Adapting Local Stories to Film: Marthese Fenech, Lara Calleja & Joe Pace

 Last week we covered Alex Vella Gera's novel Is-Sriep Reġgħu Saru Velenużi and its film adaptation, which is hitting the silver screen soon. Sriep represents just the tip of the iceberg in terms of what Maltese novels are out there to adapt! In this article, we'll cover Marthese Fenech's A Novel of the Knights of Malta series of books set during The Great Siege of 1565, as well as Lara Calleja and Joe Pace's shortlisted novels for the EU literature prize... so if you've been keeping a keen eye on local material for your next project, or are just interested in what might end up in the pipeline towards moviedom, read on!

Marthese Fenech is a Canadian-Maltese author who has had a number of bestselling novels based in Malta. She is based in Canada and apart from being an author, she is also a professional editor and high school teacher. In an interview with Newsbook she explained how she had been wishing for the longest time that her novel series would be adapted to film or TV and how she has finally decided to take the leap herself.

Image Source: Marthese Fenech, Newsbook

"For years, I have wished someone – a director, a producer, an actor – would approach me about adapting my books". Realizing that she could push for such a project's fruition herself, Fenech has since started the process of drafting a pilot episode for the would-be series and hopes to pitch it to streaming services along with HBO and the History Channel in the coming months. Fenech is also working towards the submitting her third novel to the Toronto International Festival of the Arts, along with the aid of Dr. Raymond Xerri, Consul General of Malta in Canada.

Novels Shortlisted for EU Prize:

Image Source: Merlin Publishers, Times of Malta


Concurrently this week, there has also been a shortlisting of two other Maltese novels for an EU literature prize. The EU Prize for Literature (EUPL) recognizes emerging fiction writers across Europe and is in it's 13th edition this year.

The Maltese nominations have been Papa Aħmed by Joe Pace and Kissirtu Kullimkien by Lara Calleja.

Papa Aħmed recounts the story of a Maltese priest in his journey to the head of the Papacy which will take him across cultural, religious and social boundaries. In an interview with The Times, Pace said "The book is a political thriller. It deals with politics within an organisation like the Church and between three major religions which, while believing in the same God, are constantly at each other’s throats. It also deals with politics between people."

Kissirtu Kullimkien deals with the more relatable topic of overdevelopment and toxic urbanisation. It is a series of short stories revolving around the destructive impact of the construction industry on the Maltese isles. One can almost imaging a filmic retelling of such stories in a production akin to the Coens' The Balled of Buster Scruggs (2018)! Calleja said "I hope that my nomination and the book will serve as a platform so that the message about these themes will be delivered. I will not censure myself on such issues. I will always say what I have to say.

Both novels struck us as very cinematic in their nature, almost waiting to be adapted to film! On that line of thought, keep in mind that the National Book Council offers grants for the adaptation of Maltese novels to both feature-length and short films, an aid which could really help kickstart a project of this type. Happy reading and/or adapting!



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Interview with Ms. Michela Farrugia: Actress

Image
2021's Luzzu  has made waves in the local (and international!) film scene recently, and while I haven't yet had the chance to watch it myself ( please have a local release soon!), I have had the opportunity to interview Ms. Michela Farrugia, who plays leading man Jesmark's wife in the film. Farrugia gives us her insight on what it means to be within the acting profession on our isles, both in Film & TV as well as on-stage. Source: Twitter (@MichelaFarr) When asked to elaborate on what makes the two mediums most different, Farrugia told us that stage actors usually perform 'larger', as opposed to performances for more camera-centric mediums which allow for more subtlety owing the how the audience is placed in relation to the actors; "being able to whisper was new to me". There's also a difference in how one prepares for go-time. "In stage productions... there's a rehearsal period... in film, however, the actor needs to do a lot of his/her
Read more

Interview with Ms. Martina Zammit Maempel: Costume Designer & Supervisor

Image
Actresses and actors can't fulfil their roles if they're still wearing their everyday clothes on-screen. Even if a film is set in contemporary times, it's important to remember that the actor is not their character, and would necessarily be wearing different clothing. Who gets to design and decide this? Who manages and coordinates the teams that aid in creating a character's identity in what they wear? Well, of course that's the costume designers and costume coordinators respectively. We spoke to Martina Zammit Maempel, a costume designer and costume supervisor from our own isles, for some more insight into the role.  Maempel has been working in film & TV for about 7 years. She first got into the industry after she returned from London where she had been working in the fashion industry. Upon moving back, since locally there was not much of a fashion industry, she decided to apply for a role in the costume department. "I seemed to be at the right place/right
Read more

Interview with a Film Armourer: Mr. Stephen Petroni

Image
You're probably aware that you've seen more guns on the silver screen than you have in real life. But have you ever asked yourself where those guns come from? Who chooses which characters get which guns, and who does all the research to make sure historical characters aren't shooting guns which hadn't even been invented yet back in their time? Well, that's the job of the armoury department. We spoke to Stephen Petroni who, apart from being a firearms researcher and gun shop director, works as a film armourer and historical advisor. Along with his son Julian, he has worked in this capacity on most productions involving firearms shot in Malta since 2003. Stephen Petroni is the managing director of a gun shop and film armoury Petroni told us he first started working in the industry when he was contacted to provide arms for Silmido  (2003), a Korean action film directed by Kang Woo-suk. He provided a Browning machine gun which he adapted to fire blanks and loaded for us
Read more