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Delimara
bay spans two eras: on one side the Freeport high-rise
cranes remind one of the vicious dinosaurs wandering
about Jurassic Park and on the other ancient Egypt comes
to life.
A set has been built at Delimara for the shooting of the
ancient Egyptian epic, Agora, based in Roman Egypt in
the fourth century AD.
In the
movie, Oscar-winning actress Rachel Weisz plays
astrologer-philosopher Hypatia of Alexandria who fights
to save the collected wisdom of the ancient world. Her
slave Davus (Max Minghella) is torn between his love for
his mistress and the possibility of gaining his freedom
by joining the rising tide of Christianity.
Directed by
the 35-year-old, Oscar-winning director, Alejandro
Amenábar, the movie is a uniquely European production.
Agora, the period drama, is his second English-language
film following The Others (2001), starring Nicole
Kidman.
The idea is
to bring ancient Alexandria back to life, allowing the
audience to see, feel and smell a remote civilisation as
if it were as real as today, the director has been
quoted as saying.
Agora marks
a series of firsts for the island. Not only is an entire
film of such a scale being shot here for the first time
but also many Maltese are being employed in roles and
crew positions that are usually taken up by foreigners.
Agora is
also the longest movie to be shot on the island, with an
estimated 76 shooting days (15 weeks) scheduled. The
production has been in preparation since October and
should wrap by the end of June. |
