A short but harrowing look at the horrors of war and how the smallest of errors can have tragic consequences as two British paratroopers land in Nazi-occupied Sicily (beautifully filmed in and around Victoria Gate in Valletta) in 1943.
Social & External
The people behind it
Mark Mifsud
Private Atkins
Miguel Pellegrini Petit
Street Boy
Jesmark, a struggling fisherman on the island of Malta, is forced to turn his back on generations of tradition and risk everything by entering the world of black market fishing to provide for his girlfriend and newborn baby.
Tosca returns to the Teatru tal-Opra Aurora in a completely new production, under the direction of the renowned Vivien Hewitt, following the recent successes of 2011 (Aurora's own production) and 2014 (a Gaulitanus chorus production). Attracting the greatest names in the opera world since its first performance in Rome in 1900, Tosca 2011 brought the Aurora its largest ever international cast, featuring soprano Michele Crider, tenor Neil Schicoff, and baritone Juan Pons. This time, the Aurora has made a point of enhancing the star-quality element in the cast beyond just the three leading roles. It is with pleasure, and a good dose of enthusiasm, that we announce our stellar cast, composed of Amarilli Nizza (Tosca), Stefano La Colla (Cavaradossi), Marco Vratogna (Scarpia), Frano Lufi (Angelotti), Matteo Peirone (Sacristan), Cliff Zammit Stevens (Spoletta), Joseph Lia (Sciarrone), and our own Mattia Grech (Shepherd Boy).
Franka Eyckner is in Malta on business. As the controller of a language school, she wants to get the principal on track. But the man is a real challenge. John sincerely vows to do better, but there's no sign of real change! It's a good thing there's also Till. The smart craftsman sees into Franka's soul and responds to her sensitively. Unfortunately, Franka is not the only woman who understands Till so well. Franka comes to Valletta to train John, the new head of the language school there. He is to use the sophisticated learning system that is the basis for the success of "Talk to Me", a global language school for which Franka works. But John, a bon vivant, humorously lets Franka down.
Professor of language and philosophy Dominic Matei is struck by lightning and ages backwards from 70 to 40 in a week, attracting the world and the Nazis. While on the run, the professor meets a young woman who has her own experience with a lightning storm. Not only does Dominic find love again, but her new abilities hold the key to his research.
The lives of the people of Malta and their endurance under the trials of the Second World War are displayed in this documentary short film.
On a hot day in the Western Suburbs of Melbourne, Dani paints her Nanna's pergola before the house is auctioned. Co-written by and starring Hannah Camilleri (Jeanette is the Dog) and featuring the voice of Maltese actress Frida Cauchi (Luzzu, MIFF 2021), Lime Parfait explores intergenerational relationships and the reliability of memories.
Due to his violent past, Deputy Sheriff Thomas Jefferson Geronimo III has been transferred to a rural outpost. When two thugs kill the sheriff, Geronimo shoots one, and the other vows revenge. The thug turns out to be a mob boss, and the court orders Geronimo to extradite him back to Sicily. When their plane is hijacked, the adversaries find their roles reversed.
The film’s storyline is one many returned Maltese migrants will no doubt associate with: it’s about a young free-spirited artist, Karl, who returns to his home island Malta after a long time away. It covers his personal journey discovering his roots. Reliving old habits with friends and memories from his childhood, this journey leads him to re-visit his past with his ex-girlfriend, and then with a new friend, Anna, through whom he visits his old home in Gozo, now a neglected house full of memories. Anna is his springboard for self reflection and becomes his reason for trying to start life again in Malta; a place he’s familiar with but is now seeing through different eyes.
A study of the political and religious fanaticism in Malta in the 60s.
Young Theo is sent on his first trip with his Maltese sea faring family, but things go terribly wrong when the 'Simshar' sinks, leaving the crew stranded in the Mediterranean... Simultaneously, Alex - a medic reluctantly dispatched onto a Turkish Merchant vessel which has rescued a group of stranded African boat people between Malta and Italy - gets stuck on the boat as the countries wage a bureaucratic war over who should take in the migrants... The stories unravel in parallel and culminate tragically when the fishermen are traced down, but by that time there's only one survivor.
Mar is ready to leave the tiny island of Malta behind, and her estranged mother's death gives her the perfect way out: an inheritance of valuable farmland that she can sell. But when greedy relatives contest her claim, Mar's plans hit a snag. As she fights to secure her future, Mar meets Nenu, a spirited troubadour whose vibrant folk songs, rooted in Malta's ancient għana tradition, awaken emotions she's long buried.
Malta, 1942, during World War II. While the German air force is relentlessly bombing the island, a British pilot falls in love with a young Maltese girl.
A skilled commercial diver in Malta, Tara Salgaonkar is a mystery to everyone around her. A strong girl who defies social conventions, she is trying to come to terms with her dark past.
A war drama of motor torpedo boats which did much unsung work in WW2, but the naval battles merely provide an exciting story in which an even more special romantic drama is wrapped up.
