Cinema for me is…
Sarah in 25 frames
1. Describe yourself in ten words
Calm, quiet, soft-spoken and shy but also humorous, free spirited, passionate, naïve, introvert, and animal-lover!
2. What are your 3 best qualities and your 3 worst habits?
3 best qualities: Loyal, thoughtful, and spontaneous
3 worst habits: clumsy, restless and that bad habit of second guessing myself.
3. What is your dream job?
Working with animals.
4. What do you like most about your country?
The Sun and the Sea.
5. What is your favorite dish in your country?
Hobz biz-zejt – Maltese bread with olive oil, tomato paste, capers, tuna, sundried tomatoes – very Mediterranean.
6. What is the word or the expression in your native language that you like the most and what does it mean?
“Il-Ftira shuna tajba” – A literary translating to mean the ‘ftira’ (Maltese bread) is best when it’s still warm. The proverb means that things are best dealt with in the present moment.
7. What European capital have you visited lately?
Rome.
8. Other than your own, which European country would you love to live in?
Portugal.
9. What does Europe means to you?
Diversity.
10. What are the European values that you share?
Diversity, no discrimination, freedom to change.
11. What film made you fall in love with cinema?
This is a very difficult question for me to answer directly because so many films have made me repeatedly fall in love with cinema over the years, from Mulan and the Disney films of my childhood to the big franchises of Star Wars, Harry Potter and The Lord of the Rings from my teen years, including comic-book heroes coming to life on screen like Burton’s Batman Forever and also the more self-exploratory films like Into the Wild. However one that made me realize what a powerful medium film can be is I’m Not There; the biographical film on Bob Dylan where director Todd Haynes cast 5 different actors to play five different phases of Dylan’s life throughout the years.
12. What is your favorite cinema theatre and what do you like about it?
Not too many to choose from here in Malta so I would have to go for my local cinema – Eden Century Cinemas, simply because I’ve watched so many movies there since I was little and for their small collection of old movie posters.
13. Where do you like to watch movies and on which platform (DVD, online, cinema, mobile phone, etc.)?
Cinema – both indoor and outdoor, I just love the big screen and watching movies with a collective audience.
14. Who is your movie hero?
Cate Blanchett.
15. If you were a movie director which one would you like to be?
I’d say Todd Haynes.
16. Briefly describe your favorite scene
I will describe one of my favorites from the film Shame – Michael Fassbender’s character Brandon, who is battling with a sex addiction has just left his apartment where his younger sister and boss have occupied his bedroom. He is filled with tension and intensity and decides on a late night winter jog through the streets of New York. The almost five minutes sequence of Brandon running along to Bach’s Prelude and Fugue in E minor is soft and reflective and compliments the aggression of other scenes in the film.
17. What are the 5 best European films you have seen in the last year?
A Bigger Splash (Luca Guadagnino, 2016) IT
Bullhead (Michael R. Roskam, 2010) BE
Mustang (Deniz Gamze Ergüven, 2015) FR
Carol (Todd Haynes, 2015) GB
Walls (Pablo Iraburu & Migueltxo Molina, 2015) ES
18. Which is the film character that you most identify with?
Spent too long thinking about this one so I’m just going to go with my initial response – Mulan.
19. Your favorite soundtrack or song?
I love the soundtrack of Into the Wild written by Eddie Vedder and also of Evita. Elton John’s ‘Your Song’ in Moulin Rouge also gets me every time.
20. If you had to live in a movie, which one would you like it to be?
Midnight in Paris by Woody Allen.
21. Your life becomes a bio-pic. Who plays the role of you?
Cate Blanchett.
22. Which talent would you most like to have?
Juggler.
23. What is your most treasured possession?
My glasses… Can’t see much without them.
24. What do you consider your greatest achievement?
The discovery of a small and forgotten collection of local modern art works,which I turned into a 4 year research project for both my university degrees.
25. What is your motto?
Be cruel only to be kind.
