Il-programm bil-Malti qiegħed hawn.
Inizjamed is organising this Festival with the support of the Malta Council of Arts and the Cultural Partnership Agreement. The Festival is also collaborating with Literature Across Frontiers, Creative Europe and l-Għaqda tal-Malti – Università. This Festival has been given an international accreditation through the EFFE Europe for Festival, Festival for Europe trademark. The Festival is also part of the Phoenicians’ Route recognised by the Council of Europe and the EU COSME project for cultural tourism TRAMES.
The Literary Europe Live Plus project, a collaboration with Literature Across Frontiers, contributes to the programme of the 2019 festival edition with support from the Creative Europe Programme of the European Union.
Guide
Click on the images below to go straight to the details for the respective events.
| Sun 18 | Mon 19 | Tue 20 | Wed 21 | |
| 8pm |  |  |  |
| Thu 22 | Fri 23 | Sat 24 | |
| 7pm |  |  | |
| 8pm |  | | |
Entrance is free for all activities.
Sunday 18 August 2019, at 8pm
Is Universality a Myth? The Case for Literature
The Malta Mediterranean Literature Festival will open with this discussion. Can a work of literature ever be universal? Can a novel ever be simply humanistic and transcend the time and place of its creation? If there is a structural conflict between human rights and culture, can a novel ever surpass such a hurdle? Can poetry be more universal than a novel? How well does literature translate itself? Do authors who live outside their country of birth adopt a more universal look at their own roots? The moderator of this event will be David Aloisio. The panel members are four of the invited authors: Antoine Cassar, Eric Ngalle Charles, Habib Tengour and Loranne Vella.
This discussion will be held in English.
Click here for more information.
Directions to The Undercroft.
Tuesday 20 August 2019, at 8pm
(Not) Maintaining the Status Quo
Society embraces certain practices while prohibiting others. At times, literature and the rest of the art scene mirror this status quo, at other times they question it. Do artists shoot at the wrong taboos or do they only aim at ones that are safe to shoot at? Locally, is it too facile to criticise the environmental situation? Is it done at the expense of other issues such as nepotism, abortion, fiscal, corruption and the threat of the far right? Are artists too wary of biting the big hand that feeds them? The moderator will be John Portelli. The panel members are Rasha Abbas, Astrid Alben and Yolanda Pantin.
This discussion will be held in English.
Click here for more information.
Directions to Valletta Contemporary.
Wednesday 21 August 2019, at 8pm
Open Mic
It is the public that makes a Festival special and on this night the public will have the opportunity to take centre stage rather than be just a spectator. The stage will be free, and the spirit just as much. Any story, poem or song is welcome. The more, the merrier. The same goes to languages or dialects. Just use the one that you dream in. The Festival’s guest authors will also be with us, and so we can all mix and mingle freely together.
Click here for more information.
Directions to Valletta Contemporary.
The Fort Nights, 22-24 August 2019
Thursday 22 August 2019, at 7pm
Writers write. They are the ones who create the text. And yet, that text needs readers too. Without readers there can be no literary experience. A literature festival is not a monologue, but a dialogue between writers and readers. We invite you, therefore, to join us in celebrating the role that readers play during the Festival. Let us share and discuss our interpretations of the works written by the guest authors. This activity will be led by Noel Tanti and Ritienne Coleiro.
Click here for more information.
Directions to Fort Saint Elmo.
The Authors
Thursday 22 August 2019, at 8pm
- Yolanda Castaño, poetry
- Antoine Cassar, poetry, interview by Simona Cassano
- Break, with the screening of a selection of Poetry Films from the Zebra Poetry Film Festival
- Boqqa u Bukkun: ethical food and drink by Core Green – Organic & Fairtrade, with Healthylicious, Cuckoo Food Club, and Biome Munch
- Music by Tact
- Rasha Abbas, prose
- Astrid Alben, poetry
Directions to Fort Saint Elmo.
