The organisers of the Malta Short Film Festival, which will kick off tomorrow, received 1,700 film submissions from more than 50 countries.

Now in its sixth edition, the festival will span 11 programmes broadcast on the national TV station.

Film is a cultural aspect that goes down well with all parts of society

The 27 chosen films, including four Maltese ones and varying from animation to documentary and thriller to fantasy, will be discussed every Friday at 9.45pm on TVM, with a repeat on Wednesdays at the same time on TVM2.

Voting will be open for local and international audiences.

Another programme will be about local film productions that made it to the cinema but did not participate in the festival as they were not short films, including Soul and Simshar.

The festival was launched yesterday at the Radisson Blu Resort at St Julian’s, where the final award ceremony will be held and then broadcast at the end of September. Culture Minister Owen Bonnici said the festival was part of the culture chain of activities in Malta.

“Culture makes people better... it makes them more intellectually fulfilled and film is a cultural aspect that goes down well with all parts of society,” he said, adding that his mum would not go to the Manoel Theatre but would stay up late to watch a movie.

Film was a language that all people understood. The festival was a good example of how NGOs, the private sector and the government could work together.

“The government should not be the beginning and end of cultural expression, but society should make its own cultural expressions,” he added.

Joe Debono, chair of Studio Seven, which is supporting the festival, paid tribute to Paul Avellino, a pioneer in the film industry in Malta. He also called for a Film Museum in Malta, as the island has always been of interest to film makers.

The festival is being supported by the Malta Arts Fund and the Local Culture Initiative. More information on www.maltashortfilmfest.com.