Our family-friendly, cat-focused Maltese doco, Cats of Malta has it’s first festival selection! Cats of Malta has officially been selected to screen as part of Melbourne Documentary Film Festival.
More details to follow in the coming month.
Cats of Malta Preview Screenings at Local Cinemas | Nexus Production Group Press Release
Are you ready for Malta's first cat movie?
Cats of Malta celebrates Malta's cat culture while highlighting the Maltese community spirit. Produced by Nexus Production Group and sponsored by the Malta Tourism Authority and Borg Cardona & Co., Cats of Malta is having its first preview screening at Eden Cinemas on November 25th November, 9pm.
Director and producer Sarah Jayne Portelli reflects, “I've always felt a connection to Malta and its locals, but what surprised me was the unavoidable presence of stray cats. Curious why there were so many strays, who looks after them and how cats influence Maltese culture, I chatted with locals and the cat community to ask these questions and many more.”
A big part of Malta’s cat culture is the island’s stray cat population and the people who — through volunteering, art and folklore — show the cats unconditional love and support. The filmmakers visited popular colonies, cat cafes and sanctuaries, talked to artists, and sourced stories from locals and business owners about their favourite felines. They compiled all the heartfelt stories into a fun, family-friendly documentary that will make audiences feel a rainbow of emotions.
Coming on board as sponsors are The Malta Tourism Authority – who constantly work to promote Malta as a cat-loving island worldwide – and local pet food company Borg Cardona & Co.,– solid supporters of Malta’s cat community and animal NGO's. As part of Borg Cardona’s sponsorship in collaboration with Royal Canin Malta, they will hand out cat food vouchers at the Eden Cinemas screening to the feeders featured in Cats of Malta to help them look after their cat colonies.
Cats of Malta stars Maltese artist Matthew Pandolfino, creator of the giant cat sculpture overlooking Independence Garden, actor and feeder Polly March, former Two Buoys restaurant owner Michelle Deguara and feeder Saviour Gilson, Spinola Bay's Cat Village matriarch Roza Zammit Salinos, Animal Guardian’s Cat Cafe volunteers Karmen Coleiro and Caroline Borg, plus Malta’s youngest cat feeder, Isaac Muscat.
Not to mention a lot of adorable cats.
The first preview screening at Eden Cinemas on November 25th, followed by a Q&A with the filmmakers, is part of a limited run of special preview screenings exclusive to Malta. Two encore preview screenings follow at Spazju Kreattiv on November 27th and December 3rd, before the film is submitted to festivals and officially released by Nexus Production Group worldwide in 2022.
Nexus Production Group is run by prolific Australian filmmaking duo Ivan Malekin and Sarah Jayne Portelli. Ivan served as producer and editor on Cats of Malta, while Sarah Jayne is the producer and director. Individually, the filmmakers each have fifteen years of experience producing, writing and directing short and feature-length independent films in Europe and Australia, including Daughter (2016), Friends, Foes & Fireworks (2018), and Maltese feature films In Corpore (2020) and Machination (2021). Since 2017 Ivan and Sarah Jayne have called Malta home.
Preview Screenings
Thursday, November 25th @ Eden Cinemas
9pm, Screening + Q&A
Tickets are now on sale here
Saturday, November 27th @ Spazju Kreattiv
5:30pm, Encore Screening
Tickets are now on sale here
Friday, December 3rd @ Spazju Kreattiv
9pm, Encore Screening
Tickets are now on sale here
Contact
Email: Sarah Jayne & Ivan Malekin
Phone/WhatsApp: Sarah Jayne Portelli
+356 99322412
Website
Female Driven Doco Focused on Malta's Rebellious Women Wrapped
One day before we left Malta for a re-location move we managed to wrap our second documentary No Woman is an Island.
No Woman is an Island is an exploration into what it means to be a woman in Malta right now when your views and methods of self-expression are misunderstood and seen as unconventional in the eyes of locals. Through interviews with five women who are pushing political and social boundaries, while challenging traditional gender norms, we discover the current issues facing women and pinpoint where change still needs to be made.
