Poetry on Film 2018 on Facebook
At this year’s XIIIth edition of the Malta Mediterranean Literature Festival we are screening two new poetry films, Clare Azzopardi and Ken Scicluna are working on a poetry film of Achille Mizzi’s poem “Kafè”, while Abigail Mallia and Carlos Debattista are producing a poetry film of Oliver Friggieri’s work “Il-Lejl f’Dan l-Istazzjon”.
Il-Lejl f’dan l-Istazzjon
Il-lejl f’dan l-istazzjon wasal ftit qabli,
xejn aktar ma nistenna. Telqet issa
qajl qajl il-ferrovija minn quddiemi.
Jien nilheġ, hi titħarrek bla ma tgħaġġel,
għajjiena t-tnejn f’dir-rokna ta’ belt rieqda.
Il-lejl f’dan l-istazzjon jasal ftit kmieni,
u dan kien l-aħħar vjaġġ. Vaguni suwed
jinħbew fid-dlam, u l-aħħar ħoss ibatti
u tbatti fija t-tama ta’ belt oħra.Oliver Friggieri
Kafè
Dur, dur …
inkaljatur,
kejla kafè karwatli
ħa nitħnu fil-mitħna.
Mill-imsieħen imsoffi
ikkargat il-kafè
sa ma jiled
id-duwa tas-seħer.
U nibqa’ nishar
tul dawn l-iljieli,
mill-firmament niddistilla
l-eliżir
tal-poeżija.
Poetry on Film huwa proġett ta’ Inizjamed u l-Fondazzjoni Valletta 2018 li għandu l-għan li jitrawwem is-settur tal-“films tal-poeżija” f’Malta permezz tat-taħriġ, l-ikkummissjonar ta’ films qosra tal-poeżija għall-wiri fil-Festival Mediterranju tal-Letteratura ta’ Malta, u l-esportazzjoni tal-films ikkummissjonati. Il-proġett jinsab fil-qofol tal-istrateġija tal-Fondazzjoni Valletta 2018 u Inizjamed biex il-poeżija ssir iktar aċċessibbli u iktar ħajja permezz tal-kollaborazzjoni u l-kreazzjoni bi sħab bejn dixxiplini artistiċi u mezzi ta’ komunikazzjoni differenti.
L-ewwel film tal-poeżija ġie kkummissjonat għall-edizzjoni tal-2014 tal-Festival Mediterranju tal-Letteratura ta’ Malta, marbut ma’ żewġ poeżiji ta’ Doreen Micallef bħala rappreżentanta tal-poeżija Maltija tas-snin 60, filwaqt li t-tieni film tal-poeżija ġie kkummissjonat għall-edizzjoni tal-2015 tal-istess Festival, marbut ma’ poeżija ta’ Mario Azzopardi bħala rappreżentant tal-poeżija Maltija tas-snin 70.
Fl-2016 ingħażlu żewġ films ibbażati fuq il-poeżiji ta’ Lillian Sciberras u Ray Mahoney permezz ta’ proċess ta’ sottomissjoni u għażla. Għall-2017 ingħażlu żewġ films oħra fuq il-poeżiji ta’ Victor Fenech u Maria Grech Ganado. Biex inqanqlu iktar interess u attività fis-settur bil-għan li tintrifed il-produzzjoni ta’ films tal-poeżija ta’ kwalità għolja f’Malta, il-Fondazzjoni Valletta 2018 u Inizjamed iddeċidew li jikkummissjonaw żewġ films oħra tal-poeżija permezz ta’ proċess selettiv.
L-għan ta’ dan il-proċess selettiv kien li tingħażel proposta waħda ta’ film qasir ta’ poeżija waħda ta’ Oliver Friggieri, u proposta waħda ta’ film qasir ta’ poeżija waħda ta’ Achille Mizzi.
Il-film qasir tal-poeżija propost ma kellux ikun iqsar minn 4 minuti u m’għandux jaqbeż it-8 minuti b’kollox, inklużi l-credits u għandu jpoġġi l-poeżija Maltija fil-qalba tiegħu. Ir-riżultat finali jrid ikun “film tal-poeżija” li matulu l-poeżija tinqara u/jew tinstema’, iktar milli film poetiku. Għalhekk, l-ilsien Malti għandu jidher b’mod prominenti fil-film. L-Ingliż u/jew ilsna oħra jistgħu jkunu preżenti wkoll. Il-film propost irid jinkludi sottotitli bl-Ingliż, bil-għan li l-film ikun jista’ jiġi esportat għall-wiri f’avvenimenti u festivals tal-films tal-poeżija barra minn Malta.
Poetry on Film is a project by Inizjamed and Valletta 2018 which aims to develop the poetry film sector in Malta through training, the commissioning of short poetry films to be screened at the annual Malta Mediterranean Literature Festival, and the export of the commissioned films. The project is central to the Valletta 2018 Foundation and Inizjamed strategy to make poetry more accessible and alive through collaboration and co-creation across different artistic disciplines and media.
On March 24, Inizjamed hosted a seminar at Studio Solipsis in Rabat to introduce prospective directors and filmmakers to the poems chosen for this year. The seminar started with an introduction to the Malta Mediterranean Literature Festival and poetry films by Dr Adrian Grima, followed by a close reading of the poems by Dr Immanuel Mifsud and a discussion. There were also creenings of local and foreign poetry films, namely the films by Nicky Aqulina/Lyanne Mifsud and Trevor Borg who were present for the seminar. This year’s poems are by Oliver Friggieri and Achille Mizzi.
Poetry on Film 2018 on Facebook
This year’s edition of Poetry on Film sees Clare Azzopardi and Ken Scicluna working on a poetry film which presents Achille Mizzi’s work “Kafè”, while Abigail Mallia and Carlos Debattista are producing a poetry film of Oliver Friggieri’s work “Il-Lejl f’Dan l-Istazzjon”.
The finished works will be screened during the annual Malta Mediterranean Literature Festival, which will take place between the 23rd and 25th of August 2018 at Fort Manoel, Manoel Island, Gżira.
The two authors and the choice of poems once more have been selected by Dr Immanuel Mifsud, the literary consultant for the Poetry on Film project. Each year’s poetry films are selected after workshops organised by Inizjamed, where filmmakers were encouraged to submit a short poetry film proposal.
About Poetry on Film
Poetry on Film is a Valletta 2018 project in collaboration with Inizjamed which aims to develop the poetry film sector in Malta through training, the commissioning of short poetry films to be screened at the annual Malta Mediterranean Literature Festival, and the export of the commissioned films. The project is central to the Valletta 2018 Foundation and Inizjamed strategy to make poetry more accessible and alive through collaboration and co-creation across different artistic disciplines and media. To stimulate wider interest and activity in the sector and with a view to supporting the high-quality production of poetry films in Malta, the Valletta 2018 Foundation and Inizjamed will commission two more poetry films via a selective process.
Past Editions
The first poetry film was commissioned for the 2014 edition of the Malta Mediterranean Literature Festival based on two poems by Doreen Micallef as a representative of Maltese poetry of the 1960s, and a second poetry film was commissioned for the 2015 edition of the same Festival, based on a poem by Mario Azzopardi as a representative of Maltese poetry of the 1970s. In 2016 two more films were chosen through a submission and selection process, namely films based on poems by Lillian Sciberras and Ray Mahoney. Last year, two films were also chosen through a submission and selection process, namely films based on the poems of Victor Fenech and Maria Grech Ganado.
For more information, visit Inizjamed’s Facebook page and www.inizjamed.org
This was the call for proposals for 2018: https://valletta2018.org/events/call-for-proposals-poetry-on-film/
