Maltese language film Luzzu has been chosen as Malta’s Oscar candidate for the Best International Feature Film category in the prestigious film competition.
The Malta Academy Selection Committee chose the film as its entry to the 94th Academy Awards, which will take place on March 27 2022.
Luzzu tells the fictional story of Jesmark, a struggling fisherman, who is forced to turn his back on generations of tradition and risk everything by entering the world of black-market fishing to provide for his wife and new-born baby.
The film, directed by Alex Camilleri and starring Jesmark Scicluna, Michela Farrugia and David Scicluna in the principal roles, had its first theatrical release locally on the 8th September 2021.
Luzzu opened to wide acclaim at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival, where its lead, Jesmark, a fisherman from Siggiewi, won the World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award in Acting for his debut performance.
Since then, the Maltese-language drama has been an audience favourite and won awards at prestigious festivals around the world, including the Boston and Sofia International Film Festivals. It has also made part of the selection at various other festivals, including the Melbourne, Karlovy Vary and Hong Kong International Film Festivals.