PROFILE OF A DIRECTOR                         

"I'm hired to mesmerize the audience with action!"

Film-maker Mario Azzopardi is renowned in Northern America as a "very humane, passionate director" with "unique directing abilities".

PROFILE OF A DIRECTOR shows how one man's dream to make it big in the film industry can become a true reality.    The documentary includes an in-depth interview with Mario Azzopardi focusing on his life and works as one of Canada's busiest directors.  Hosted by Peter Skinner, Profile of a Director also gives a brief insight into the booming film industry of Toronto and a behind-the-scenes look on the set of the pilot episode "Total Recall", the popular TV series which Mario directed.

"Size does matter" says the Maltese-born director, choosing the topical banner from the film 'Godzilla' when comparing film shooting in Canada and Malta.  Mario Azzopardi goes on to describe his emigration to Canada twenty years ago as a cultural shock .  "In Malta one believes he's at the centre of the world there.  Suddenly you come here and you see these vast skies and it's quite a different situation.  There are opportunities that don't exist in Malta"

Mario Azzopardi recalls how he was eventually "propelled" to emigrate to Canada after a play he was directed in Malta was deemed too offensive at the time and after being hassled by the theatre authorities who cancelled it at the last hour.

Asked about violence on TV and its influence on crime, Mario emphasizes that his responsibility as a film-maker is fundamentally that of a storyteller and not so much of a teacher. "I'm hired to mesmerize the audience with action!" he explains.

Full unedited and exclusive interview with Mario Azzopardi

Producer/Director: Malcolm Scerri-Ferrante    
Host: Peter Skinner
Cameraman: Phil Pendry                                                     
Shooting duration:  1 day

Screen-time: 28 minutes                                                
Format: Beta SP