Heroes In The Sky was premiered last Wednesday. It is one of the films being shown at The Malta International Film Festival, which is now on, until the 13 November. Englebert Grech, who wrote the script, produced and directed it, spoke to Marie Benoît about what promises to be an excellent documentary which is supported by Vodafone Ltd.
This is a documentary about pilots in World War II, focusing on two unconventional heroes: Wing Commander Adrian Warburton the reconnaissance pilot who spent three years based in Malta and who is said to have been christened in a submarine in Grand Harbour; and the Canadian George “Screwball” Beurling who was also stationed in Malta
A documentary has already been made about Warburton dubbed ‘The Lawrence of Arabia of the Air’ starring Ben Stuart and Irene Christ and was aired on BBC II in 2003 as part of the Timewatch series.
Englebert Grech has been ‘living’ with HITS for over a year. Could he talk a little about Warburton? What struck him most about him while he was making Heroes in the Sky? Englebert Grech comments: “Adrian Warburton was a renegade who always managed to get himself into trouble. Ironically, at first he was stopped from flying due to his dangerous take offs and landings, but by the end of the war he became one of the most decorated pilots of World War II. Veteran pilots who were very close to him told me what a daredevil he was, never afraid of anything. In Malta he was always the talk of the town, either for the dangerous missions he successfully completed or due to his love story with a cabaret dancer, Cristina Ratcliffe who died here in 1988. In HITS I focused on his character, because he was like a ‘rock star’ of the time. In Britain pilots had to adhere to strict rules, but Malta gave him the space he needed to experiment and develop his raw talent.”
Another pilot the documentary focuses on is the Canadian George “Screwball” Beurling who was also stationed in Malta and who died at just 26. He was incredibly brave too and since he wasn’t a team player his superiors were only too happy to send him on mission. One even threatened to court martial him. What impression did Mr Grech get of him while making Heroes?
“Like Warby, I think that Beurling wouldn’t have been so successful had he not been stationed in Malta. He did not respect authority and was like a lone wolf, always eager to engage the enemy head on.
“One has to keep in mind that back then dogfights were won thanks to the talent of the pilots who were not assisted by computers like today. Beurling was famous for developing his own technique to shoot down planes from very long distances.
“On one occasion he even shot down five enemy planes in one day, guaranteeing his place in history.
“There again, he didn’t have any flight simulator but used to practice on the ground by shooting at lizards. It is this crudeness that makes these pilots so great.”
What about the other RAF pilots interviewed? Was this done overseas? What was Mr Grech’s general impression? And the historians? Could he name the most prominent ones who will feature in the film? Mr Grech replies: “I spent weeks on end talking with ex-RAF pilots, many of them aces. I was amazed at their positive attitude towards life, despite having survived such an ordeal. They are like living encyclopedias, and gave me details which you will never find in the history books.”
Mr Grech says that he must have interviewed close to 50 war veterans, and doesn’t for one moment, regret the time spent with them. He mentions a few of these brave men. “Joe Dalley, a reconnaissance pilot who worked and flew with Warburton; Peter Rothwell, a bomber pilot, who used to get information from Warburton before bombing enemy ships; Jack Paternoster, one of the ground crew who met Beurling every day and even took care of his Spitfire; Jill Lucas, wife of 249 Squadron Leader Laddie Lucas, who was Beurling’s boss and mentor; Jack Rae from New Zealand, another Spitfire ace from 249 Squadron, who flew with Beurling and became a legend himself. There is also Tom Neil, who at the tender age of 18 years was already an ace pilot, and many many more.”
What about the historians? ”In the scripting process, I wanted to stay true to historical facts and figures, and that’s where historian Frederick R. Galea came in the picture. Having such a meticulous and extremely resourceful person to rely on was very important. I also have to mention English air historian Brian Cull, who did extensive work and wrote many good books (with Frederick) about the Hurricanes and Spitfires over Malta. I also have to give credit to the people at the Aviation Museum. Ray and David Polidano were always available to help me out and they deserve a lot of respect for their dedication.”
Before finalizing the final cut for the cinemas Mr Grech did a few focus groups with local historians, “just to be 100% sure that we are not re-writing history!”
How long did it take him to make Heroes of the Sky?
“HITS took about a year to produce. A lot of time and energy were invested in research, interviews, CGI animation and a unique style of editing. The ultimate aim was to make history as interesting and exciting as possible.
“The budget for this production cannot be compared to Hollywood but we wanted to use the latest digital techniques to re-create the famous dog fights in the sky. Thanks to the 3D computer animation, Hurricanes, Spitfires, Messerschmitts and JU88 are once again seen fighting over Malta.
“As for the sound track, I used the rock tunes by local award winning band, Winter Moods. Rock gave HITS a totally different feel, giving history a very modern and contemporary touch. HITS also features some good tracks by Jeremy Micallef.”
A difficult hurdle was sound mastering, says Mr Grech. “When people go to the cinema, they are eager to enjoy the experience with the best sound possible. To do everything in style, thanks to sound guru Justin Chircop, HITS was mastered in 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround Sound. If we did a good job or not, now it’s up to the audience to judge. To watch the trailer and get more information just visit www.maltaheroes.com”
HITS is presently showing as part of the Malta International Film Festival. But where is it to be distributed apart from Malta?
“HITS has been shortlisted for a few international documentary film festivals in the US. It has been picked up by a distribution company that is marketing it in Europe & North America,” says Mr Grech.
Heroes in the Sky is to be shown in all local cinemas as from 7 November.
About the producer / director
Engelbert Grech studied TV & Film at the University of Malta where he graduated with Honours. He furthered his studies abroad, most recently with Discovery Campus, a MEDIA training programme with Discovery Channel and other major international broadcasters. His adventures in TV production started over 11 years ago when he produced various programmes for PBS, for which he won four Malta Broadcasting Authority awards. In 2001 he co-produced one of Malta's first full length feature films and then moved on to produce a series of short films, documentaries and music videos for the local and international market.