EXCLUSIVE: Married filmmakers have big plans for Malta with third feature film set locally

Sarah Jayne and Ivan Malekin first laid eyes on each other at Tropfest Film Festival in Australia in 2009. Both had worked on the same short film shortlisted for the festival, but interestingly the pair had never bumped into each other on set.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Ｓａｒａｈ Ｊａｙｎｅ 📽️🎞️ (@the.sarah.jayne) on Feb 14, 2020 at 6:19am PST

Together, they’ve worked on multiple short films, one of which features popular 13 Reasons Why actress Katherine Langford aka Hannah Baker. Playing the role of Scarlett in short film Daughter, the film follows the story of three women amidst a backdrop of violence against women and victim blaming.

One long friendship and a marriage later, the couple now consider Malta their home base. “My family is of Maltese heritage,” says Sarah: “My grandma is still alive and lives in Qormi, and she made a cameo in In Corpore, as did my Maltese family,” she continues.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by To Hold the Moon (@toholdthemoonfilm) on Dec 18, 2019 at 5:47am PST

In Corpore is the couple’s second feature film, which they co-directed together and is set for a 2020 Maltese release. Partly shot in Malta, the story connects four couples from four different areas: Melbourne, New York, Berlin and Malta. With production stretched over three different continues, Sarah and Ivan collaborated with four separate teams to assist them in capturing their story: “We wanted to explore the nature of commitment and the idea of sacrificing personal desires at the altar of love - is it selfish to follow the desires of the body and the soul or is this the only path to fulfilment? Even if it means hurting the one you love?”, they say.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Ｓａｒａｈ Ｊａｙｎｅ 📽️🎞️ (@the.sarah.jayne) on May 2, 2019 at 10:13am PDT

Now, the couple are working towards their third feature film together, To Hold the Moon. The story focuses on two characters born through their first feature film together called Friends, Foes & Fireworks. Set two years later, narrative follows the story of Lucinda who travels to Malta to star in a new film. 

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Ｓａｒａｈ Ｊａｙｎｅ 📽️🎞️ (@the.sarah.jayne) on Oct 4, 2019 at 10:12am PDT

She is accompanied by her girlfriend Summer, and more trouble arises between the couple when latter meets bohemian local Alessia. Instant attraction blossoms between the two, which forces Summer and Lucinda to face the truth about their relationship. "The lesbian film movement has flourished over the last two decades," Sarah and Ivan say, adding that although it's a central theme in their film it's not meant as just another lesbian film: "It is a story about finding who you are, where you belong, and standing up to your own mistakes."

Filming is aimed to be split between Malta and London. There is a plethora of reasons why Malta was chosen was a main location: the 300 days of sunshine per year, having English as an official language as well as the financial incentives to film in Malta top their list. “Beautiful, exotic, efficient, financially sound. Why not Malta?” they say.

While the two lead roles have already been given to Australian actresses Whitney Duff and Asleen Mauthoor, other parts have yet to be won: “There are two local Maltese support roles and a British supporting role which we are looking to cast soon,” Sarah says.

The production team is also partly formed: there’s Sarah and Ivan who are jointly directing and producing the film, as well as Martin Bonnici as the Director of Photography, Ylenia Kay as the camera operator and Australian sound designer and composer Gerard Mack.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Nexus Production Group LTD. (@nexus_production_group) on Dec 29, 2019 at 10:55am PST

Sarah and Ivan, who together helm Nexus Production Group Ltd., have a particular filming method which plan on implementing: “we will use improvisation as we do with all our features,” says Sarah. This means that although the film has a storyline, no script will be provided in order to achieve an organic feel: “Improvisation promotes authenticity and leads to more realistic performances. Actors don’t just recite lines, they react in character to the moment unfolding before them,” they explain.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Ｓａｒａｈ Ｊａｙｎｅ 📽️🎞️ (@the.sarah.jayne) on Feb 17, 2020 at 11:45pm PST

The husband-and-wife duo are currently in the process of raising €220,000 for this film to go into production, which they’re attempting to secure through investors, crowdfunding and their participation in various European pitching contests.

Check out the concept trailer for To Hold the Moon here.

We can't wait to see the final product at the cinema!