The National Book Council has announced that ‘Storja ta’ Storja’, an eight-part docudrama series featuring award-winning Maltese authors, will be broadcast every Saturday on Television Malta starting from 8 August 2020.
The life and work of eight National Book Prize winning authors is the focus of ‘Storja ta’ Storja’, a new docudrama series produced by production company Sajjetta with the support of the National Book Council.
The featured authors are Dr. Alfred Sant, Loranne Vella, Immanuel Mifsud, Clare Azzopardi, Alex Vella Gera, Lou Drofenik, Maria Grech Ganado and Walid Nabhan.
Each episode in the series sets out to provide audiences with a deeper understanding of some of Malta’s most celebrated authors, exploring their life and work by combining naturalistic interviews with dramatisations of parts of their work adapted in a visual style complementing the chosen story.
The first episode, featuring an interview with Dr. Alfred Sant and an adaptation of a scene from his novel Silġ fuq Kemmuna (PEG, 2005), airs on TVM at 7:15 pm on 8 August.
The production involved the participation of a long list of established and upcoming actors including Mikhail Basmadjian as the protagonist to Loranne Vella’s short story ‘Kikkra’, Erica Muscat, Christian Galea, Antonella Axisa, and Gianni Selvaggi, who assumes roles in the dramatisations of both Alex Vella Gera’s Is-Sriep reġgħu saru velenużi (Merlin, 2012) and Silġ fuq Kemmuna.
‘Storja ta’ Storja’ has been executive produced by the National Book Council following a 2019 call for applications for the production of a docudrama TV-series promoting Maltese literature with new audiences. The production company Sajjetta was awarded €80,000 for the production of the project ‘Storja ta’ Storja’. The series is directed and adapted by Charlie Cauchi and Martin Bonnici with additional screenwriting by Teodor Reljiç.
'Storja ta’ Storja’ episodes will be made available on the National Book Council YouTube channel in the days following the TV broadcast.
For further updates concerning ‘Storja ta’ Storja’ and other National Book Council initiatives please visit https://ktieb.org.mt/ and the NBC Facebook page.
Find here the official page of the docudrama series ‘Storja ta’ Storja’.
Episode guide
'Storja ta’ Storja’ episodes air on TVM every Saturday evening from 8 August, with a rerun on TVM2 every following Thursday at 8:15 pm. Episodes are 25-30 minutes in length.
Sat 8 August 7:15 pm (repeated on Thursday 13 August at 8.15pm on TVM2)
Episode 1 - Alfred Sant
This episode features a dramatisation from the novel Silġ fuq Kemmuna (PEG, 2005)
Sat 15 August 7:15 pm (repeated on Thursday 20 August at 8.15pm on TVM2)
Episode 2 - Loranne Vella
Featuring a dramatisation of ‘Il-Kikkra’ taken from mill-bieb ’il ġewwa (EDE, 2019)
Sat 22 August 7:15 pm (repeated on Thursday 27 August at 8.15pm on TVM2)
Episode 3 - Immanuel Mifsud.
Featuring a dramatisation of ‘Il-Ħadd’ taken from Stejjer li kellhomx jinkitbu (Klabb Kotba Maltin, 2008)
Sat 29 August 7:15 pm (repeated on Thursday 3 September at 8.15pm on TVM2)
Episode 4 - Clare Azzopardi
Featuring a dramatisation of ‘Lily’ from Kulħadd ħalla isem warajh (Merlin Publishers, 2014)
Sat 5 September 7:15 pm (repeated on Thursday 10 September at 8.15pm on TVM2)
Episode 5 - Alex Vella Gera
Featuring a dramatisation from the novel Is-Sriep reġgħu saru velenużi (Merlin Publishers, 2012)
Sat 12 September 7:15 pm (repeated on Thursday 17 September at 8.15pm on TVM2)
Episode 6 - Lou Drofenik
Featuring a dramatisation from the novel The Reluctant Healer (Horizons, 2018)
Sat 19 September 7:15 pm (repeated on Thursday 24 September at 8.15pm on TVM2)
Episode 7 - Maria Grech Ganado
Featuring an adaptation of the poem ‘Bolero’.
Sat 26 September 7:15 pm (repeated on Thursday 1 November at 8.15pm on TVM2)
Episode 8 - Walid Nabhan
Featuring a dramatisation of ‘Sodda No. 18’ taken from Lura d-Dar u ġrajjiet oħra li ma ġrawx (Klabb Kotba Maltin, 2009)