A call for proposals addressed to film directors, filmmakers and producers with an active interest in short poetry films in general, and in modern Maltese poetry in particular, is now open for the Poetry on Film Project.
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.
Film proposals can be submitted by individuals or by teams. If applying as a team, the proposal should be submitted by an individual representative, but the application should include the signatures of all confirmed members of the team at the time of submission.
Applications can be submitted by visiting valletta2018.org. The deadline for the submission of applications is on Wednesday 6th April, at noon.
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. For the third year of the project, in order 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 have decided to commission two poetry films via a selective process.
This call for proposals follows the organisation of a Poetry on Film workshop, led by director Yasmin Fedda of Highlight Arts, on 13th-14th February 2016. Those who attended the workshop are encouraged to submit a short film proposal. Applications are also welcome from interested filmmakers who did not attend the workshop.
The aim of this selection process is to select one short film proposal based on one or more poems by Lillian Sciberras, and one short film proposal based on one or more poems by Ray Mahoney. The chosen poems, three per author, can be found in Appendix A. These two authors and six poems have been selected by Dr. Immanuel Mifsud, literary consultant for the Poetry on Film project, as representative of Maltese poetry of the 1980s.
Applicants may choose to submit a single film proposal based on one or more poems by one of the two authors, or two separate film proposals including one based on one or more poems by Lillian Sciberras, and another based on one or more poems by Ray Mahoney.
Following a pitching session for shortlisted projects, to take place on the morning of Saturday 9th April, the two selected film proposals will be granted a maximum budget of € 3,000 each (VAT inclusive), in order to produce the proposed short poetry film by the end of July 2016. This will premiere at the 11th edition of the Malta Mediterranean Literature Festival at Fort St. Elmo, Valletta, on 25th-27th August 2016.