Exhibition: Women in Malta – Mariella Pisani Bencini

Women in Malta Amanda_Hsu_WIM_2534 Exhibition: Women in Malta - Mariella Pisani Bencini

Women in Malta Amanda_Hsu_WIM_2671 Exhibition: Women in Malta - Mariella Pisani Bencini

Location:Teatru Manoel

Mariella Pisani Bencini –  TV Producer and Writer

Winner of national literary award 2005

The 15 women I photographed are all very active with tight daily schedule. I do appreciated that they took time to meet me and helped me with my project.

It was a brief meeting with Mariella, she had the lovely smile as she walked in my studio.

We talk about a bit about my project and how the photo shoot is going to be then I started to ask her the questions.

Q& A

1)When you feel down, what you usually do to make yourself feel better? How do you deal with stress?When I am stressed out and consequently problems seem bigger and more unsolvable, when I end up with my back to the wall, without any solutions whatsoever, I close my eyes and pray God to take the burden off me. Prayer works wonders.

2)What you enjoy the most about your work?Through my television programme Meander, I come in contact with art- ists from all fields of the arts, very interesting people who have somehow through their art captured the true spirit of life. This is what I enjoy most in my work.

3)Have you been professionally photographed before?How did you feel? (Before the shoot with Amanda)I featured in the book Ladies of Malta by Nicholas Depiro. There was only one location, Casa Rocca Piccola, , I was seated and I could simply be myself. I did not consider it as a photo shoot for a photography exhi- bition, but simply as one or two photographs for a book. The photogra- pher was Patrick Fenech a professional photographer, with whom, as with Amanda, I felt very comfortable working.

4)If you knew then what you know now, whatwould you tell your 18-year-old self?I would tell my eighteen year old self to be more tolerant of other people and their views, less rebellious and less impulsive.

5)When things get tough, how do you keep your-self going?When things get tough, as they tend to do throughout life’s experiences, I tend to work harder. Work and writing keep my mind off other things and drive me to keep going.

6) How do you define success?Success is the feeling of fulfilment in the way one is living one’s life.Her novel has won Boydell & Brewer Prize

Links about Mariella:

https://www.facebook.com/meandernet/https://www.independent.com.mt/articles/2005-01-07/local-news/Let’s-Do-lunch-with-Mariella-Pisani-Bencini-70616

Women in Malta Official trailer:https://youtu.be/hlhe5zv7KOQ

The Making of “Women in Malta” 2015 Video:https://youtu.be/jvSr8Xpt3K0

Women in Malta 2015 Project page