3rd Valletta Film Festival

The third edition of the Valletta Film Festival took place from Friday 16th to Sunday 25th June 2017.

The programme, made up of 42 feature films and 28 short films and over 120 screenings was spread over 10 days and 2 weekends. The festival opened to a full theatre with the screening of “Fortunata”, a film by Italian director Sergio Castellitto at the festival’s signature venue Pjazza Teatru Rjal. Antonella Axisa and Thomas Camilleri hosted the Opening Ceremony and introduced the festival to patrons.

The evening continued with the Festival Opening Party traditionally taking place at Hastings Garden, Valletta where festival guests, partners and sponsors had to opportunity to meet and mingle.

From the second to the penultimate day of the festival, the festival exhibited over 60 premieres of feature films, documentary and short films at five different venues. Pjazza Teatru Rjal where feature films in competition where exhibited; Spazju Kreattiv that housed documentaries and short films in; Embassy Cinemas that screened the Teens Only section and the Islanders selection; Pjazza San Gorg where we screened the Master of Cinema section and some special screenings and Herbert Ganado Gardens which was mostly home to the Without Borders section.

2017 marked the first year when VFF also included a Virtual Reality section to its programme. Audiences experienced a selection of VR film at a tent that was set up at Pjazza San Gorg.

Over 9,000 patrons attended the event and the festival hosed over 40 international guests.

The festival was organised with the support of Arts Council Malta through the Cultural Partnership Agreement. The official partners of the event were Audi Malta, Transcripta and Valletta 2018 Foundation.

Other supporting partners were Malta Film Commission, Cleland and Souchet, Cisk Pilsner, Jameson, Saracino Catering, Pjazza Teatru Rjal, Spazju Kreattiv, Embassy Cinemas, Malta Contemporary Art, De Vilhena, Palazzo Prince D’Orange, Vascas, Kopin, UNHCR, Pellikola, I Can Do Things, Kinemastik, Goethe Institut, XFM, Aditus, Lovin Malta, France 24, MOAS, InewsMalta and the Embassies of Germany, Netherlands, France, Ireland, Spain and Italy.