Dear Yana

I hope you realize that what you said this morning on TVAM is the complete opposite of what your current party-leader is claiming that your party represents. I have not yet watched the documentary about your father, though I surely intend to, so I will not comment on its contents or what it represents before having watched it myself. But your arguments and your line of thought are clearly a remnant of your father's out-dated philosophy of state-control.

You claimed that the film is pure "PN propoganda". May I kindly remind you that in our current day and age, people are free to shoot movies without the need of obtaining any permission from the party in government. I know it's very different from what you were used to, but that's the way we've moved on.

You say the film should not be screened because "many people from Valletta and elsewhere had seen the film and many had walked out in disgust". May I point out that a new draft law proposed by the current government is proposing just that: moving away from any sort of state-censorship of theatrical and movie productions to a process of self-regulation and self-censorship. People have a choice whether to view a production or not, and a choice whether to stay till the end or not. Did they walk out in disgust? Fine. Good to hear that they're already getting used to the new culture of self-censorship.

You say "your father deserves to be respected". Respect is earned, not deserved. And that applies for everyone. It seems that some respect your father highly, some don't. You cannot force anyone to respect him, and that's the way it's going to be for every politician. From other reviews (which I think are more objective than yours can ever be), it seems that the film manages to reach a balance between both views. Respect certainly doesn't mean showing only the positive side.

You further object because, you ask, "should somebody produce a film about the violence of the 1960s and the mortal sin episode?" Yes. Someone can and someone should. And no one is going to stop him. In fact, a lot of such documentaries have already been shown on television. But pray, what sort of argument is that for not showing this film?

You say "your father gave his life to achieve progress in Malta and now this film has come out with attacks against him." Well, there are many Maltese politicians who gave their life for what they believed was the best interest of their country. Some were interned and deported for years, some had their family beaten and their house ransacked, some were removed from the very party they led. I don't think a film showing his positives and negatives is the worst thing that can happen to a politician.

Yana, politicians are scrutinized, their lives and actions are interpreted differently by different people, and there's no way you can stop that. Even our law courts thankfully admit it. Just learn to accept it.

If you intend to kill the arts (like when your father closed the Faculty), expect people to bow down just because you're his daughter, and believe that the party in government has to control everything anyone says or watches, then I really can't understand how you're standing as a candidate with a so-called 'progressive' party. But then again, judging by the big-government attitudes of the rest of your team, you might fit in very well after all.

Finally, also try to understand that writing articles or shooting films in an open letter style is a widely used literary and artistic form of expression. There's absolutely no need to first send it to the person it is addressed to and wait for his or her reply. In fact, that's what this blog-post is: an open letter. I hope you don't sue me in court as well because I haven't first sent it by post.

Yours sincerely....