Malta’s Academy Selection Committee has selected ŻEJTUNE, written and directed by Alex Camilleri, as Malta’s official submission for consideration in the Best International Feature Film category at the 99th Academy Awards.

Starring established Maltese actor Michela Farrugia and 82-year-old Nenu Borg making his film debut, ŻEJTUNE is told almost entirely in Maltese.

The film follows Mar, who returns to Malta intending to sever ties with her homeland once and for all by claiming her inheritance. Guided across the islands by a charismatic, octogenarian għana troubadour, she finds herself softening to the country and its culture.

“The film is a portrait of Malta rendered through its landscape, its language and its living folk-song tradition,” said the Malta Entertainment Industry and Arts Association (MEIA) and the Malta Producers’ Association (MPA), which convene the independent jury of creative professionals convened to evaluation eligible submissions to the Oscars.

Malta’s entry is submitted to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for consideration in the International Feature Film category. The Academy will announce the films it accepts as eligible, and any subsequent shortlist and nominations, in due course.

ŻEJTUNE had its world premiere in competition at the Göteborg Film Festival and its North American premiere at the Tribeca Festival, where it won the award for Best Screenplay in the International Narrative Competition.

It has since screened at festivals across Europe, winning several awards.

At home, the film has resonated strongly with audiences, registering over 11,000 admissions in Maltese cinemas, and it has been sold to 22 countries, including France, Italy, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, the Balkans and several Eastern European territories.