Europe’s emotion in film

Deep in the bowels of the former knights’ hospital in Valletta, a dedicated team are working on a plan to “infect” Malta with love for European cinema. “We hope in the long-term to set off a virus that will make the Maltese want to see more films from Europe,” said Marion Döring, director of the European Film Academy (EFA). For the past few weeks, Ms Döring and her team have been preparing for Saturday’s European Film Awards at Valletta’s Mediterranean Conference Centre (MCC), once the Sacra Infermeria of the Knights of St John. Actress Helen Mirren and director Bernardo Bertolucci will be among the stars attending the awards, known as ‘Europe’s Oscars’. “A lot of great film-makers will be coming to Malta. They are potential clients for the future who may return here to shoot movies,” said Ms Döring, as she discussed the benefits of the island hosting the awards for the first time. Ms Döring said Maltese film-lovers need to look beyond the English language films which dominate the local box office. “If they do not watch films in other languages they miss out on a lot of wonderful stories about people in Europe. These films are virtual journeys that help audiences understand the...