Deliberately and candidly shot through the female gaze, through the eyes of Malta's unconventional, innovative female free thinkers, No Woman is an Island is a documentary that is sure to cause a stir in Malta. The themes of the doco fit in well with Malta’s current social justice climate that sees women still shouting to be heard across various areas that affect the daily lives of women across the island.
We are super excited for the release of this one as it really is going to be a talking point in Malta and get a discussion flowing. Hopefully, this stir will be part of the change of attitude and action Malta needs in order to start seeing women as equals and individuals worthy of equal rights.
Find out more and follow the film’s page here.
No Woman is an Island Begins Production
Production has begun on our latest documentary titled No Woman is an Island, which interviews innovative, free-thinking women in Malta, and explores what it is like to be loud, independent, and defiantly female on a small island that is often conservative.
Our first interview was with Undine LaVerve, Malta's pioneering and premier burlesque artist. It was a revealing conversation an absolute pleasure to film with her.
Over the next month we are aiming to complete production on this documentary and then begin post-production in August. A release is planned for late 2021 and we look forward to bringing you more news about the progress of No Woman is an Island. Stay tuned and follow the progress here, on the offical page.
Cats of Malta Kickstarter
After 10 months of pouring our hearts and soul into this cat focused documentary, we are now in post production – so close to the finish line! We have an ambitious goal but we KNOW that with our incredible cat-loving audience and soon-to-be new fans around the world, we can do this. YOU can do this!
Please take 2 minutes to go to our Kickstarter page, check out our project, and consider supporting our campaign.
A family friendly story about Malta's underrated cat culture, how these stray felines unite the island, enhance the landscape, radiate positivity and bewitch the human population – believe it or not – needs help getting in front of people.
SO TAKE A TRIP THROUGH MALTA WITH US, MEET THE CATS, THE FEEDERS, THE ARTISTS & HEAR THEIR STORIES.
Check out the video below and go the campaign page here:
Documentary on Stray Cats of Malta enjoys National Airtime
It was a pleasure to have been invited to talk and present our documentary feature film Cats of Malta on Animal Diaries. The lifestyle show, hosted by Moira Delia airs live every Saturday night on the Maltese National Television Station (TVM Malta) and aims to “raise community awareness of the vulnerability of animals and the importance of conserving Maltese species and other endangered species through educational experiences”.
A short clip edited together by the film’s editor and cinematographer Ivan Malekin was played at the beginning of the interview, giving audiences a small sneak peek into this feature-length documentary and this was followed up by a chat with director Sarah Jayne.
The episode, aired October 24th, is now online and you can watch the full interview with Sarah Jayne below.
The Cat's out of the Bag
Unbeknown to us we scored some media attention for the third time this year from Guide Me Malta, the film they focused on was our local cat lovers documentary Cats of Malta.
While we were conversing with talented Maltese street artist Matthew Pandolfino we were being watched, and so was the art. Matthew’s feline sculpture is famous on Instagram, well known by the locals and is hard to miss when driving along Sliema’s promenade. She sits proudly on a toilet block, looking out above Independence Garden (also known as Cat Park).
Some say that the sculpture is a cat god, looking out for the cats in the garden, but whatever powerful being she is, we were lucky enough to contact Matthew about talking to us on camera just as he was giving her a fresh coat of paint.
We visited Matthew on three separate occasions while the sculpture went from a coloured abstract design to the new luna theme. We can’t wait to put the edit for this section of the doco together and tell the story!
Check out both articles relating to Cats of Malta and Matthew’s cat overhaul in these articles from May 9th and May 17th.
Cats of Malta Begins Production
Production has began on our feature documentary Cats of Malta about the many stray cats of the island and the people who care for them. Our first interview was with Matthew Pandalfino as he re-painted his giant cat sculpture in Sliema, a popular tourist attraction, and we were there to document the process and learn more about why cats are so beloved in Malta. We have more interviews lined up so stay tuned to our website for updates and adorable pictures of cats.
And if you are in Malta and know a cat feeder with an interesting story to tell, we want to speak to them. Get in touch with us.
