Our family-friendly, cat-focused Maltese doco, Cats of Malta has it’s first festival selection! Cats of Malta has officially been selected to screen as part of Melbourne Documentary Film Festival.
More details to follow in the coming month.
Machination Released Worldwide Today
Our latest feature film Machination, a psychological horror is best described as claustrophobic, intense — a sharp, spiralling thriller about the consequences of breathing in constant fear.
Machination was shot in Mgarr Malta and led by local talent Steffi Thake. Steffi dishes out a gripping performance as an anxious and damaged woman, a role that sees her leading the film for at least ninety percent of the runtime.
It’s a thrill to finally be releasing Machination and we have chosen to release directly, worldwide though our Vimeo On Demand channel to kick things off for the film.
Other platforms to be announced shortly.
Cats of Malta Preview Screenings at Local Cinemas | Nexus Production Group Press Release
Are you ready for Malta's first cat movie?
Cats of Malta celebrates Malta's cat culture while highlighting the Maltese community spirit. Produced by Nexus Production Group and sponsored by the Malta Tourism Authority and Borg Cardona & Co., Cats of Malta is having its first preview screening at Eden Cinemas on November 25th November, 9pm.
Director and producer Sarah Jayne Portelli reflects, “I've always felt a connection to Malta and its locals, but what surprised me was the unavoidable presence of stray cats. Curious why there were so many strays, who looks after them and how cats influence Maltese culture, I chatted with locals and the cat community to ask these questions and many more.”
A big part of Malta’s cat culture is the island’s stray cat population and the people who — through volunteering, art and folklore — show the cats unconditional love and support. The filmmakers visited popular colonies, cat cafes and sanctuaries, talked to artists, and sourced stories from locals and business owners about their favourite felines. They compiled all the heartfelt stories into a fun, family-friendly documentary that will make audiences feel a rainbow of emotions.
Coming on board as sponsors are The Malta Tourism Authority – who constantly work to promote Malta as a cat-loving island worldwide – and local pet food company Borg Cardona & Co.,– solid supporters of Malta’s cat community and animal NGO's. As part of Borg Cardona’s sponsorship in collaboration with Royal Canin Malta, they will hand out cat food vouchers at the Eden Cinemas screening to the feeders featured in Cats of Malta to help them look after their cat colonies.
Cats of Malta stars Maltese artist Matthew Pandolfino, creator of the giant cat sculpture overlooking Independence Garden, actor and feeder Polly March, former Two Buoys restaurant owner Michelle Deguara and feeder Saviour Gilson, Spinola Bay's Cat Village matriarch Roza Zammit Salinos, Animal Guardian’s Cat Cafe volunteers Karmen Coleiro and Caroline Borg, plus Malta’s youngest cat feeder, Isaac Muscat.
Not to mention a lot of adorable cats.
The first preview screening at Eden Cinemas on November 25th, followed by a Q&A with the filmmakers, is part of a limited run of special preview screenings exclusive to Malta. Two encore preview screenings follow at Spazju Kreattiv on November 27th and December 3rd, before the film is submitted to festivals and officially released by Nexus Production Group worldwide in 2022.
Nexus Production Group is run by prolific Australian filmmaking duo Ivan Malekin and Sarah Jayne Portelli. Ivan served as producer and editor on Cats of Malta, while Sarah Jayne is the producer and director. Individually, the filmmakers each have fifteen years of experience producing, writing and directing short and feature-length independent films in Europe and Australia, including Daughter (2016), Friends, Foes & Fireworks (2018), and Maltese feature films In Corpore (2020) and Machination (2021). Since 2017 Ivan and Sarah Jayne have called Malta home.
Preview Screenings
Thursday, November 25th @ Eden Cinemas
9pm, Screening + Q&A
Tickets are now on sale here
Saturday, November 27th @ Spazju Kreattiv
5:30pm, Encore Screening
Tickets are now on sale here
Friday, December 3rd @ Spazju Kreattiv
9pm, Encore Screening
Tickets are now on sale here
Contact
Email: Sarah Jayne & Ivan Malekin
Phone/WhatsApp: Sarah Jayne Portelli
+356 99322412
Website
Cats of Malta Begins Production
Production has began on our feature documentary Cats of Malta about the many stray cats of the island and the people who care for them. Our first interview was with Matthew Pandalfino as he re-painted his giant cat sculpture in Sliema, a popular tourist attraction, and we were there to document the process and learn more about why cats are so beloved in Malta. We have more interviews lined up so stay tuned to our website for updates and adorable pictures of cats.
And if you are in Malta and know a cat feeder with an interesting story to tell, we want to speak to them. Get in touch with us.
EUROPEAN IMPROVISED LESBIAN FEATURE FILM MALTESE EXCLUSIVE →
It was very fitting that To Hold the Moon, a film about two Aussie women who travel to Malta for two very different reasons should end up being the feature for an article on Guide Me Malta. Not only that, the local news and travel site also shared a link to the exclusive teaser trailer of the European Improvised lesbian feature film, along with the poster. Click here to read the article.