The small Mediterranean island of Malta had been British since 1814 but was 1,000 miles from the nearest British territory -- Gibralter to the west and Egypt to the east. The population was mostly Italian and that was the lingua franca. In Italy, only a few miles to the north, dictator Benito Mussolini watched as Hitler's war machine drove the British out of continental Europe and decided he'd bet on Britain's withdrawal from the war. So feeling, he declared war on Britain, attacked in Egypt, and bombed Malta. His judgment was rather like mine when playing poker, pretty poor. The English and colonial troops repelled him in Africa and drove him back into Italian territory. Malta stood firm. The Italian bombers were only half-hearted anyway. They
Sovereign Order of the Knights of Malta documents this mysterious group that has been associated with a variety of historical events and objects including the Holy Grail. The film utilizes interviews with experts on the topic and historical reenactments of the events that are discussed.
When a disenfranchised, world-famous photographer is interviewed by university students and presented with a portfolio of his life's work he is transported back to his very first photoshoot with a special yet mysterious subject.
The history and sights of Malta.
A boy who cries wolf witnesses a political assassination on the island of Malta. But will anyone other than his granddad believe him?
The Sovereign Military Order of Malta was a sacred Order of Knights involved in the world of the occult and still holds a seat in the United Nations.
During the harrows of WWII, Jo, a young shepherd along with the help of the widow Horcada, helps to smuggle Jewish children across the border from southern France into Spain.
In 1943, two British intelligence officers concoct Operation Mincemeat, wherein their plan to drop a corpse with false papers off the coast of Spain would fool Nazi spies into believing the Allied forces were planning to attack by way of Greece rather than Sicily.
A conflict develops between a troubled Vietnam veteran and the sister he lives with when she becomes involved romantically with the army buddy who reminds him of the tragic battle they both survived.
A WWII veteran escapes his care home in Northern Ireland and embarks on an arduous but inspirational journey to France to attend the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings, finding the courage to face the ghosts of his past.
Fr. Hugh O'Flaherty is a Vatican official in 1943-45 who has been hiding downed pilots, escaped prisoners of war, and Italian resistance families. His activities become so large that the Nazis decide to assassinate him the next time he leaves the Vatican.
When Andrew Briggman — a young soldier in the US Army during the invasion of Afghanistan — witnesses the murderous behavior of fellow soldiers, under the direction of a malevolent Sergeant, he faces a moral dilemma. His increasingly-violent platoon becomes suspicious that someone in their ranks has turned on them, and Andrew begins to fear for his safety. A fictionalized dramatization based on a true story.
During World War I, a group of British miners are recruited to tunnel underneath no man's land and set bombs from below the German front in hopes of breaking the deadly stalemate of the Battle of Messines.
When Singapore surrendered to the Japanese in 1942, the Allied POWs, mostly British but including a few Americans, were incarcerated in Changi prison. Among the American prisoners is Cpl. King, a wheeler-dealer who has managed to establish a pretty good life for himself in the camp. King soon forms a friendship with an upper-class British officer who is fascinated with King's enthusiastic approach to life.
Based on the true story of Oberleutnant Franz von Werra, the only German prisoner of war captured in Britain to escape back to Germany during the Second World War.
During World War II in North Africa, a group of British commandos disguised as Italian soldiers must travel behind enemy lines and destroy a vital Nazi oil depot.
During the war in Afghanistan a Soviet tank crew commanded by a tyrannical officer find themselves lost and in a struggle against a band of Mujahadeen guerrillas in the mountains.
A chronicle of the Cristeros War (1926-1929), which was touched off by a rebellion against the Mexican government's attempt to secularize the country.
Inspired by the real-life German special operations unit KG 200 that shot down, repaired, and flew Allied aircraft as Trojan horses, "Wolf Hound" takes place in 1944 German-occupied France and follows the daring exploits of Jewish-American fighter pilot Captain David Holden. Ambushed behind enemy lines, Holden must rescue a captured B-17 Flying Fortress crew, evade a ruthless enemy stalking him at every turn, and foil a plot that could completely alter the outcome of World War II.
In Korea, on 6 September 1950, Lieutenant Benson's platoon finds itself isolated in enemy-held territory after a retreat. Soon they are joined by Sergeant Montana, whose overriding concern is caring for his catatonic colonel. Benson and Montana can't stand each other, but together they must get the survivors to Hill 465, where they hope the division is waiting. It's a long, harrowing march, fraught with all the dangers the elusive enemy can summon.
One of the most celebrated war correspondents of our time, Marie Colvin is an utterly fearless and rebellious spirit, driven to the frontlines of conflicts across the globe to give voice to the voiceless.
Miracle at St. Anna chronicles the story of four American soldiers who are members of the all-black 92nd "Buffalo Soldier" Division stationed in Tuscany, Italy during World War II.
A veteran soldier returns from his completed tour of duty in Iraq, only to find his life turned upside down when he is arbitrarily ordered to return to field duty by the Army.
A dramatization of the American general and his court martial for publically complaining about High Command's dismissal and neglect of the aerial fighting forces.
An American Army officer is recruited by the yet to exist Israel to help them form an army. He is disturbed by this sudden appeal to his Jewish heritage. Each of Israel's Arab neighbors has vowed to invade the poorly prepared country as soon as partition is granted. He is made commander of the Israeli forces just before the war begins.
Members of the U.S. Army's 101st Airborne Division are fighting for their country amidst the rugged terrain of Bastogne, Belgium, in December 1944. Holley and his American compatriots have already seen one of their own, Roderigues, perish under enemy fire. The men try to rebuff another series of Nazi attacks, but what they really need is a change in the weather. Without clear skies, they'll never get the air support they need.