1931 film Tell England screening at MCC

In the run-up to the European Film Awards being held in Malta on 1 of December, the Malta Film Commission together with the National Book Council will be organising, for the first time after 81 years since it was last shown in Malta, the screening of Tell England.

The 1931 film is based on the novel of the same name by Ernest Raymond. It will be screened during the National Book Fair taking place at the Mediterranean Conference Centre on Sunday 11 November at 6pm.

It was only last year that archival research brought to light the fact that the first feature film to be partially shot in Malta was Sons of the Sea in 1925.

"The Malta Film Commission is proud to have reached an agreement with the British Film Institute whereby four films, amongst which Tell England, were shot between 1925 and 1930 on our islands have been brought back to Malta for the enjoyment of Maltese audiences," the commission said in a statement.

"While Malta's unique cultural heritage, architectural legacy, and variety of natural locations have all been directly responsible in the past decades to attracting foreign feature film productions to our shores, the presence of the Admiralty in Malta was the main factor which led to these four films having scenes shot in Malta in the inter-war period."

Tell England is directed by Anthony Asquith and starring Fay Compton, Tony Bruce and Carl Harbord. The story features two young men joining the army, and taking part in the fighting at Gallipoli.

The director's father Herbert Asquith was Prime Minister at the time of the Gallipoli Landings, a fact which drew much press attention to the film. Filming in Malta took place at Għajn Tuffieħa, Mġiebaħ and Marsaxlokk where the tragic scenes of the landings at Gallipoli where filmed.

Prior to the screening there will be a short discussion moderated by Joyce Grech, Executive Director National Book Council who is also a film journalist, film researcher Jean Pierre Borg and former The Times news editor John Mizzi and local rapporteur for The Daily Telegraph UK and author of the book: Gallipoli: The Malta Collection and member of the Gallipoli Association, UK.

The National Book Fair, this year holding its 28^th edition, is organised by the National Book Council and Malta Libraries and will run from the 7 to the 11 November.

Entrance is free of charge, but prior registration is required in view of seating restrictions. For further information and to book your seat please send an email to [email protected]