The French Embassy will be welcoming the renowned French filmmaker and sound explorer Vincent Moon to Malta as part of the Ritmu Roots Festival organised by Festivals Malta and its artistic director Andrew Alamango.
Vincent Moon has already archived thousands of pieces of traditional music from around the world, filmed Indie rock artists and better-known musicians such as R.E.M, Tom Jones and Arcade Fire.
He will stay in Malta for a fortnight and will add Maltese traditional and local music, communal gatherings and practices as well as għana tradition to his repertoire, helping to preserve their memory and to document them for an international audience.
Two events will showcase its work in archiving and filming world music and its collaboration this year with Maltese artists such as Joon, Marc Funebri and others.
The Embassy will be sponsoring his residency and performances in Malta.
The first performance will be a presentation by Vincent Moon: Documenting Musical Traditions. This will take place on 21 May 2025, at 7:30 pm at The Splendid (Valletta). Ticket (10 euros) : Book here
Global wanderer Vincent Moon is a visionary filmmaker and sound explorer, dedicated to documenting the world's multiplicity of musical and ritualistic practices through his evocative ethno-musical films. Travelling with nothing but a backpack and a camera, he seeks out rare musical rituals, documenting astonishing performances that often go unseen by the wider world. Driven by a deep curiosity and respect for cultural heritage, Moon's work invites audiences to see their own traditions through a new lens.
This event offers a unique opportunity to explore the creative and ethical frameworks behind his innovative approach to filmmaking, sound exploration, and the documentation of musical traditions.
Vincent Moon Live Cinema will take place on 24 May 2025, 22:30, Argotti Gardens (Floriana). Ticket (10 euros) : Book here
Vincent Moon is an independent French filmmaker and radical sound explorer. Renowned as the creative force behind Blogothèque's Take Away Shows, which spotlight Western indie music, he has spent over twenty years travelling the world with a camera in hand. His ongoing project, Collection Petites Planètes, features more than 1300 films documenting local territorial music, sacred chants, trance ceremonies, and experimental sounds which are all publicly accessible.
Described as an optical ritual and a call to the personal unconscious hidden behind our collective images, Vincent Moon's Live Cinéma offers an intense, improvised performance. It draws upon decades of research into musical and mystical practices from around the world, embarking on an endless search for contemporary trance.
His local performance will feature images and sounds gathered and recorded during his two-week stay in Malta. After two weeks of recording and filming, Vincent Moon's Live Cinema invites local artists (Joon, Marc Funebri, għana singers, electronic musicians etc.) to perform with him on stage, inviting all to partake on this musical and communal journey.