Nativity

Nativity is a crime thriller in pre-production from Maltese filmmaker Joshua Cassar Gaspar, who directs, writes, and produces his sophomore feature following his debut The Theft of the Caravaggio. The film follows Francis Battista, a washed-up boxer turned low-level criminal desperate to regain custody of his daughter, who accepts one final job when Caravaggio's long-lost masterpiece, The Nativity, resurfaces within the criminal underworld. The production is a collaboration between Valletta Pictures and Jericho Dominion Films, with support from Arts Council Malta, which awarded the project 450,000 EUR. Daniel Cawthorne returns as cinematographer after shooting Cassar Gaspar's debut on 35mm, and Elton Zarb composes the score. Principal photography is scheduled from March to April 2027 in Malta and Los Angeles, with the producers targeting a Venice International Film Festival premiere.