Malta’s capital of Valletta is gearing up to play host to the fifth edition of the Valletta Film Festival (14-23 June), organised by the Film Grain Foundation, a non-profit organisation set up to foster a greater appreciation for film and to strengthen Malta’s national film culture. A total of 46 features and 50 shorts have been selected for this iteration of the gathering.

The movie given the honour of opening the festival this year is Miia Tervo’s Finnish romantic comedy Aurora [+lire aussi :
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interview : Miia Tervo
fiche film], which will kick off the festivities at the Pjazza Teatru Rjal, the largest open-air theatre on Malta, on Friday 14 June. The main competitive section, which is restricted to films hailing from 34 small nations in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, has been dubbed the Cinema of Small Nations Competition, in which a total of 12 fiction and documentary features and 24 shorts will lock horns. Four Triton Awards (for Best Feature Film, Best Documentary Film, Best Short Film and Best New Talent) will be given out by an international jury. The 12 features taking part in the competition are Oleg [+lire aussi :
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interview : Juris Kursietis
fiche film] by Juris Kursietis (Latvia/Belgium/Lithuania/France), A Dog Called Money [+lire aussi :
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fiche film] by Seamus Murphy (Ireland/UK), Sons of Denmark [+lire aussi :
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interview : Elliott Crosset Hove
interview : Ulaa Salim
fiche film] by Ulaa Salim (Denmark), The Hypnotist [+lire aussi :
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fiche film] by Arthur Franck (Finland), Delta Zoo [+lire aussi :
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fiche film] by Andrius Lekavicius (Lithuania/Latvia), A Shelter Among the Clouds [+lire aussi :
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interview : Robert Budina
fiche film] by Robert Budina (Albania/Romania), The Band by Ladislav Kaboš (Slovakia/Czech Republic), Deep Cuts [+lire aussi :
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fiche film] by Dubravka Turić, Filip Mojzeš and Filip Peruzović (Croatia), Erased [+lire aussi :
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interview : GoCritic! Interview: Miha …
fiche film] by Miha Mazzini (Slovenia/Croatia/Serbia), Pause [+lire aussi :
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interview : Tonia Mishiali
fiche film] by Tonia Mishiali (Cyprus/Greece), Where Man Returns [+lire aussi :
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fiche film] by Egil Håskjold Larsen (Norway), and Winter’s Yearning by Sturla Pilskog and Sidse Thorstholm Larse (Norway/Greenland/Denmark).

Special Screenings of a selection of high-profile productions and festival winners (mainly from this year’s Cannes) will dazzle audiences in the Pjazza Teatru Rjal, and these acclaimed titles include the Golden Bear-winning Synonyms [+lire aussi :
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interview : Nadav Lapid
fiche film] by Nadav Lapid (France/Israel/Germany), Tremors [+lire aussi :
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interview : Jayro Bustamante
fiche film] by Jayro Bustamante (Guatemala/France/Luxembourg), the Cannes-screened Diego Maradona [+lire aussi :
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interview : Asif Kapadia
fiche film] by Asif Kapadia (UK), the Cannes Best Screenplay Award winner Portrait of a Lady on Fire [+lire aussi :
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interview : Céline Sciamma
fiche film] by Céline Sciamma (France), another Cannes 2019 title, The Whistlers [+lire aussi :
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interview : Corneliu Porumboiu
fiche film] by Corneliu Porumboiu (Romania/France/Germany), Joan of Arc [+lire aussi :
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interview : Bruno Dumont
fiche film] by Bruno Dumont (France), which pocketed a Special Mention of the Jury in Un Certain Regard last month, and the Cannes competition title The Traitor [+lire aussi :
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Q&A : Marco Bellocchio
fiche film] by Marco Bellocchio (Italy/France/Germany/Brazil).

The Without Borders section this year focuses on French-language film, and will showcase movies such as Yao [+lire aussi :
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fiche film] by Philippe Godeau (France/Senegal), the animation The Swallows of Kabul [+lire aussi :
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interview : Zabou Breitman et Eléa Gob…
fiche film] by Zabou Breitman and Éléa Gobbé-Mévellec (France/Luxembourg/Switzerland) and Ghost Tropic [+lire aussi :
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interview : Bas Devos
fiche film] by Bas Devos (Belgium), as well as featuring a tribute to the late, great Agnès Varda, including a screening of her swansong, Varda by Agnès [+lire aussi :
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interview : Agnès Varda
fiche film] (France).

Besides the strands entitled Teens Only, Kids Weekend and Islanders (a curated section featuring films from islands and/or about islands - comprising the Italian-French title Capri-Revolution [+lire aussi :
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interview : Mario Martone
fiche film] by Mario Martone, the Maltese-British production Of Time and the Sea [+lire aussi :
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interview : Peter Sant
fiche film] by Peter Sant, Italy's Twin Flower [+lire aussi :
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fiche film] by Laura Luchetti and Switzerland's Islander [+lire aussi :
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fiche film] by Stéphane Goël), another highlight will be the Talent Talks, daily discussions with filmmakers in competition, which will take place from 15-22 June in the informal setting of the Cinema Bar at City Lights. In addition, two very special guests will be in attendance: acclaimed auteur Liliana Cavani, the doyenne of Italian cinema who helmed 1974’s The Night Porter besides countless other titles, will give a master class on the distinctive features of her craft of directing film on 18 June, while acclaimed Hungarian helmer Béla Tarr (Family Nest, The Prefab People, Almanac of Fall, Satantango, The Turin Horse [+lire aussi :
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interview : Béla Tarr
fiche film]) will preside as the so-called “Master of Cinema” at Valletta this year and will also lead a master class on his work as an auteur.

Finally, the Valletta Film Forum, open to all active industry professionals and film aficionados from Malta and other small nations, will feature panels made up of various key players in the industry. The forum will home in on the realities that filmmakers from small nations face and will examine Malta’s place within the international film industry, as well as discussing topics concerning domestic and collaborative screen production. The very first edition of Books to Films is also on the agenda for 20 June and is an event that stems from the idea of connecting filmmakers and book publishers. Authors, publishers and literary agents were invited to submit books that have the potential to be adapted for the screen, and nine selected books will participate in a moderated pitching session in the hope of piquing the interest of the filmmakers in attendance.