Valletta ‘ideal place to film Romeo and Juliet’

Valletta is the city in which to film a version of Romeo and Juliet set in a different time period, according to Oscar-nominated director Roland Joffé.

“As I walk around through the streets in Malta, I’m constantly thinking that I could tell this or that story. There are so many stories that you can take and set here and find interesting ways of making them look,” he said.

Speaking to Times of Malta, the erudite and articulate director is brimming with ideas about how the island could develop a thriving film industry.

Universally praised for films such as The Killing Fields and The Mission, Mr Joffé is heading the international jury of the first edition of the Valletta Film Festival, which runs until Sunday.

Asked for some tips for successful filmmaking, he believes having a great story is key.

A film can be visually beautiful and well-acted, but if the story is not gripping, it will not hold the audience.

The next most important thing is acting, because people engaged with the real emotions of others.

“The strange thing with films is that when there are close-ups, we are closer to the actor than to the people we really meet, except for our husbands and wives,” he points out. “Then there’s the way the visual images combine to tell a story. That works together with music. Film is like a kaleidoscope: the slightest twist and the whole thing can take on a different shape.”

http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20150619/local/valletta-ideal-place-to-film-romeo-and-juliet.573129