World Film Locations: Malta

Jean Pierre Borg and Charlie Cauchi

Description

Malta has served as a beautiful backdrop for films for nearly as long as there has been a film industry. This entry in the World Film Locations series traces the history of Malta on screen, from big-budget blockbusters to modest indie pictures. The locations Malta offers range widely, from grand fortified harbors and stunning cliffs to quaint villages and Baroque palaces. That diversity has enabled the island to double for countless locations, including ancient Troy and Alexandria, as well as Greece, Israel, and other Mediterranean and Middle Eastern regions, while its well-known water tanks have proved to be perfect for shooting ocean scenes. Packed with illustrations, World Film Locations: Malta examines a number of films made in Malta to date, and will be a must-read for tourists, film buffs, and scholars alike.

Essays:

Malta: Island of the Imagination, Charlie Cauchi

Textured Spaces in The Maltese Fighter, Monika Maslowska

From V. to World War Z: The Inhabited Plain, Guillaume Dreyfuss

Early Visions: The Presence of Film-Makers in Early 20th Century Malta, Giovanni Bonello

Cinemas in the Social Urban Landscape, Marc Zimmermann

The Lazarus Harbour, Kenneth Scicluna

The Dawn of the Mediterranean's Mini Hollywood, Jean Pierre Borg

 

Sujets

• Mediterranean
• Película fotográfica
• Travel writing
• General officer
• Mediterranean Sea
• Maltese
• General
• Exxon Valdez
• Film

Informations

• Publié par: Intellect Books
• Date de parution: 01 décembre 2015
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781783204991
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 8 Mo

