Festa for San Gabriel, A

Synopsis

Documents aspects of the preparations for the annual village festa in honour of the patron saints (The Madonna and St Gabriel) of a village in Malta. Looks at the week prior to the celebration and the festa itself and is seen and presented through the words of the Band Club Secretary. Presents the history of the village, the cult of saints, the importance of fireworks prepared lovingly by the young men of the village, the worlds of men and women, the importance of music and popular opera and, lastly, the parading of the sacred statue of the Saint throughout the village. The video is presented in the words of the villagers themselves and there is little attempt at overt anthropological intervention. The film was designed for teaching purposes to give viewers a taste of the texture of life in a Mediterranean village.

Language

English

Country

Great Britain

Medium

Video; Videocassette. Standard formats. col. 43 min.

Year of production

198

Availability

Sale

Subjects

Anthropology

Keywords

Malta; religious festivals

Credits

Director

Gregory Barrow; Paul Sant Cassia

Distributor

Name

University of Cambridge, Department of Social Anthropology