SHORT FILM
‘The Great Interruption’

When the world seemed to grind to a halt at the start of the pandemic and many work assignments were put on hold, I, like many, suddenly had the luxury of time.

Though I have captured Valletta, Malta’s resplendent capital city, numerous times over the years, this was a chance to bring to the fore the city’s unique architecture and dazzling visual history, now that it was devoid of frenzy of modern life.

I loved that the streets were deserted, I revelled in the solitude. It felt like I could hear the walls talk, I could feel the soul of the city. Whilst flying the drone over the breath-taking Grand Harbour, which lies to the southeast of the peninsula, it was like stepping back in time, with no ships or cruise-liners in port, just waves crashing over the bastions of Fort St. Elmo.

Once I had amassed enough footage, I felt that a moving narrative would help encapsulate the spirit of the time we were living through; I teamed up with Ian Adams, talented creative director and friend, and he devised a script for a short film. We spent a couple of weeks going over the images and fine-tuning the script via Zoom. We felt it needed a young voice and my daughter Kate, a keen drama student, was missing her classes, so this seemed the perfect

opportunity involve her in the project.

‘The Great Interruption’ is a collection of stills and video featuring Valletta, Malta’s UNESCO protected Baroque capital, in which the city is the true protagonist of the piece. We rediscover her majesty as we move gracefully through her streets and across her harbour waters, to find we are able to take flight once more, despite the restrictions of our daily reality.