Since its inception in 2009, it was the recipient of the Best Cultural Programme of the Malta Television Awards 2009 and has gained strength due to the concept of quality of programme content. In 2017, the festival received the EFFE label for a second time, an honour to distinguish excellence in festivals across Europe. It has also collaborated with honour to distinguish excellence in festivals across Europe. It has also collaborated with the UK Foundation Mathew Martino Benevolent Fund, who offered financial incentives to promising upcoming film directors with their Rising Star Award for three consecutive years. It also works in collaboration with various festivals to promote the call for entries and Maltese film and has acted as liaison with a number of Malta embassies abroad in the organisation of film events.

Now in its 14th edition, it brings together films of different genres varying from fiction, comedy, animation, romantic, documentary, horror, thriller and fantasy, from around the world, and from Malta, Monumental (Experimental) directed by Aleksa Restovic, Tama/Hope (Documentary) by Roy Davidson, Hallini Hanini (Fiction) by Samira D'Amato, Encounter (Fiction) by Aldo Zammit, Vagabond (Music Video) by Bruce Micallef Eynaud and Embrace the Grind (Documentary-Narrative) by Keith Dimech.

The festival's uniqueness lies in the fact that it is broadcast on TVM, Malta's national TV station. The selected films are individually discussed and adjudicated by a panel of judges. This enables the filmmaker and the viewer to understand the production value of each entry and its ability to communicate with its audience. Entries are accepted through international platforms such as Film Freeway, Fest Home, Click for Festivals and other distributors.

The festival was conceived by its director and producer Tony Parnis, whose career as a film and TV director spans over 40 years. He is also regularly active as judge in film festivals both locally and abroad.

Category awards

This year 20 awards are awarded and the following are some of the awards

• Best Film Award
• Best Drama
• Best Comedy
• Best Animation
• Best Documentary
• Best Director
• Best Actor/Actress
• Best Cinematography
• Best Editing
• Best Sound Design
• Best Foreign Jury Award.
• L-Aqwa Produzzjoni Maltija

MSFF Selected Films 2022

The closing date for submissions was the end of May and this year's award consists of nine programmes that will be shown on TVM1. The first programme is being aired on 29 July and on subsequent Fridays at 9pm with a repeat on Sundays at 10pm on TVM+NEWS. The eight programmes will show a total of 24 selected films out of hundreds submitted. The idea to have these films aired on television is to make them available to a wider audience.

The filming of these programmes was done at Theatre Next Door studios.

The MSFF is an EFFE Award winner for 2017/2018 under the Europe for Festivals and Festivals for Europe. This means that MSFF can use the label of this prestigious entity. In 2009, MSFF was also the local television winner of the best cultural award.

The panellists

This year's guest panellists are Carlos Farrugia, Aaron Briffa, Andrew Bonello and Alan Cassar. The other panellists who are permanent are Tony Cassar Darien, Charles Stroud and Vanessa Vella (producer, presenter), Melchior Vella (producer) and recently Luke Cassar became head of programmes of the festival.

It is noted that all films submitted instil a social message of hope.

The main festival foreign partners and film distributers are NITV (Network Ireland Television), Line-Up Film Agency, Spain, Selected Films, Spain, Promofest, Spain, Cartoon Club International Film Festival and Amarcort Film Festival, Rimini, Italy. SHIFT Film Agency, USA.

Submissions eligibility

The festival is open to all short films including animation, drama, fiction and documentaries. The primary contact completing the submission process must be authorised to submit the film for consideration including permission from a distributor or sales agent representing the film and must have obtained necessary permission for the inclusion of copyrighted music, names and/or images within the film. The maximum duration of the films is 15 minutes, including the credits. The films can originate from any country in the world. You must own all the rights to the video.

Language

If the original language of any dialogue or text featured in the film is not English, the preview and screening copy must be subtitled or dubbed in English. The title of the film can be kept in the original language; however, this has to be subtitled in English.

Submissions can also include films which have already participated in other festivals, however this will not be mentioned when the film is screened or streamed.

Festival producers' rights

1.                  An eliminatory phase will be organised if more entries are received than required for the television series

2.                  The producers reserve the right to air the films in the sequence they see fit

3.                  TVM, the broadcasting station, has the right to re-run the series.

Tony Parnis - director/producer

He undertook film studies in Canada. He produced and directed the weekly multicultural programme Servizz Xandir Malti at Graham Cable TV in Toronto where he won four Graham Awards for drama in Maltese and also the Producer of the Year award.

He wrote and directed the feature film White Dove Operation, which was shown in Malta and Australia. He also directed and wrote Dell Mill-Imghoddi, Bawxati (The Movie), Pawlu Ta' Tarsu and Scrooge. He was head of drama at Xandir Malta and Super One television station and directed many drama series such as Ipokriti, Enigma, Il-Mandraggara, Shelly Rayner, Stejjer ta' wara t-tmienja and Aenigma.

He directed various award-winning documentaries such as Il-Qtil Ta' Shqaqi in 2005 and Paulus the Shipwreck 60 AD in 2015 etc. He was a jury member in many national and international festivals such as The Short-Shock International Film Festival in Russia, Shortini International Short Film Festival in Sicily, Amarcort and Cartoon Club festivals in Rimini and the Alexandria Mediterranean Film Festival in Egypt. He has won several Broadcasting Authority Awards for drama and documentaries, the Award for Best Cultural Programme and this year Scrooge, directed by Tony Parnis and written by Alan Fenech won the award for Best Classic Film at the Malta Film Awards.