Let’s face it, one of the coolest perks autumn has to offer is the return of all our favourite TV series. This year, there’s an added bonus, as you can now rock your socks off to local animated production Storja Animalta.

Storja Animalta is an ambitious Maltese project which seeks to introduce a fun element to your standard history class. Creative Director Nico Grimm lets me in on the hilarious way the series was conceived. One evening during a post-work event (and a couple of drinks down the line) in 2017, Nico and audio-visual director Neil got into a friendly quarrel about which event comes first in Maltese history: Independence Day or Republic Day. In a classic dispute settlement move, the pair turned to Wikipedia to confirm the correct answer. Neil emerged the winner by voting for Independence Day, but this confuffle got both creatives thinking.

Fast forward a couple of years and Storja Animalta is now set to debut on 30th September at 8.30pm, on local TV station ONE. The original aim for the series was to have an in-depth look at Malta’s entire history but due to logistical and financial complexities, the team decided to narrow it down and focus on key moments. Nico admits that it was far from a happy moment when an episode which he held close to heart had to be cut from the plan. “I was really keen on dedicating an episode to Caravaggio but unfortunately we had to let him go for this season. Who knows, if it gets picked up for a second season I’m hopeful that we’ll get a chance to revisit this decision”.

The first season of Storja Animalta is divided into seven chapters and will explore six stories. The final narrative - which deals with the French’s two year stay in Malta - will be split over two episodes. “This has to be my personal favourite from all the stories we are putting out this season,” Nico admits. “We came across so many interesting characters during the research phase that it felt like a Guy Ritchie movie. It was hard to believe that some events actually happened and were not scripted.”

Although the project is aimed for teens and adults, it has garnered a lot of public interest especially from middle-agers who associate Storja Animalta with the Italian cartoons that dominated the local TV scene from the 80s well into the 2000s.

Storja Animalta is co-financed by the Malta Arts Council – Kultura TV fund and is produced in conjunction with Heritage Malta. The production team, collectively known as Reciprocal, also involves producer Jean Pierre Debattista, illustrator Simona Fazioli and illustrator/animator Michele Benincasa.

Reciprocal are currently aiming to subtitle the series both for the hearing-impaired and for non-Maltese viewers, and hope to be able to distribute this format in the very near future. As for future projects, the team is already cracking on their next venture – a feature length docufiction film, also the winner of the Kultura TV Fund. Looks like there’s no stopping this band of local creatives!

Will you be tuning in to watch the first episode of Storja Animalta?