The IOI-Malta Operational Centre at the University of Malta has organised, at the Sir Temi Zammit Hall on campus, a complimentary public screening of the third Panacea underwater documentary.
The screening was held under the patronage of the Acting President Dolores Cristina and with the distinguished participation of Leo Brincat, Minister for Sustainable Development, the Environment and Climate Change, MPs Robert Arrigo and Charlo Bonnici. Also in attendance were over 400 summer school students (Kids on Campus and Skolasajf) and over 150 members of the public. A complimentary copy of the documentary DVD and informative brochures on the underwater world around our islands were distributed to all those present.
The screening event was the brainchild of Dr Alan Deidun, Panacea Project manager at the IOI-MOC, who also participated in the production of the documentary along with Pedja Miletic (director, Monolith Limited) and veteran underwater cameraman Shaun Arrigo.
In the words of Dr Deidun, this is the best marine-oriented documentary shot locally so far, since it combines innovative filming techniques (for instance, this is the first such documentary shot locally, making use of unmanned drones to take aerial shots) with stunning underwater shots of some of the most charismatic marine species found here, including seahorses, spiny lobster, seahares, groupers and other species.
In Dr Deidun’s words, the screening of the documentary coincides with the landmark opening of the first aquarium in Malta, signalling a revival in interest in anything marine.
Panacea is a project funded under the Operational Programme Italia-Malta 2007-2013 within which both the University of Malta and the San Lawrenz local council are partners. The marine environmental education centre at Dwejra was opened last March within the same project. The project website is www.panaceaproject.net
The project’s main objective is to foster a greater local appreciation of the marine environment within the Maltese Islands. The previous two underwater documentaries developed within the same project and featuring MPA’s of Dwejra and Rdum Majjiesa have been widely acclaimed, being viewed by over 15,000 individuals on YouTube and by hundreds of schoolchildren in a cinema in another complimentary screening held in May last year on the occasion of the European Maritime Day.
Such documentaries can be viewed at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ArJOWrwwz98 and at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzpPK1pAlLA. The third documentary will be uploaded on YouTube in the coming days.