[WATCH] Simshar trailer released, film to premiere on 27 April

The new trailer for the long-awaited Maltese production Simshar has been released.

The film's official release date was announced during a press conference this morning.

Based on the real-life boating tragedy which occurred on Maltese waters in 2008, the feature film Simshar, directed by Rebecca Cremona, will premiere at the Empire Cinemas in Bugibba on 27 April.

Set around the real-life ‘Simshar’ tragedy which occurred in 2008, the film – co-written by Rebecca Cremona and David Grech – takes as its starting point the accident involving the titular fishing boat, which left Simon Bugeja’s 11-year-old son Theo and father Karmenu dead at sea.

A parallel story, also in the Mediterranean, zooms in on the fate of a medic who is ordered to stay on a boat harbouring rescued African migrants, which Malta and Italy refuse access to.

Home Affairs minister Manuel Mallia, under whose ministry the Film Commission falls, reminded those present that Simshar is the first film to be made in Malta since the Malta Film Fund was founded 2008, while also extolling the project as an example of the film industry's artistic and economic potential.

"We have fallen behind in recent years but we aim to revive this industry," Mallia said, while also adding that the new courses being set up by the Film Fund would help to professionalise the film further.

Film Commissioner Engelbert Grech said: "This film is of great cultural importance. In the past we saw many foreign films being produced here, but Simshar marks an evolution." He described Rebecca Cremona as a "true filmmaker" whose efforts will help to move the Maltese film industry forward.

A representative of the Empire Cinemas announced that tickets for the April 27 premiere will be available as from tomorrow.

The film has long been seen as the ‘great white hope’ of the as-yet fledging indigenous Maltese industry, which, save for a regular drip of independently produced short films and a handful of lacklustre genre productions, has yet to find a truly ‘exportable’ film which could attract an international audience.

Prior to the film’s 27 April premiere, a ‘Simshar exhibition’ will be organised at the Embassy Complex, Valletta, on 12 April, showcasing props costumes and prosthetics used in the exhibition.

The film will go on national release after 30 April, when it will be screened at Empire Cinemas and Embassy Cinemas, Valletta.