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Very artistic and extremely beautiful in an elfin kind of way, Marieclaire has an eternal child-like quality, and always conjures up images of Fairies and Butterflies in my head. This ultra-slim, funky, down to earth and energetic brunette never fails to surprise me with her abundant energy and zeal for life for her petite physique!
 She has had several TV appearances so far, taken part in a number of plays, helped to co-run Birgu’s well-known Il-Forn Art Gallery for a number of years, has now created her very own home-made catering set up Pixie Foods for small events, and has been known to cook up a fabulous meal for over 100 people in a couple of hours! The running joke was that after she left Il-Forn, Clemens had to hire six new people to replace her.
Erika Brincat meets MarieClaire Camilleri for dinner in her cosy Sliema home and discovers what she’s all about.
Marie, tell us about your first experiences in the art world, and your particular style of painting and interior design.
Kitsch is the word. I love doing things with what I find – anything at hand and readily available, whether recycled or other people’s junk. However my first experience with art involved the theatre at a very young age. My parents were very involved in Salesian’s Theatre and I was given my first part when I was just 2 years old, in Il-Kerrejja. I took it further in my teenage years and through MTADA, which has now evolved into the Drama Unit, I went to Germany for a Theatre Encounter at LingenEms a Theatre City where I took workshops in Storytelling, Theatre and Crafts, and from then on I went into film.
You are also a passionate cook. Which dishes do you enjoy preparing the most, and sharing with your guests and customers?
The three Ms - Meze’, Maltese and Mediterranean! I love using herbs especially locally grown and harvested, as well as organic produce. I’m interested in the modernisation of what is traditional. Taking an ancient recipe and reintroducing it with a twist, for young taste-buds to enjoy. Jams, preserves and pickles are my greatest passion when I find the time. As well as lasagne with all sorts of vegetables and seeds in it. Pumpkin, sunflower and sesame seeds and cardamom play a big role in my dishes, and I also like making caramelised onions and meat, especially beef, which is a big forte of mine!
What is Pixie Foods all about?
It’s a side project of mine. I love cooking, but working in a restaurant is time-consuming and your whole life revolves around it. So I started this Personal Chef Concept where I undertake mini-projects mostly at the weekends. I have had Weddings, BBQs and staff parties and you get the chance to know your clients, and discover what they like, and work something out according to their budget, usually even for up to 100 people or more. The concept includes music, marinades, and creating the right atmosphere. It is a fusion of all these things to create a relaxed atmosphere while giving them the best food I can. It all started about a year ago when I was making lots of jams and pickles, and since then I have had about one function per month.
How did you get the main role in the short film ‘The Isle’ and was it a positive experience?
I was doing some TV commercials for “Where’s Everybody?” when Malta and all other EU member states received some funds for short movies, and Kenneth Scicluna, J.P. Magro, and Dennis Mahoney from Drunken Angel approached me to take part in their film, which was viewed at St. James and during diverse International Short Film Festivals held in every EU country. I played the part of an epileptic girl who falls in love with a photographer, but since she is disabled she is patronised by her family. It deals with the mentality of many Maltese who are against the irrationality of art. In art you have to go to extremes to express your self fully in a novel way and the Maltese tend to put a lot of taboos on that.
Are there any other films, TV programmes, events or plays you have participated in and would like to talk about?
At the Salesians Theatre I worked with Lino Ferris who is a brilliant director, and we did a lot of Edwardo de Filippo stuff. Lino manages to make you feel very comfortable. With “Ic-Cicco” I did one of the first short movies to be shown in Malta in 2001 called “Visiting Time” viewed at the YMCA Festval in Valletta. With Angelique Mueller, a talented young French director brimming with ideas, and Cathleen Tanti I did voice-overs for a short movie called Ward Sixty6 as well as a Music Video. Musically I also collaborated with Spooky Monkey. While they were playing I would act out and it was like a Mobile Circus Crew with improvisation from the different session artists.
Do you also enjoy posing for photography or do you prefer Film, TV and Art as mediums of self-expression?
I don’t mind posing for photographs as long as they are not oriented on my self. There has to be an artistic object other than my self– I don’t want to be the object of the photograph but just a medium to carry out the photographer’s vision. I am ready to give my self if I know the concept is artistic, but I will not agree to do photography if it is just a beauty session. I have to be in synch with the photographer’s idea. The photo must be theatre in a still picture, and I must be telling something, not just looking pretty. So in a way you could say it is more acting, which forms more part of my ideology.
What is your role in “Ghada Jisbah Ukoll” and what has been going on, on set?
It is one of the first Maltese telenovelas written and produced wholly in Malta. The scriptwriter is the well-known Pierre Portelli so it’s a lot of fun, and very outgoing! Not the usual “who loves and leaves me!” type of thing. I play Kylie, a very sweet character, and it’s been great working with MPS. There is a lot of action involved, bloodshed, and shootings, and a lot of everyday and real Maltese humour. It is dramatic but fun at the same time and the script is filled with witty punch lines.
Which art form do you wish to delve into further, and gain more experience in?
Both theatre and film but it depends on the time of year. I find theatre needs more concentration because film keeps you away from the timeline, there isn’t a lot of continuity, whilst in theatre you rehearse for months and then have to psyche your self up before giving a whole two hour performance, so it requires more involvement and a lot more discipline, and I enjoy that! Film is great fun though.
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