The fourth installment of the Malta Film Commission’s Mediterranean Film Festival is almost ready to go.
Festival directors Pierre Agius and Mark Adams have put together a selection, based around the theme of “Beyond Together,” which includes recent films from directors such as Steven Soderbergh, Alice Winokur, Gus Van Sant, Mark Jenkin, Karim Ainouz and Olivier Assayas, starring the likes of Angelina Jolie, Charli XCX, George MacKay, Callum Turner, Elle Fanning, Pamela Anderson, Paul Dano and Alicia Vikander. Jude Law, Ian McKellen, Michaela Coel, Al Pacino, Bill Skarsgard, Colman Domingo and more.
The Mediterranean Film Festival is scheduled to take place in the island’s capital Valletta from 21 to 28 June, and has expanded from three to five branches with a total of 35 films selected: the Big Screen Competition featuring the best of mainstream cinema, the Mediterranean Competition featuring new cinema from the Mediterranean region highlighting local stories and talent, Mare Nostrum for films with an environmental message, New World Cinema, and Malta focusing on specifically local films. (shorts and features) that highlight island talent.
The big screen competition will include Soderbergh’s faux-art drama, Christophersstarring Ian McKellen and Michaela Coel, is a fashion drama from director Alice Winokur Fashion design Starring Jolie, Van Sant’s hostage thriller Dead man’s wire With Skarsgard and Domingo, the mockumentary fronted by Charli XCX The momentAnd Drama Jenkin Rose nevada Starring McKay, Turner, Ainouz Pruning the rose bush Starring Turner, Fanning, Anderson, Jamie Bell and Riley Keough, Virginia Woolf Night and Day Starring Haley Bennett, Jack Whitehall, Lily Allen, Jennifer Saunders and Timothy Spall, Assayas. Wizard of the Kremlin Starring Dano, Vikander, Tom Sturridge, Will Kane, Jeffrey Wright and Lou.
The Mediterranean competition includes Meriem Touzani Calle MalagaLaila Bouzid In a whisperNicolangelo Gilormini La JoyaMinos Pappas MotherwichMika Wald Survivors’ taleYasser Al-Shafi’i Complaint No. 713317Maltese psychodrama Vanitasset on the island of Gozo, is an animated film by Sylvain Chomet Wonderful life.
The New World Cinema Department penned Kia Roush-Turner’s film Beast of warWhich was filmed in Malta by Mario Martone immediateAnders Thomas Jensen The last vikings Starring Mads Mikkelsen and Nicolai Le Cass, directed by Ben Wheatley natural Starring Bob Odenkirk, Good boy (aka heel) Starring Stephen Graham, Anson Boone, Andrea Riseborough, Larry Young Edge of shadow With Jackie Chan and Tony Leung Ka Fai, by James Lucas Mauss and FreudIan Forsyth and Jane Pollard Broken English Documentary about Marianne Faithfull.
The Mare Nostrum section features Jenny Finley All rivers pour their stories into the seaValentin Pauli The musician and the whaleTamara Kotevska Cillian’s taleEd Sayers Super nature And Sarah Dosa Time and water.
The competition titles will be presented by a jury of creatives tasked with choosing the winners of the Golden Bee Awards, which will be distributed at a ceremony on June 28. Ticket sales for all performances will be donated to local Maltese cancer charity Puttinu Cares. More information about the Mediterranean Film Festival can be found here.
