From eating a hen’s neck and head, boiling of puppies and bleeding a female tortoise are among some old Maltese remedies against illnesses and the evil eye.

The ‘Sarangu’s World‘ is a research project set in 1813 Malta during the Bubonic plague pandemic with particular attention to Maltese folk. We are uploading two Maltese folktales compiled by G. Cassar. Pullicino. ‘Il Kap Ta’ Izbanduti’ and ‘Il Hrafa tax Xemx u L Qamar’ [Stories in Maltese] Download

Pretty much what you would expect … plus the death penalty! The same concept of containment of the diseases was applied then: Identify, isolate, treat. For such a system to be effective, the chain of transmission needs to be cut off. Thus, quarantine measures were applied. Among the measures the Committee of Health ordered: No… Read More How did a quarantine look like in 1800?

The use of quarantine measures is nothing new. Quarantine is an old method utilised by authorities and communities to contain or slow down the spread of a diseases as much as possible. It provides the opportunities to provide effective care to the victims. The town of Senglea managed to survive the 1813 Bubonic plague by… Read More How Senglea survived the plague

Manoel Island and the surrounding area of Gzira was very different from today (and from that of tomorrow). It was mainly a rural area surrounded by fields and a few farm houses. Without the lights of today, the road to Sliema must have looked pretty bleak at night. Manoel Island’s role in 1813 was that… Read More This is how Manoel Island looked in the 1800s

The Bubonic Plague was increasing at such an alarming rate that its death trail was starting to include servants, people responsible to purify the infected houses and gravediggers. Leaving no one to care for the victims.  The British Government resorted to using French prisoners for such chores. In 1813 Malta had around 900 French prisoners… Read More Sarangu’s World: The role of French war prisoners in the 1813 Malta Bubonic plague

MR TEDDY IS ANGRY is Filfla Studio’s new short animation after Filfla Filfla Studio was awarded a new talent grant by the Malta Film Commission for the production of MR TEDDY IS ANGRY. This is the second short animation produced by Filfla Studio after FILFLA. MR TEDDY IS ANGRY follows the story of a Giant… Read More MR. TEDDY IS ANGRY

FILFLA will be screened on the 15th February at the Silverbird Accra Mall in Ghana as part of the European Film Festival Ghana. This screening is possible with the support of the High Commission of Malta in Ghana.

Filfla Studio has been granted a ‘Research Support Grant’ by Arts Council Malta to explore further the world of Filfla by focusing on the mysterious creature in the animation – The Sarangu (the sack man). The grant will permit to conduct research on the backstory of this creature – a mythological creature in Maltese folk.… Read More The Sarangu’s World