When it comes to French cinema, we will remember the films of George Méliès and the Lumière brothers, of François Truffaut and Jean-Luc Godard, of Claude Chabrol and Patrice Leconte. Across the Alps, the names of Luchino Visconti and Federico Fellini, Pier Paolo Pasolini and Roberto Rossellini will remain etched in our memories. In Spain, Luis Buñuel and Pedro Almodóvar readily come to mind. But what about Maltese cinema? As part of your next teen language study trip to Malta, LEC takes a quick look at the issue!
Understanding Maltese cinema in two parts
If you want to get the fullest possible experience of Maltese cinema during your upcoming language study trip to Malta, you should focus on two aspects of its history. The first is Maltese film production itself—that is, Maltese films. The second, and arguably more significant, concerns foreign films shot in one of the archipelago’s enchanting landscapes —and in particular those filmed in Valletta.
Movies you might hear about during a language study trip to Malta for teens
If The Maltese Falcon remains the best-known film when the archipelago is mentioned—even though it has absolutely nothing Maltese about it—other films bear the mark of talent from this small Mediterranean country. This is the case, for example, withAngli: The Movie, a 2005 action feature film directed by Mario Busietta and adapted from the TV series of the same name. It tells the story of two elite police officers, Anglu and Gabriel, whose mission is to protect high-tech equipment being tested at Malta International Airport… We should also mention Gaġġa, the adaptation of the novel Il-Gagga, and Qerq, a thriller released in 2007.
Some famous feature films shot in Malta
But what would an overview of Maltese cinema be without a list of films shot on the archipelago? LEC has put together a selection of these films that have chosen Malta as their setting. Worth watching… or rewatching:
- The Da Vinci Code
- World War Z
- Gladiator
- U-571
- The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
- Troy
- Midnight Express
- The Spy Who Loved Me
- Munich
- Popeye
- Pirates