About Us

The Malta Cine Circle (MCC) is a local network of film-makers volunteers.

The MCC was founded in 1952 with the aim of fostering the hobby of amateur film making, thus making the average picture-goer understand better the skills and techniques of cinematography, and therefore be able to fully appreciate the art of cinema.

The MCC builds international relationships through its Golden Knight Malta International Film Festival. Throughout the year, the MCC organises various workshops and activities on a broad range of topics; such as filming techniques, script-writing, and latest information on technology, designed to improve the skills and networking of our members.


The National Film Competition

The 'National Film Competition' Trophies

One of the major activities of the MCC has always been the running of a National Film Competition, an event which goes back to the mid-50's and is still being organized to this day. Hundreds of local productions have been entered in this competition and several have also successful in competitions overseas.

Members of the Circle, and the Circle itself, have been producing since 1955, which means that during these past 55 years thousands of feet of film have been shot running into hundreds of hours.

These films, ranging from fiction, travelogues, documentaries, animations, and others have provided a unique visual record of the Maltese way of life over these years.


The Golden Knight Malta International Film Festival

The 'Golden Knight' Trophy

The Golden Knight Festival knows its origin from these competitions, and, from another activity which The Circle used to organise in the late 50's, namely the Malta Film Holiday. Well before tourism started in Malta the MCC used to organize a ten day holiday in Malta for amateur film makers from the UK. Of course, they used to bring with them their movie cameras and film their stay in Malta. On their return home they used to send a short documentary of their visit and the MCC used to run a competition for the best documentary on Malta. The success of this activity led to the committee taking the bold step to launch an international competition which they named the Golden Knight Film Festival. The first of these international festivals was held in 1962. At first only a handful of productions were received, mainly from the UK, but, year after year the festival gained in prestige and popularity.

Today, The Golden Knight Festival has gone beyond the amateur field and new classes have been introduced for Film School students and professional short productions. Entries are received from Europe, the USA, the Far East, Australia, and South America. Recently, films have also been arriving from emerging countries such as Israel, Turkey, Iran and Cyprus. The Golden Knight has now well established itself in Malta's cultural calendar.


The Secondary National Film Competition
A recent important initiative taken by the MCC was the organising of the Secondary National Film Competition. This event, funded by the Vodafone Foundation, was organised for the first time in 2006, and following the enthusiasm and interest it generated amongst students and teachers alike, was again hold in 2008 and 2010.