Local audiences will soon have the chance to see Żafżifa, the new Maltese feature film written and directed by Peter Sant and co-produced with Angelique Muller, on the big screen in Malta and Gozo. 

Following its global premiere at Cairo International Film Festival, the film opens in Maltese cinemas on 13 May, with screenings at Embassy Cinemas in Valletta, Eden Cinemas in St Julian’s and Citadel Cinemas in Gozo. 

Set in Buġibba, Żafżifa follows a man who returns to the island to find that his friends have taken advantage of the changing economy and moved on with their lives. Haunted by a mysterious past, he tries to free himself from the relentless progress reshaping the town. Shot on 16mm film, using open sets and with a cast largely made up of non-actors, the film offers a corrosive portrait of a place and a people in flux. 

“The idea of progress was central to the film,” says writer-director Peter Sant. “This belief in an upward trajectory toward a future somehow better than the present was something I wanted to explore.” 

The cast is led by Dimitrios Giannakoudakis (Malta), alongside Crishelle Medrano (Philippines), Mehdi Aoumi (France/Tunisia), Zohaib Anjum (Pakistan) and Emilia Figiel (Poland). The film also marks the final screen performance of the late Marylu Coppini – Sant’s mother-in-law – who brings her signature wit to a poignant bookend to a long and distinguished career. 

The Australian-born, Malta-based Sant completed his MA at the Slade School of Fine Art and works as an educator, filmmaker and musician. Żafżifa is his second feature, following his 2018 debut Baħar Żmien (Of Time and the Sea), which premiered at FIDMarseille, and which was described by Matthew Boas (Cineuropa) as a film that “…confirms Sant as a name to watch on the arthouse cinema circuit.” 

Żafżifa has already received acclaim, with one reviewer in Cairo describing the film as “a quietly devastating achievement – one of the most intellectually engaging works to emerge from this year’s festival.” 

Ahead of the general Malta release, a special press premiere and Q&A with the filmmakers will take place on 1 May at Eden Cinemas, St Julian’s, giving members of the press the chance to engage directly with Sant, Muller and the cast following the screening. 

Tickets are available from Eden Cinemas in St Julian’s, Embassy Cinemas in Valletta and Citadel Cinemas in Gozo. For more information, check out the website here!

Żafżifa is a Hereonin production, supported by Creative Malta and Arts Council Malta.