A programme of activities prepared by the National Archives of Malta to commemorate the life and cinematographic work of Cecil Satariano has been announced after his films were digitised and restored.
Minister for Culture, Arts and Local Government Owen Bonnici explained that the programme of activities includes film screenings and discussions with people who worked with Cecil Satariano and film experts. This will be held at Spazju Kreattiv between 23 and 25 October.
The Cecil Satariano Film Restoration Project, launched by Veronica Galea as part of the Maltese Histories – one by one initiative, aims to preserve and bring back to life historical Maltese films. After a 15-year search, the original reels of Satariano’s films were found in 2022.
Minister Bonnici thanked the Satariano family for their donation and Veronica Galea for the work she did to find and restore these films. While reiterating the Government’s commitment to Maltese cinema, Minister Bonnici spoke about the need for our country to preserve its cinematographic heritage and all audiovisual heritage.
“They embody the memory of our country over the past hundred years and help us reaffirm our collective memory, maintain and develop our cultural identity, as well as being a major source of knowledge for today’s and tomorrow’s generations,” said Dr Bonnici.
National Archivist Prof. Charles Farrugia explained how these films were restored through a program led by Veronica Galea with the financial assistance of the Ministry for Culture, Arts and Local Government and the Farsons Foundation. Now that the Satariano family has been pleased to donate these films to the National Archives, they have become part of our country’s archival collection.
“As the National Archives, we renew our commitment to national memory and invite everyone to join us in this celebration of Cecil Satariano’s work,” said Prof. Farrugia.
Cecil Satariano (1930–1986) is one of the pioneers of Maltese film to achieve international recognition. Between 1969 and 1978, he directed five films. The most well-known is his second film, Giuseppi (1971), which won 20 international awards. His last film, Katarin (1978), was the first Maltese film to be acquired by a major foreign distributor.
Other films he produced include I’m Furious-Red (1970), The Beach (1973) and Ilona (1974). Satariano also produced two travelogues in the 1970s, one about London (Let Them Be, 1971) and another about Amsterdam (A Touch of Dutch, 1973).