Extrait

WORLD
FILM
LOCATIONS
MALTA
Edited by Jean Pierre Borg and Charlie CauchiWORLD
FILM
LOCATIONS
MALTA
Edited by Jean Pierre Borg and Charlie Cauchi
First Published in the UK in 2015 by All rights reserved. No part of this
Intellect Books, The Mill, Parnall Road, publication may be reproduced, stored
Fishponds, Bristol, BS16 3JG, UK in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in
any form or by any means, electronic, First Published in the USA in 2015
mechanical, photocopying, recording, or by Intellect Books, The University of
otherwise, without written consent.
Chicago Press, 1427 E. 60th Street,
Chicago, IL 60637, USA A Catalogue record for this book is
available from the British LibraryCopyright © 2015 Intellect Ltd
World Film Locations Series
Cover photo: Munich (2005)
ISSN: 2045-9009
DreamWorks SKG / Universal /
eISSN: 2045-9017The Kobal Collection / Ballard, Karen
World Film Locations Malta
Copy Editor: Emma Rhys ISBN: 978-1-78320-498-4
ePDF ISBN: 978-1-78320-499-1
Printed and bound by
Bell & Bain Limited, GlasgowWORLD
FILM
LOCATIONS
MALTA
editors
Jean Pierre Borg and Charlie Cauchi
series editor & design
Gabriel Solomons
contributors
Giovanni Bonello
Marcelline Block
Rebecca Cremona
Guillaume Dreyfuss
Monika Maslowska
Jake Mayle
Kenneth Scicluna
Marc Zimmermann
location photography
Jean Pierre Borg
Mark Cassar
Jake Kindred
Robert Racaru
Stefan Starface
location maps
Greg Orrom Swan
published by
Intellect
The Mill, Parnall Road,
Fishponds, Bristol, BS16 3JG, UK
T: [phone]
F: [phone]
E: [e-mail]
with the initiative of Filmed in Malta and
supported by the Malta Film Commission
Bookends: Bus terminus (Mark Cassar)
This page: St John Street, Valletta (Jake Kindred)
Overleaf: On the set of Gladiator (2000)CONTENTS
Maps/Scenes Essays
8 Scenes 1-13 6 Malta:
Valleta Island of the Imaginat ion
Charlie Cauchi
38 Scenes 14-17
36 Textured Spaces in Southern Harbour
The Maltese Fighter
Monika Maslowska
50 Scenes 18-22
Northern Harbour 48 From V. to World War Z:
The Inhabited Plain
Guillaume Dreyfuss 64 Scenes 23-27
South East
62 Early Visions:
The Presence of Film-makers
in Early 20th Century Malta 78 Scenes 28-31
Giovanni BonelloWest
76 Cinemas in the Social
90 Scenes 32-38 Urban Landscape
North Marc Zimmermann
The Lazarus Harbour 88108 Scenes 39-46
Kenneth SciclunaGozo and Comino
106 The Dawn of the
Mediterranean’s Mini
Hollywood
Jean Pierre Borg
Backpages
126 Resources
127 Contributor Bios
128 Filmography
3World Film Locations | Maltaacknowledgements
We are grateful to those who have
contributed to this edition of the
World Film Locations series and
are indebted to all the flm-makers
and production teams, local or
otherwise, that have chosen to make
their pictures on our shores. We
would like to extend our gratitude
to Gabriel Solomons at Intellect,
Guy Hendrix Dyas, Marlene and
Benjamin Borg, Joel Pullin, Mike
Anderson, Nolan & Palmer, Hannah
Maxwell and Joshua de Giorgio.
jean pierre borg
and charlie cauchi
published by
Intellect
The Mill, Parnall Road,
Fishponds, Bristol, BS16 3JG, UK
T: [phone]
F: [phone]
E: [e-mail]
World Film Locations Malta
in a distinct departure from the other editions that make up the World
Film Locations series, this book is concerned with an island rather than a city.
Given Malta’s diminutive size, both in terms of its population (approx. 420,000) and
2land mass (316 km ), we have re-shifed our focus to concentrate on Malta in its
entirety, thereby also including the sister islands of Gozo, Comino and Cominotto.
Tis book draws together essays from flm scholars, flm historians, flm-makers,
heritage conservationists and industry professionals, calling attention to signifcant
flms, cultural movements and key players in the process.
A little under a century ago, Malta’s appearance on-screen was mainly infuenced
by its strategic position at the heart of the Mediterranean and its status as part
of the British Empire. Te islands therefore featured in a number of British flms
that focused on military operations, specifcally those associated with World Wars
I and II. Afer Malta gained its independence in 1964, productions originating
from outside the United Kingdom also saw the benefts of using Malta as a flming
location. While the types of genres became a little more varied, it was the water
tank at Rinella that proved to be a draw. Here we must acknowledge the work of a
number of key individuals, including Benjamin Hole, Lino Cassar, Paul Avellino,
Narcy Calamatta and Ino Bonello, amongst others. However, it was Ridley Scott’s
Gladiator, which was flmed in Malta in 1999 and released in 2000, that is generally
seen to have reinvigorated Malta’s flm servicing industry, boosting Malta’s
cinematic presence in the process.
From Gladiator onwards, Malta made a concerted efort to attract more foreign
productions to its shores, including the establishment of a flm commission and
the introduction of fnancial incentives. Since then, Malta has matured into a ‘flm
friendly’ island, successfully attracting a wide range of foreign productions, not
solely because of the surface sea-facing water tanks, or its ideal climate, but also
thanks to its versatile natural and architectural landscape. Although local
flmmaking has been slow to take of, much change has taken place in recent years, with
the introduction of national incentives and structural changes to support Malta’s
own flm-making output.
In a book of this size, one can only ofer a taster, rather than an exhaustive
analysis, of flm-making within the nation, be it foreign or Maltese. But we hope
that through the examination of a broad range of flm titles, alongside the more
focused Spotlight Essays, that this publication will whet the appetite of locals,
travellers and flm enthusiasts alike. {
Jean Pierre Borg and Charlie Cauchi, Editors
5World Film Locations | Maltaa
i
u
i
Text by
eMALTA w
Island of the Imagination
nets, wood, paint, grit, gravel – all urban forms that were introduced over various
have been applied to the sandy limestone surface centuries by Arab and later European cultures’
of this island archipelago, and all in the name of (p.38). A palimpsest of past conquests and
cinema. Malta’s rural and urban landscape has cultures, it is Malta’s hybridity, its position between
functioned as a veritable blank canvas, ready to the East and the West that makes it suitable to
be shaped by the flm-makers that visit and to convey the reality that it purports to represent.
serve the requirements of their own particular Take Steven Spielberg’s Munich (2005) as a prime
narratives. Epic tales, adventure flms, spy example; a tour de force for production designer
movies – the island has made many a generic Rick Carter, costume designer Joanna Johnston
transformation over the years. On occasion, Malta and cinematographer Janusz Kaminski, who are all
fickers on the big screen in all its natural glory incidentally close collaborators of the renowned
and, albeit rarely, is even given the chance to play director. Te flm’s central premise has Mossad
itself. But more ofen than not, the country acts as agents travel to Athens, Beirut, Nicosia, Rome,
a surrogate for other places – either real or fantasy Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and the West Bank to carry out
spaces, set in contemporary or distant times, their operation. In reality however, the production
2 ofen disguised to the point that it is rendered team barely used a fraction of the 316 kmthat
unrecognizable to those who know it well. make up the Maltese islands.
Writing as someone who has a strong In this case, certain aspects and features
connection with Malta, I fnd that my own cultural inherent to the chosen landscape were singled out
identity, age and life experiences can ofen confict and accentuated, while others were obscured or
with the cinematic representation placed before camoufaged. Either way, through the collaborative
me. At times running counter to my own lived-in eforts and critical eye of the production team,
knowledge, these on-screen manifestations lead each chosen space took on a personality of its
to a desire to pinpoint each exact location and to own, demonstrating that objects, decor and colour
unpick the geographic reality of each scene. When can be an integral part of flming on location.
watching a flm I know was shot on location in To highlight a few examples, Valletta’s baroque
Malta, I occasionally fnd that I become more architecture is foregrounded to stand in for
preoccupied with the of-screen spaces, with what Rome; while Sliema, with its bustling seafront and
lies beyond the image, rather than the image intensely developed promenade of Bauhaus-esque
itself. What do these props, edits, camera angles apartment blocks, bears an uncanny resemblance
conceal rather than reveal? Do not read my lack to Tel Aviv – with some fne sand also thrown in
of engagement with the flm as disinterest. Rather, (quite literally I expect) for good measure. Add a
the more difcult it is to verify a particular place classic car here, some stay-press fabric there and,
can be seen as testament to the director’s vision once you de-saturate the image, we have not only
and, more importantly, the skills of the countless travelled to two completely diferent parts of the
other individuals that make such transformations world, but both spaces have also transported the
possible. And lest I forget, the versatile actor at the audience back in time to the 1970s.
heart of it all: Malta. Although Munich can be seen as a period
My own emotional attachment aside, architect drama, the island’s rich history also attracts
Conrad Take describes Malta’s landscape as being productions that are preoccupied with distant
‘highly discontinuous in its physical structure, myths. Te realist background that period flms
refecting the d