The 15th edition of the Kinemastik International Short Film Festival kicks off today at the Msida Bastion Historic Garden. Kinemastik is a cultural NGO based in Malta and has over the years been the NGO behind a number of film-related events.

The festival opens with a special screening of In Praise of Nothing, a satirical documentary parable about, in fact, ‘nothing’, narrated by the iconic musician/songwriter Iggy Pop. The film will be screened with subtitles in Maltese. Tomorrow and on Saturday the main screen will show a selection of 17 films from 12 countries across the globe… from Europe to China and beyond.

What will undoubtedly catch the eye is Past Perfect, a film by Portuguese director Jorge Jacome. Winner at the Hamburg Film Festival, it is a fascinating and stimulating film that projects a series of abstract images with an accompanying imaginary dialogue giving a melancholic commentary on the state of the world going back from the present to a very distant past.

Four Maltese works are also in the programme, including the premiere of Unknown Ocean by Dolphin Club, an audiovisual duo based in Malta. Two music videos, one by Francesca Mercieca and another by Ian Schranz and Nick Theuma for local band Brikkun, will also be featured, as will Filfla, an animation directed by Fabrizio Ellul that premiered at the Valletta Film Festival earlier this year.

Various musical acts will be ensuring the partying will carry on late into the night. Tonight’s line-up consists of Kinemastik All Stars, including Wioletta Kulewska, Jon Banthorpe, Tom Van Malderen and Sandra Zaffarese.

Tomorrow will see sets by Felix (sunset mix), Dean Wengrow and Capitol K. Saturday will see live performances by Fattima Mahdi, Nigel Baldacchino, Uncle Al, Lucie Grace and Steph Von Reiswitz.

For more information on the short film festival, visit http://www.kinemastik.org. Doors at the Msida Bastion Historic Garden open at 7pm and screenings start from 9pm.