A film co-produced by a Maltese studio has been selected for screening at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Founded in 1976, the festival, informally stylised as tiff, is one of the most prestigious film events of the season, with its people’s choice award having become an indicator of success during the season that follows.

War Sailor is a period drama about a Norwegian seaman who gets caught out at sea as submarines begin to dominate marine warfare during World War II.

The War Sailor poster.

Written and directed by Gunnar Vikene, the film was partly produced by Maltese studio Falkun Films and shot partly in Malta.

Producers Anika Psaila Savona and Pierre Ellul said the film showed that co-productions were the way forward to taking Maltese films to new heights.

They called on the Malta Film Commission to reconstruct the way financial incentives are offered to the film industry so that Maltese film makers could find better opportunities to see their own film on screen in collaboration with foreign producers.

The film’s selection to an international festival is not the only thing about War Sailor that has caused a stir in Malta.

A prop submarine used in the film prompted a brief moment of panic after it was spotted in the Grand Harbour last year, with worried onlookers seeking reassurance from the Armed Forces of Malta that the country was not being covertly invaded.

War Sailor tells the story of Alfred, a merchant sailor working in the Atlantic Ocean at the onset of World War II.

As he fights to survive the waters with the threat of attack from German U-boats, his wife,  Cecilia is alone in Bergen as British aircraft descend to attack a German submarine bunker.

The film premiered at the Haugesund Film Festival in Norway over the weekend.

The Toronto International Film Festival will be running from September 8 to 18.