Saturday, June 9, 2018, 11:42

Master of cinema

Peter Greenaway is among the most ambitious and controversial film-makers of his era.

British director Peter Greenaway will be present for a special screening of The Greenaway Alphabet – a documentary about his career being screened at Pjazza Teatru Rjal today as part of the Valletta Film Festival.

The fascinations of Greenaway, whose motto is ‘art is life and life is art’, are captured like butterflies and arranged in an alphabet, a form that suits him perfectly as an encyclopaedist. In intimate conversations with his perceptive 16-year-old daughter Zoë, the documentary discovers the whos, whats and whys about the film-maker.

Tomorrow, Greenaway will give a two-hour masterclass entitled ‘Water’ at the Phoenicia at 10.30am, in which he will focus on the presence and importance of water on our planet and in our lives. 

The festival will show some of Greenaway’s most acclaimed works, including The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover (today at 2pm), The Pillow Book (Thursday at noon) and his acclaimed film debut, The Draughtsman’s Contract (Wednesday at noon).  These films will be screened at the Valletta Campus Theatre.

Other screenings today

▪ Short Film Programme A at St James Cavalier at 1pm

▪ Supa Modo at Embassy Cinemas at 2pm

▪ Short Film Programme B at St James Cavalier at 3pm

▪ The Return at Valletta Campus Theatre at 4.30pm

▪ Amateurs at Embassy Cinemas at 4pm

▪ The Breadwinner at St James Cavalier at 5pm

▪ Anote’s Ark at St James Cavalier at 7pm

▪ Children of the Snowland at Embassy Cinemas at 6pm

▪ Tafxnaf at Valletta Campus Theatre at 7.30pm

▪ The Saint Bernard Syndicate at Embassy Cinemas at 8.45pm

▪ The Thunder Feast at St James Cavalier at 9.15pm

Organised by the Film Grain Foundation, the Valletta Film Festival is Malta’s largest cinematic event, screening over 40 feature films and 27 short films at indoor and open-air cinemas around the city. This event is being supported by the Valletta 2018 Foundation. For more information and tickets, visit www.vallettafilmfestival.com.