guest Country: Malta
Guest Country: Malta
Marrakech Short Film Festival – 6th Edition
As Consul General of the Republic of Malta I am honoured that Malta is the Guest Country at the 6th Edition of the Marrakech Short Film Festival, an occasion that reflects a new effort to build stronger cultural ties, awareness and friendship between Malta and the Kingdom of Morocco.
Malta and Morocco established diplomatic relations in 1974, laying the foundations for a relationship built on mutual respect and dialogue. This relationship entered a new phase in 2022, with the establishment of the Consulate General of the Republic of Malta in Casablanca, providing Malta with a permanent diplomatic presence in Morocco and creating new opportunities for closer cooperation.
The Consulate General is also committed to developing the cultural dimension of its relations. Culture provides a particularly meaningful bridge between Malta and Morocco. Despite Malta’s small size, an archipelago of three main islands, barely larger than the urban area of Casablanca, its creative landscape is remarkably vibrant, offering a rich and diverse repertory of artists and films.
Our Country programme brings together films in Maltese and English, reflecting the country’s linguistic peculiarity and cultural richness. Maltese, our national language, has its roots in a dialect of North African Arabic and bears influences from Sicilian and Italian, and is the only language of the Semitic family which is an official language of the European Union whilst English is our main language of contact with the world. Thus, I have no doubt that cinema, even in the succinct medium of a short movie, will enhance Malta’s role as a bridge between Europe and Africa whilst bringing together Malta and Morocco.
The selection spans several genres, including drama, animation, and documentary. Together, they offer audiences a glimpse of the rich kaleidoscope of Maltese culture, traditions, its built and natural environment, customs, and intangible heritage.
The movies included in our drama selection delve deeply into human relationships across different contexts. In Unur, Fama u Gloria, personal bonds are explored through the world of sport, where ambition, injury and identity intersect. Family relationships take centre stage in The Chain and My Dearest Mother, examining the emotional ties, tensions and sacrifices that shape our closest connections. Meanwhile, Bark focuses on the dynamics that emerge from unexpected encounters, showing how chance meetings can reveal vulnerability, empathy and a shared humanity. Malta will also be hosting the award-winning movie “Cookie box” by Polish Director Adam Żurawiecki, a tale of courage and compassion which deals with themes like domestic violence, migration and amplifying voices that are often underrepresented in mainstream media.
The animation selection brings together award-winning features from Toontuloon and Filfla Studios, ranging from a child’s dreams with Mr Teddy is Angry, Maltese legends like Filfla, and local customs from the eye of a child with Karamellu to an imaginative journey through space with Somewhere.
I would also like to extend my sincere appreciation to the various Maltese and Moroccan sponsors whose generous support has made Malta’s participation in the Marrakech Short Film Festival possible. To the artists and media houses including Ms Abigail Mallia and Mr Aidan Mizzi, Mr Adam Żurawiecki, Mr Mike Bonello Ghio, Mr Fabrizio Fenech, Mr Fabrizio Ellul and Mr Jean-Pierre Debattista. I also wish to acknowledge the valuable contribution of the Malta Arts Council and the Centre for the Maltese Language. Their support has been instrumental in bringing together this diverse selection of Maltese artists and films, as well as in facilitating the preparation of English subtitles, thereby making the works more accessible to the festival’s wider international audience.
Mr Ivan Vassallo
Consul General of the Republic of Malta