get over his undying passion.
Screenwriter Ronald Harwood (The Pianist) distills Garcia Marquez’s novel which spans more than 50 years into an accessible film. The basic element of the book – Florentino’s love for Fermina – remains intact. As in his previous work such as Four Weddings and a Funeral and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, director Mike Newell has assembled another fine cast that also includes Liev Schreiber, Catalina Sandino Moreno, and Hector Elizondo. With an excellent cast and timeless story this film is definitely worth watching.
‘Flashbacks of a Fool’
27 – 30 August, 9pm; 31 August, 6.45pm
St James Cavalier, Valletta
Joe Scott (Daniel Craig) is a washed-up Hollywood star whose hedonistic lifestyle of sex, drugs and celebrity has taken its toll. The death of his childhood best friend prompts him to journey back home to his English seaside hometown, with flashbacks to his childhood are set to the beat of Roxy Music and Bowie.
He begins to think about his life over the years, and more specifically his teenage years. Joe’s rites of passage as a young man lay the foundations for the Hollywood dream he goes on to experience.
Confronted by tragedy, he is forced to flee in search of a new life, and only now does he finally face up to the ghosts of his past.
The audience is along for the ride as the character relives his experiences of this time.
LITERARY EVENTS
An Evening with Douglas Dunn
7 August, 8.30pm at the Old University Courtyard, Valletta
The eminent British poet, who lectures at the University of St Andrews within the Department of English and the Creative Writing Programme will be reading from his poetry, speaking about developments within contemporary British poetry and responding to questions from the audience present.
This event is being organised by the Department of English Students’ Association as part of the Valletta Campus in collaboration with Dr Ivan Callus and his students.
The Real Maltese 60’s
22 August, 8.30pm at the Old University Courtyard, Valletta
An extraordinary evening is being held on 22 August. It will consist of well-known guests who were young thinkers and artists in the 60’s. These young people, inspired by the Beatles and the 60’s revolution, were imagining the future and, with their initiatives in literature, music and theatrical abilities, left their mark in Maltese history.
All the guests will be Maltese. Guests will include Oliver Friggieri, Lillian Sciberras, Frans Sammut, Francis Zammit Dimech, who started the Four T’s, Charles Xuereb and others. Some will participate in person while others will be present through the use of multimedia.
To recapture the thoughts of these literary and musical figures, there shall be readings of their work which represents the 60’s in Malta at its most important moment.
This is also an Evenings on Campus event and entrance fee is only €5.