Some 30 years ago, when he was 17, Jean-Pierre Borg would pop into my office at The Malta Independent and discreetly ask me if he could have the photos of the films which KRS had released that week. He was so keen and I gave them to him willingly. Eventually I lost track of him as he had stopped coming having finished school, I suppose.
Years later he sent me a copy of a book he had published: World Film Locations, Malta, an excellent reference work, packed with illustrations and information.
Who would have thought that at the age of 47, Jean-Pierre would appear again in my life, unexpectedly. He is now the father of a 17-year-old himself.
I had started to write for The Sunday Times of Malta when I was about 18-years-old. There were no emails then so copy was delivered either by hand or by post. I generally preferred to deliver mine by hand. Often, in the night when I would drive my deux chevaux, better known as the Yellow Peril by friends and family, park it near the Times building (now a thing of the past) and dash in and leave my article at reception.
Also writing for The Sunday Times about films at the time were Cecil Satariano and Cecil Amato Gauci, who left us recently. Going to the cinema was 'big' then. Cecil Sataiano was a prolific writer, the official film critic of the paper, with his writing spanning almost four decades. He entered the censorship debate heart and soul. There was little else to do, so films and reviews were taken seriously. Censorship, too, was 'big', of both literature and films... and God forbid if you were caught with a condom in your handbag, or dared wear a bikini as you would be immediately hauled to a police station.
When it came to literature, The Censorship Reform Group was formed. It drew the attention of the famous writer Anthony Burgess who lived in Lija with his wife and son. His review copies of books were withheld by the post office. So were books by his friend Kingsley Amis (The Anti-Death League and Take a Girl Like You); inevitably D.H. Lawrence's Lady Chatterley's Lover, which created more than a storm in a teacup, worldwide; The Whipping Boy, (1939) written by Nicholas Monsarrat, who lived in Gozo, was also withheld. Even Jack Dominion's Marital Breakdown, was not allowed to enter the Burgess's home. Now, Dominion was a psychiatrist and a Roman Catholic theologian. Later on, the film, A Clockwork Orange based on Burgess's original novel, was not allowed to be released here.
Readers started protesting, writing letters and articles, pleading for more sense in censorship. Anthony Burgess sent for me and Cecil Satariano called me about the censored films. This is how I met both.
Thanks to Cecil and also Lino Cassar who was also a film buff and a film critic, they invited me to watch Darling at the British Forces cinema where there was no censorship. It was the first but not the last 'clandistine' film, we watched. We became friends. It felt so anti-establishment to watch films which were not censored, in a private cinema. I have always loved being anti-establishment.
I did not know Cecil's daughter Madeleine. I was to meet her recently at an art exhibition. She herself is an artist. She identified herself and I was so happy to meet her. She in turn reintroduced me to my old friend, Jean-Pierre and she and her husband Joe organised a reunion in their home, a joyous one, let it be said.
We sat in their salott, drank and ate and reminisced, surrounded by Madeleine's paintings of horses and flowers and the Mediterranean sea, in rough weather and when mirror like. What a way to live, surrounded by beautiful paintings of all kinds.
Madeleine and Joe have no children and have dedicated their lives to others, less fortunate.
They visit a total of 18 homes for the elderly, four of which are in Gozo. "During our visits Joe sings popular songs of the '60, '70 and '80. Marina, That's Amore, Che La La, Sway. He sings thirty different songs each time. I sing around six songs to give Joe a break. While Joe is singing I dance and mime, to the delight of our audience. I also go round the hall to take a spin with the residents, at least with those who are interested. I make eye contact and try to keep them focussed on the singing and dancing, their minds away from unpleasant stuff. They love feeling a part of it all and are sad when we have to end the matinée."
Joe holds the title of Anzjan tas-Sena ghal Volontarjat 2023. Last year he was also awarded The Dr Jacqueline Azzopardi Social Engagement Award for the voluntary work he does both at the University of the 3rd Age and in the Homes. "The University of Malta has now invited Joe, to take part in a project which includes Singing for Dementia," she tells me proudly. He is equally proud of Madeleine and her work, showing us round her studio, too.
And now, what is Jean-Pierre doing at the age of 47? Is it still connected to films? Yes, his love of films continues unabated. "My passion for film started the moment I came across the set for Cutthroat Island and discovered how a familiar location (in that case Vittoriosa) can be changed into a totally different space with set dressing, extras in costume and atmospheric special effects. That experience led me to research the filmography of the Maltese islands and in the process led to my re-discovery of the earliest films shot in Malta in the interwar period. These films, particularly Sons of the Sea had gone forgotten and were rediscovered through my research - thus shifting the date of the first film shot in Malta to 1925." So that's what he is doing: researching films. "Documenting films shot by foreigners in Malta was fun and interesting but documenting Malta's own film industry is what is really rewarding and to me, more noble. The careers of filmmakers like Cecil Satariano as well as others who made a name for themselves need to be documented and their works preserved. Thankfully in the case of Cecil we have found the major works he is known for. The same cannot be said for other contemporaries of his."
So, Jean-Pierre is busy working on his dissertation: Master of Arts in Film Studies: A critical analysis of Cecil Satariano's Films. Between 1969 and 1978 Cecil directed six films. Four of them went on to earn him numerous awards. I was in London with him and his wife Eileen and attended one ceremony. Bachman & Turner, new publishers, had approached him to write a book about it which he did; Canon Fire: the art of making award-winning amateur movies which he dedicated to Eileen "whose extraordinary patience has amazed even me."
In the Foreword to the book Cecil, talking about his camera - a Canon Auto Zoom 518 writes: "I have filmed with it under an unbearably hot sun, on sand and in the sea. I have taken it for granted, maltreated it, abused its mechanism, On one occasion I even fell flat on my face with it. I broke a rib. But the camera continued to function perfectly."
I am greatly looking forward to reading Jean-Pierre's dissertation. It will be excellent. He will leave no stone unturned to make it so.
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