Malta’s first-ever opera-film, Blat: The Island Fortress, is premiering in local cinemas on June 24.

Produced by the Mikiel Anton Vassalli College, Malta’s national college for the performing and visual arts, the film is set in March 1940, when most of Europe is embroiled in World War I, but Malta was still spared.

The plot follows Madeleine, a middle-class girl from Valletta, who is in love with Marco, a devoted Italian fascist. This does not go down well with her father, a staunch imperialist. Dockyard worker Kelinu is also enchanted by Madeleine, but his Strait Street barmaid friend Bessy warns him that he does not belong to the same social class. Before this love triangle has a chance to develop, war hits the islands and all are forced to take cover in the underground shelters.

The cast includes both professionals in different areas of the arts, several students from the four schools within the college, as well as extras, including the students parents.

Victor Galea, the head of college network of MAVC and executive producer of the production, said that his experience of executing an opera-film “brought forward a paradigm shift in our college where administrators of these specialised schools for art, music drama and dance took some further roles, mainly that of motivating their teachers, as well as students from their respective disciplines, to take up such roles outside their normal tasks and, together with professionals from the entertainment industries, came up with such a high-level production”.

The libretto is written by Ġorġ Peresso and Amy Borg, the music is by Reuben Pace, the screenplay and direction is by Alan Fenech, costume design by Umberto Buttigieg and Glorianne Micallef Grimaud, and Rodney Gauci is the director of photography.