Medieval fantasy film ‘as Maltese as the George Cross’

Let's face it: though Malta has served as a backdrop for many a high-profile Hollywood production, it has yet to boast a bona fide, home-grown feature film to be proud of.

Granted, some feature films by local production houses to make it to the cinemas, but the consensus is that they're lacklustre affairs - barely worthy of a television release, let alone a cinematic one.

Although most local filmgoers have been holding out for Rebecca Cremona's Simshar to break this vicious circle - the based-on-a-true-story boating accident drama is set for a February 2014 release - another candidate film has unexpectedly popped up on the horizon over the last couple of months.

Employing the trappings of the historical epic, familiar to fans of properties like Game of Thrones and Gladiator - significantly, both of which were at least partially shot our shores - 'Adormidera' transforms contemporary Malta into medieval Europe to tell the story of Tristan of Leon (Andrei Claude), a battle-scarred soldier whose life takes a dramatic turn after he encounters the film's titular heroine, played by TV personality Audrey Harrison.

Having premiered on 28 September at Eden Cinemas, Adormidera - which features a guest appearance by tenor Joseph Calleja - goes on general release at the same cinema today.

Confronted with the question of how he hopes to beat the fate of his predecessors, director Ray Mizzi is confident that his film has more than risen beyond its limitations.

"With the amount of budget local films are produced, it is unfair to compare them to international productions," Mizzi said, stopping short of specifying Adormidera's budget save for the fact that it was "minimal" prior to a boost injected by Great Siege Productions, a company set up with the express purpose of helping the film out financially.

Mizzi, who had previously directed the short film 'The Medic' - which won him recognition at the 2012 ITN New York film festival - believes Malta boasts talented actors and production companies which would flourish if only they could secure the necessary funds. 

"However, with a lot of passion and attention to detail, one can still produce a film which will go down well with Maltese audiences, who have an appetite for local productions," Mizzi said.

The Malta-born, USA-based actor and model Andrei Claude, who plays Adormider's protagonist, was struck by the irony of returning to Malta to take on such a role.

"The reason I left was only because I felt there wasn't an industry here, so being back and playing the lead in Malta's first epic movie was an amazing experience," Claude said.

Having starred in films like Dirty Laundry (2006) alongside Prison Break/Sons of Anarchy actor Rockmund Dunbar, Claude is also set to appear in 300: Rise of an Empire - a sequel to the popular Battle of Thermopylae actioner from 2006. Claude's ascent may not have been the most conventional, however. Starting out as a fitness model in California 12 years ago, he won the title of 'Mr Romance' in Missouri, which led him to appear on numerous covers for romance novels.

"This work was concentrated on the East coast, so I then relocated to New York and worked for various publishers like Harper Collins, Kensington and Harlequin.

"The recognition certainly helped, but in terms of the actual craft I feel it's a completely different ball game to acting," Claude said.

Comparing the Maltese and American film industries, Claude, like Mizzi, believes budgets to be the only real stumbling block for local filmmakers.

"Having said that though, we stand on a gem in the film industry. Yes, most locations here are not huge, and with Adormidera we had to scout around a lot to find the right ones, but with proper camera blocking it was possible to achieve some truly cinematic shots.

"Honestly speaking, I feel we have pushed the boundaries of filmmaking on this island. So in terms of quality, it isn't 'Maltese' at all, meaning that it's not what you'd typically see on local television. As a product however, it's as Maltese as the George Cross," Claude said... seemingly unaware of the irony inherent in that - sometimes hotly topical - comparison.