Romance in a cactus garden

Poitr Adamczyk, who played the part of Pope John Paul II spent three days in Malta shooting a Polish romantic comedy:

..Contacted by telephone in Poland, Mr Adamczyk said that a week after he left Malta he was already yearning to be back. "I already miss Malta because during the days I spent there I was under the spell of its people and its beauty. "I didn't know the island had such a long and fascinating history. Now I am looking forward to seeing the historic places when I visit next..

After the filming in Malta was over, Mr Adamcyzk stayed on for a hectic day on a photo shoot for a Polish fashion magazine called Gala, which is similar to Vogue, Vanity Fair and Viva. Loosely translated into English, the name of the Polish film shot in Malta is Don't Lie Darling. The ending of the film - a romantic comedy - had to be shot in a cactus garden on an island in the Mediterranean, according to Krystyna Mikulanka, Malta's honorary consul in Poland.

"So in September I came here to look for a cactus garden and for several other locations where the film company could put together the footage it had in mind," Ms Mikulanka explained during an interview. "Believe it or not I found what is considered to be the third largest cactus garden in the Mediterranean. This forms part of Derek Garden Centre, in Qormi. Some of the cacti are over 80 years old.

"Initially, the production company was thinking of filming the final part of the movie in Majorca but when I showed them what Malta could offer, they decided to film here. "Towards the end of the film, the main actor, Poitr Adamczyk, tells his lover he has managed to make her wish come true by taking her to a cactus garden in a Mediterranean island called Malta," Ms Mikulanka said.

Part of the footage was shot at the Upper Barrakka Gardens in Valletta. While shooting at Ghajn Tuffieha, Lech Walesa, a former President of Poland and leader of the Solidarnosc trade union, literally walked onto the set, appearing briefly in the film..."Mr Walesa came up to me asking why I hadn't told him earlier about the lure of this island. He said he will be holidaying here with his wife, next year."