THE GIANT DEEP REDS Directed by MAURICE MICALLEF won two awards Best Director of Photography and Best Editor Award
The sea, home to a treasure trove of species from the microscopic to the gargantuan has one particular gem. We take a look at this predator of the seas, the most valuable commodity, the third most harvested fish of the seas, the bluefin tuna.
About the Director:
BIOGRAPHY MAURICE MICALLEF (DIRECTOR) YEAR OF BIRTH: 1935 COUNTRY OF BIRTH: MALTA Maurice Micallef, has an impressive track record in film-making, which goes back to 1964 when he produced his first documentary ‘A Glance at Valletta’-a twelve minute insight of the capital city. In 1972, with the help of the Italian government, Maurice was sent to RAI studios in Rome where he gained technical know how and experience which were to become an asset in his film-making career. From those days on, Maurice never looked back and produced to date twenty three productions, amongst which are: The Hiker (1974), The Islet of Filfla (1974 & 1995), Images (1975), The Boy and the Red Ball (1977), The Hand of God (1978), My Brother’s Keeper (1980), The Puncture (1983), The Unsolved Riddle (1984 and 1994), Back to Eternity (1986), Mnajdra (1987, 1995, and 2002), Full Circle (1991), Kannizzati Fishing (1992), Norman Legends in Malta (1993 and 1994), Fatal Hitman (1994), and Arlekkinu, (1996).
The critically-acclaimed winning documentary about ‘The Phoenicians’ which has garnered no less than 24 international awards amongst them the Grand Jury Prize in the New York International Film and Video Festival in 2005, brought to life the Phoenician world as never seen before and deals with who were the Phoenicians, what were they famous for and what was their effect on the Maltese population.
The ‘Tal Qadi stone’ another documentary about the Tal Qadi stone directed by Maurice Micallef found in the limits of Burmarrad near the Tal Qadi temple also landed 20 international awards in film and video festivals around the world amongst which was the Jury Award in the Mountain Film Festival in 2013 held in USA.
The documentary ‘Hal Far Airfield’ was awarded Best of Show in the Best Shorts Competion held in USA in 2014. This documentary traces the history of Hal Far Airfield. According to the competition’s website (http://bestshorts.net/past-winners/winners-march-2014/) the film is impeccably researched and includes extensive original war time footage combined with re-enactments of Maltese Army Regiments and the British Royal Air Force. Reference is made to this carefully crafted, informative documentary which was created by master filmmakers Chris and Maurice Micallef. It deserves a wide audience according to the publicity provided by the competition organizers.
Maurice is also a four-time award winner with different documentaries in the WorldFest-Houston, the third longest-running International Film Festival in North America, and the Oldest Independent Film Festival in the world. WorldFest’s mission is to recognize and honor outstanding creative excellence in film & video, validate brilliant abilities and promote future filmmaking in Texas as well as enhance cultural tourism for Houston and environment. His lastest production 'KANNIZZATI FISHING' has to-date been awarded 40 international awards including BEST OF SHOW in the WRPN.TV Short, Tight and Loose Global Film Festival Competition and DOCS without Borders Film Festival in the USA
Today Maurice is retired. Throughout his filming career Maurice managed to win 243 awards in international film and video festivals on three continents. Between 1954 and 1959 he worked at Saint Luke’s Hospital as a radiographer and later at the bacteriological laboratory. Later in 1964 he was technical officer at the Malta College of Arts Science and Technology at Msida. Maurice was awarded the National Order of Merit during Republic Day celebrations in 2014 for his outstanding film-making career and representing Malta with his award winning productions
Behind the scenes of the film
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