We would love to share more news with you about this film, so subscribe to our NPG newsletter for updates, plus audition news, here.
LesFlicks Love
Through our newsletters, particularly in reference to our feature In Corpore, we have harped on about the importance of finding a niche for your film and building an audience from the early stages of pre-production. We have been working on doing just this and learning 'how-to' for most of 2019.
By having In Corpore connecting with and following suitable accounts on Instagram, we piqued the interest of one account – LesFlicks. And now In Corpore is listed on LesFlicks film database.
LesFlicks is Europe's first dedicated lesbian film platform that supports and lists short and features films about lesbian and bisexual couples on their website, and they also use their online platform to distribute these films.
We have not signed In Corpore up for distribution, as we are still in the early stages of plotting our distribution map for the film, but having it listed on LesFlicks definitely puts our film in front of the right audience.
Check out LesFlicks here.
NPG educates on improvised filmmaking
After filming Friends, Foes & Fireworks in a single night on New Years Eve, completely improvised, co-producers/co-directors Sarah Jayne and Ivan Malekin were approached by Alex Ferrari of Indie Film Hustle about the potential he saw in their style of filmmaking.
Alex interviewed Ivan for Indie Film Hustle's podcast earlier this year and then the discussion about how NPG could take their improvised filmmaking process and share their knowledge in an education capacity transpired.
Indie Film Hustle is all about educating and informing indie filmmakers and aspiring filmmakers about the biz. Tthe site Alex has built is an online bible of sorts for filmmakers. Everything from interviews, courses, resources and podcasts plus much more can be found on the Indie Film Hustle website and it is a showcase of Alex's passion as well as a testament to his 20 years in the industry.
NPG teamed up with Alex to produce a video titleed "How to Shoot an Improvised Feature Film in 24 Hours" through online educational site, Udemy. With Alex's assistance and four days of shooting, plus a few months editing and a weekend in sound design the final product is here.
Read MoreWorld Premiere FOR FRIENDS, FOES & FIREWORKS
NPG directors Ivan Malekin and Sarah Jayne are proud of what was achieved on New Year's Eve with their small cast and crew of Friends, Foes & Fireworks. The film is special for them as it's the filmmakers' first attempt at a shooting a feature film in a single night, completely improvised, working without a script or shot-list. It was an experience that they both agree was challenging, yet a ton of fun!
Earlier this year Friends, Foes & Fireworks was picked up by sales agent Turn Key Films after NPG attended the American Film Market late last year and we can expect more big news to come throughout the year.
With Friends, Foes & Fireworks NPG always went into producing the film with a VOD release in mind, that was the main aim. However, along the way things worked out a little differently as is the case with most independently produced films. By trying a number avenues for securing an audience, including the traditional route of applying for major film festivals, Friends, Foes & Fireworks ended up going one better then a festival selection - securing it's first audience through a Melbourne Cinema.
Sarah Jayne and Ivan lived in St Kilda and Elwood before their move to Malta. The film was also shot in and around St Kilda as was NPG's short film Daughter, so the The Classic Cinema in Elsternwick was familiar to them. The Classic was the the place they would visit for nights out to catch the latest flicks, but not before a cocktail at After The Tears just next door. So it is only fitting that now NPG's own film will be screening at the hip cinema come Wednesday March 21st at 7pm.
This screening is be a big deal for NPG and the co-directors are planning to also come back home for the screening and take part in the Q&A with most of their cast as well as the crew.
As a bonus, an additional four dates are to be set within a week, with NPG's goal being to secure a longer cinema run for the film. Look our for these following screening dates on the Classic Cinema website as they will be announced around the premiere date.
For the event details and tickets - Click Here!
In Corpore wraps after 7 months
NPG directors Sarah Jayne and Ivan Malekin have been travelling and filming In Corpore, our production companies second improvised feature film, which went into pre production mid 2017 in Melbourne, Australia. The bold feature film, which takes an intimate look into relationships around the world was shot in Australia, Malta, New York and Germany and principal photography wrapped up late this month, with the Berlin story ending the quadruple film adventure.
Shot in four countries around the world.
On a whole we are pleased with what we managed to achieve and the improv aspect of the process has not only kept us on our toes but also made directors Sarah Jayne and Ivan Malekin aware that they now have found their niche and have no interest in going back to scripted work or heavy dialogued screenplays.
In Corpore was produced from Melbourne around June 2017 and later on Malta once NPG re-located to the tiny Mediterranean island for a European lifestyle change. This move made it easier for the directing duo to travel to the destinations the film required and the results of the film and the production values will speak for itself on completion. We are sure that this international feel will add some extra appeal to the film for the future audience, yet not take away from the excellent performances and passion for their roles each of our actors gave.
In each country a small and talented team was built - that team includes four DOP's, four second camera operators, 2 sound people, five assistants and an enthusiastic cast was which brought together to make it all possible. Now we have all the footage and we can't wait to start piecing the film together.
Stay tuned for future updates on In Corpore and remember that you can get behind our work by joining our Patreon community today for as little as $1 a month.