Julian Galea believes Brothers from Malta, which he made with his own brother, James Galea, is among the first Maltese immigrant stories on the big screen.
The feature is Julian’s third, set to premiere locally November 30 at Ritz Cinemas in Sydney’s Randwick after screening in Malta in September.
Julian’s first two films are Love to Paradise and Made In Malta, both shot in Malta; all three of his projects have been made independently.
Brothers from Malta follows two estranged immigrant brothers (played by Julian and James) who must set aside their seven-year grudge and road trip across California with a gassy dog and precious family heirloom to fulfill their dying sister’s wish.
He faced many challenges throughout the filmmaking process, particularly shooting in LA and southern California, but he tells IF that he “was going to make this film no matter what.”
“This film is so important to me. It’s probably the most personal movie I’ve ever made. I think family is the most important thing in the world, and this movie is all about family. Not only is it about family, it’s about my family. It’s closely connected to my Maltese roots and my Maltese family.”
The idea for Brothers of Malta started with a collection of improvised sketch scenes that Julian posted on YouTube with James. The characters were what drove him to take this project to the next level.
“These characters that we started in this web series, Joe and Charlie, these two Maltese immigrant characters. They’re so much fun to play. They are a mix of James and I’s family experience growing up in a large Maltese family; aunties, uncles, parents, all the rest of it. They encompass so many elements of all that. And it’s also very interesting to me to juxtapose old school Maltese values against a progressive new Australian way of life. I found that really interesting and I wanted to use those characters and throw them in a situation, like a fish out of water scenario. Hence why we have the brothers in California trying to save their sister.”
Although this is his third film, Julian still gets “surprised by things that come up that you need to sort out.”
“There’s always something that’s going to come up and bite you. You need to have a backup plan. And even when that backup plan fails, you need another one. Making small, independent movies, you’re not going to have your wish. Of places to shoot, the correct times of day, the correct sun and all the rest of it.
“But it’s an indie film; you’ve got to roll with the punches.”
Brothers from Malta is the first of Julian’s films that has seen him play a main role. One of his key struggles was learning the script. “I thought that because I wrote the script that it’d actually be easier for me to remember my lines. It wasn’t.”
He also wore many hats “out of necessity”. He wrote, directed and produced the film, and handled all of the post-production.
“I edited the film. I also was the colorist and the sound designer as well, which is why it took so long to make this movie. We actually shot the LA stuff just before COVID. So, post-production took a really long time.”
Julian says that family is the greatest takeaway from this film; he has woven into the storyline old family footage from Malta in the ‘60s, and he believes the fact he had an opportunity to make a film with his brother is something they’ll both cherish forever.
“Behind its fractured family dynamics and comedy, [Brothers from Malta] is all about family and how special and sacred family is. This film’s about these two brothers who haven’t spoken to each other in seven years. They are torn from a past experience that they shared as kids, which has gone unresolved and it kind of snowballs the older and older they get until it separates them. This movie’s all about bringing family back together and mending family connections that are so sacred and special.”
“The Maltese community is backing the film because “they want to see themselves on screen.”
At the Malta premiere Julian reported a positive audience response, and reports that a cinema owner in Western Sydney told Galea that “he’s never sold so many tickets to a movie before.”
“That was amazing, because the Maltese community is really getting behind this film. They’re all excited to see it.”
Self-distributing, Julian is aiming Brothers from Malta towards the Maltese-Australian community and hopes to inspire them to “make more films as well.”
“This is the third title Galea Pictures has distributed. With Brothers From Malta, we had a theatrical run for two weeks throughout Malta in September and are now in Australia at select cinemas where our core audience of Maltese communities reside.
“Our strategic locations and target marketing must be working because I had one of the cinema owners call me the other day to tell me that they have never had this many pre-sold tickets to a film before.”
Info about screenings in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane here.