Drama | Comedy | 95 min | Malta
Available on: GO Tokis (MT)
Other streaming regions coming soon
Cinema release date: March 2025
Language: Maltese, English
Subtitles: English
Directed by: Keith A. Tedesco
Produced by: Keith A. Tedesco & Fabrizio Fenech
Written by: Keith A. Tedesco, Chris Dingli, Antonella Axisa & Mikhail Basmadjian
Cast: Chris Dingli, Simone Spiteri, Antonella Axisa & Mikhail Basmadjian
Kevin Naudi, Ruth Borg, Matthew Sant Sultana, Ryan Debattista & Katrina Lupi
Production: Roughcut Films, Lampa Stampa Films
Supported by Arts Council Malta
Distributor: Bounty Entertainment
Featured on
ABOUT
Ciao Ciao. You know that moment when you’re walking your guest to the door, bidding them farewell and safe travels, and the customary ‘goodbye’ extends to a 20-minute conversation? Sometimes 40 minutes, and other times over an hour.
This story is about four couples who have seemingly managed to extend that goodbye till the next morning. Two old school friends run into each other after many years.
A dinner invitation follows with their husbands in tow. How have they changed since their school years and what is really hiding behind the smiles and courtesies? At the end of the dinner, at the front door, a series of Ciao Ciao moments leads to a snowball of irreversible events, impacting the lives of those around them.
A man meets a woman at Dingli Cliffs a wonderful evening of conversation and adventure follows – the man feels reborn and is incredulous at how his luck in life is suddenly changing.
A young girl and a charming boy bond in a beautiful, innocent manner over their shared love of music will their relationship grow, or are there forces at work that will tear them apart? How are these stories intertwined, and can the infamous Ciao Ciao moments be blamed for their outcomes?
OFFICAL TRAILER
“Minn kull aspett dan il-film huwa wirja tas-soċjeta Maltija.
Kif ahna ngħixu, naħsbu u nilatikaw.”
Reviews on Letterboxed
“The tiny annoyances that we Maltese do brought to the spotlight. The script feels like a finely crafted amalgamation of so many conversations we've all had. The different themes that are so relevant to our everyday life. All of it just breathes "Malti". It's not broad in scope, just eight principal players, but they're all connected in some way or another (Malta żgħira, mhux hekk).
Technically very good too. I'm a massive sucker for split diopter shots and I love how they were used within the narrative. I also liked the choice to shoot it in 4:3 and black-and-white. The non-linear story also really worked, slowly revealing different parts of what happened this one night.
Genuinely really fond of this film. I would kill to have a few more low/mid-budget Maltese films in cinema every year like this one.”
“I love Maltese cinema so much, it's one of the few times I feel really proud to be Maltese. This was so good I genuinely loved every second of it...but damn I need a sequel bro.”
“EUROPEAN UNION FILM SHOWCASE 2025 - Film #38. For more info on this screening and my ranking of this film within the festival overall, see this list.”
“Really good fun! Smart and clever film!”
“What a Maltese film. I have a slight prejudice with films in Maltese because unfortunately, sometimes they just give off the ‘acting’ feeling. But this film, with such a small budget compared to others, felt like it was eating dinner with extended family and hearing all the family gossip. The nod to Maltese attributes helped a lot in this film, with how we use ciao ciao to the weird shift to Maltese to English and vice versa, it felt very normal and easy to do. The camera work was very cool and I enjoyed it greatly. Props to the cast and anyone who worked on this film.”
“My first Maltese film!! loved the B&W, the use of cool angles, and the interesting narrative that somehow ended up working well in connecting the three parts together. especially liked the second act that touched upon the differences in class, language, culture, and worldview in the frame of teenage summer love !”
“A film that embraces Maltese social culture rather than ignoring it. Most importantly, the film doesn’t take itself too seriously, whilst the gorgeous visuals and witty script is seriously impressive, it genuinely knows how to give the audience a good laugh. This script is so good man, love the 3 act structure, non linear storytelling, intricate and distinct characters, social commentary and ironic humour.
It was genuinely really good a few tiny technical production and editing flaws that took me out of the story a slight bit, but given this films marvel and how hard it must have been to make, its imperfections are super minor. Major achievement for Malta right here. Ciao ciao!
If you’re a fan of The White Lotus this heavily reminded me of it. From a social class satire standpoint obviously. So if you like that kind of stuff definitely give this a try.”
