The Kinemastik International Short Film Festival returns with its 19th edition this year on July 28-29, but the event’s organisers expressed the belief that Maltese film-makers lack financial and educational support to live off their work.

“If one were to ask if it is possible to make a living as an auteur film-maker in Malta, the answer would be no,” festival founder and programmer Emma Mattei said.

During the two-day festival, 40 international short films will be shown across two screens, none of which will be available elsewhere until after the international circuit is completed.

Speaking on the local scene, Mattei said that indigenous short films continue to exist despite local limitations as filmmaking is an instinctive and creative art which is not hindered by a lack of resources.

Rather, the heart of a film for Kinemastik is its energy, she said.

“The will to create will usually prevail.”

However, Malta needs a clearer focus on film education that provides “a more critical and progressive process,” she said, one that allows film-makers to evolve rather than focusing on theoretics.

“There is a fear of critique,” Mattei said, noting that film criticism is misunderstood locally.

Malta is not without its film support, but the cinematic support the island sees is for foreign productions rather than for indigenous talent, Mattei continued.

“Now more than ever, we really need to show independently produced films that do not have a commercial drive”.

Film-makers might not be exposed to cinema in its many guises, which may be the reason why they tend to follow similar patterns

By showing international shorts that are being seen on the international circuit and are rarely available online, local film-makers are able to view material that is usually not within their reach, she said.

Noting that many indigenous shorts follow the same well-worn paths, Mattei explained that film-making is a collaborative process, even when it comes to inspiration.

“Film-makers might not be exposed to cinema in its many guises, which may be the reason why they tend to follow similar patterns.”

The festival’s jury is comprised of artists Laura Besançon and Adrian Abela, CinEast festival director Redek Lipka and writer Nick Tabone.

The screened films feature a diverse catalogue, spanning from lo-fi experimental to accomplished fiction, Mattei said.

The criteria for selecting the shorts were not thematically stringent, she said, leaving the door open for more films to be discovered.

A part of KISFF is the Little Rock People Festival which focuses on showing short films aimed at younger audiences on the final night of the event. This year, mostly due to time constraints within the team, this festival has been postponed, Mattei said.

Apart from showing films, Kinemastik will also feature live performances from local and international artists.

On Friday night, legendary 1990s indie band Shostakovich’s Nightmare will play with frontman Antonio Tufigno and the Kinemastik DJs.

Saturday night will also feature local talent with JOON and Bark Bark Disco performing live alongside other acts from their Los Angeles-based label Italians Do It Better including one of their flagship artists, Desire. Other sets on the night will include returning DJs Dean Wengrow and Campbell Reid.

The festival is taking place at the Garden of Rest in Floriana. Film screenings begin at 9pm and musical performances at 11.30pm. For more information and tickets, visit kinemastik.org. The festival is supported by Arts Council Malta through the ICO Fund and is sponsored by Valletta Vintage, AP Valletta Architects, Mastering, ALDO and Marks & Spencer.