Arts Council Malta has unveiled the results of its Screen Support Scheme, awarding a total of €2,883,916 to 31 audiovisual projects across fiction, documentary, animation and cultural programming. The selected slate comprises six screenwriting projects, 12 development projects, four short films, six feature-length productions and three cultural programmes.

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The largest share of the funding goes to six feature-length productions, which together received €2 million. Three projects secured the scheme's maximum individual contribution of €450,000. Il-Kollezzjonist, a movie directed by Jason Zerafa and produced by Malta's DBA Entertainment, centres on the country's first serial killer, who is seeking redemption from inside a mental institution and forms a dangerous bond with a former admirer who has himself become a killer. Life Stream, an omnibus feature overseen by Rebecca Cremona, produced by Kukumajsa Productions (the outfit behind Simshar), comprises six segments unfolding in different regions of the world, each built around a culturally specific ritual marking a milestone in human life, from birth to death. Rih Isfel, helmed by Louise Caruana Galizia and staged by Falkun Films, is set in a remote village on Gozo, where a boy disappears during the height of summer. An investigation into the vanishing is driven by a local boy determined to find his missing friend, but his search gradually exposes disturbing secrets hidden beneath the seemingly uneventful community.

Another major feature award went to Shirley Spiteri Mintoff’s Waiting to Hear from Julia, produced by motion blur, which received €347,000. Set during the first few days of Malta's COVID-19 lockdown, the film follows a grief-stricken husband forced into isolation with his estranged daughter. As buried guilt resurfaces, supernatural signs begin to blur the boundaries between hope, rage and reality.

The scheme also supported Love Thy Neighbour to the tune of €200,000. Produced by Arzella Films, the movie follows a man who has always regarded happiness as a calamity, as he attempts to make his seriously ill companion more contented. When she tells him she wants to get married, she asks him to be her witness. The remaining feature-length award went to Justin Farrugia’s The Local Traveller in Rome, produced by SharpShootMedia, which received €103,000. The eight-part documentary series explores the historical and cultural connections between Malta and Rome, travelling from the Roman Empire and early Christianity to Baroque art, the Knights of St John and contemporary European identity.

Beyond the feature slate, €538,628 were allocated to 12 projects at the development stage. Among the highest awards were €50,000 each for the dark comedy series il-Management, the third season of the children's series Karamellu tar-Raħal t'Isfel, the animated series L-Avventuri ta' L-Avukat Gawdenz, the drama Anchor (Dock Worker), the feature True Father, The Last Harvest and the thriller Trazioni. The documentary series The Knights Archives received €49,100, while Holy Days and Pjazza Kostanza secured €42,464 and €42,054, respectively.

Screenwriting and research support under Strand 1 totalled €145,288 across six projects, including a political thriller about a Maltese prime minister confronted with a hijacked airliner; a political satire centred on an opposition leader who suffers a debilitating accident days before an election; and a period drama following a Maltese midwife accused of witchcraft after secretly performing an abortion for a politician's daughter.

Four short films received a combined €140,000, with each project awarded €35,000. The scheme also allocated €60,000 to three cultural programmes for private broadcasters.

The Screen Support Scheme is designed to provide support across the audiovisual production process, from screenwriting and research, through development and production, to the presentation of cultural works to audiences. Strand 6, which supports the international production and promotion of completed or advanced-stage fiction, documentary and animation projects, remains open until 18 November 2026, or until the available funds have been fully allocated.