Friday 23 August 2019, at 7pm
The HELA Foundation is organising this activity in conjunction with Wikimedia Community Malta. A group of authors, editors, researchers, and contributors, are going to meet to write and/or update articles on Wikipedia, both in Maltese and English. The work of this Meetup will concentrate on the four Maltese writers taking part in this year’s Festival: Rena Balzan, Antoine Cassar, Elizabeth Grech and Loranne Vella.
This is part of HELA’s mission to increase access to and knowledge on the Maltese literary heritage. Therefore, the HELA Foundation encourages all those who have Maltese literature at heart to publish relevant articles on the Internet.
You do not need to have any technical ability or an academic background to participate. These Meetups are a wonderful occasion for the community to come together to increase knowledge. Join in!
English-speaking participants are welcome.
Click here for more information.
Directions to Fort Saint Elmo.
The Authors
Friday 23 August 2019, at 8pm
- Elizabeth Grech, poetry
- Eric Ngalle Charles, prose and poetry, interview by Alexandra Büchler
- Break, with the screening of a selection of Poetry Films from the Zebra Poetry Film Festival
- Boqqa u Bukkun: ethical food and drink by Core Green – Organic & Fairtrade, with Healthylicious, Cuckoo Food Club, and Biome Munch
- Music by Tact
- Poetry Film, Natura Morta, by Cine Laurea from the eponymous poem by Joe Friggieri, with an introduction by Kenneth Scicluna
- Rena Balzan, poetry and prose, in an exchange with Bernard Micallef
- Habib Tengour, poetry
On this evening, More or Less Theatre will be holding a story-telling session for children of all ages, right by the Festival space.
Directions to Fort Saint Elmo.
The Authors
Saturday 24 August 2019, at 8pm
- Loranne Vella, prose
- Sampurna Chattarji, prose and poetry, interview by Nadia Mifsud
- Break, with the screening of a selection of Poetry Films from the Zebra Poetry Film Festival
- Boqqa u Bukkun: ethical food and drink by Core Green – Organic & Fairtrade, with Healthylicious, Cuckoo Food Club, and Biome Munch
- Music by Djun
- Yolanda Pantin, poetry
- Davide Rondoni, poetry
- The Final Act
Directions to Fort Saint Elmo.
Compères
Sephora Francalanza, Teodor Reljić, Justine Somerville and Noel Tanti.
Resident Musicians
Effie Azzopardi and Kenneth Sacco.
The Inizjamed Team
Kit Azzopardi, Daniel Bezzina, Claudine Borg, Jean Paul Borg (administrator), Elena Cardona, Priscilla Cassar, Ritienne Coleiro, Leanne Ellul, Claudia Gauci, Elizabeth Grech, Adrian Grima, Nadia Mifsud, Virginia Monteforte, Teodor Reljić, Kenneth Scicluna, Justine Somerville, Noel Tanti and Karsten Xuereb, with the help of Alexandra Büchler (Literature Across Frontiers u LEuL), Glen Calleja (HELA), Immanuel Mifsud, Clare Azzopardi, Jes Psaila and Jorge Peregrina Lao.
Design of the Festival Logo and Print Material
Pierre Portelli.
Thanks to
Core Green: Organic & Fairtrade for the food and drink, Ian Giordimaina from Digital Magic for the setup, Late Interactive for the light design, Clifton Fenech for the filming, Virginia Monteforte, Giola Cassar and Katelia for the photography, Margerita Pulè for the stage management, the Inizjamed volunteers, Għaqda tal-Malti – Università, Marco Micallef from Royal Travel, Angele Bianchi from Castille Hotel, Christine Cremona from Heritage Malta, Kotba Calleja, Malta Tourism Authority, Norbert Attard from Valletta Contemporary, Gregory Ellul from M-Gas Sound Company, and Adel Ferrito from The Undercroft. Thanks also to l’Ambassade de France à Malte, Istituto Italiano di Cultura La Valletta, Mary Ann Cauchi and Christabel Catania from Arts Council Malta, Glen Calleja and Giola Cassar from Studio Solipsis, Angele Galea from More or Less Theatre, Kate Rex and Roger West, and the media in general.
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