When asked how long he has been in Malta, Slavko Vukanović jokes that he has been here "at least 150 years." Slavko's name is, in fact, synonymous with Kinemastic, which he has been running for the past 11 years. During that time, he has helped to organise 10 short film festivals, amongst many other activities and events.
The Valletta Film Festival, which will be held between 15 and 21 June, will be presenting high-standard films from all over the world. It will present examples of independent cinema, as well as a broad range of feature-length documentaries.
It is being organised by The Film Grain Foundation - a non-profit organisation established to foster appreciation for film, which, together with other government agencies and public associations, aims to strengthen Malta's national film culture. The foundation was founded by Slavko himself, together with ex-film commissioner Oliver Mallia and Bojana Dimitrovska, also a founding member of Kinemastik. It is being organised in partnership with St James Cavalier and Pjazza Teatru Rjal, and with support from the Malta Arts Fund.
"Malta is the only country in the European Union that does not have its own feature film festival," Slavko points out, "We intend to make the festival a leading film and cultural event in Malta a permanent annual film festival which will showcase film, as well as Malta itself. The plan is for us to use a number of locations in Valletta to show the films, including St James Cavalier, Tejatru Rjal, Palace Square, Fort St Elmo and the Embassy Cinemas."
Of course, there will also be an educational angle. Aspiring film-makers and students will be able to attend a number of workshops, masterclasses and talks headlined by several key players and film professionals in the industry.
The festival will be divided into a number of sections. The main competitive section of the festival will consist of nine independently-produced feature-length films. An international jury will judge the films in competition the awards would be best feature film, best director, best actor, best actress, best cinematography and best screenplay.
'Islanders' will be a competitive section open to productions that are mainly set on islands or produced by filmmakers that are citizens or residents of an island.
Running concurrently will be a selection of out-of-competition high-profile feature films and documentaries which will have their premiere at the Valletta Film Festival, as well as 'Without Borders' - a non competitive section of the festival which will focus on cinema of a different country or region each year. This year, the section will focus on films from Scandinavia.
Finally, 'Masters of Cinema' will celebrate works of established directors, actors and cinematographers. A lifetime achievement award will also be presented.
"Malta as a country has a huge potential and a huge following in cinema culture," says Slavko, "The history of cinema here is vast; in fact Valletta had its own cinema only a few years after the Lumiere brothers started out. There is a lot of love for cinema here. We hope to harness it and make the festival a great success."
The closing date for submissions is 15 April. To submit a film for consideration or for more information, visit the Valletta Film Festival's website: www.vallettafilmfestival.com.