TMID editorial: Ditching Malta for Hollywood
Malta’s place as a hub for the filming of international films has been consolidated over the last few years.
Indeed, we have seen several major blockbuster films being partly filmed in Malta, with the most recent being the blockbuster Jurassic World Dominion and one of the most anticipated is Ridley Scott’s historical epic Napoleon which is expected to hit theater screens in 2023.
The government in the most recent Budget budgeted some €11 million in money to attract such international productions, but documents to the European Commission showed that that number could rise to a mammoth €50 million.
The attraction of international film industries through rebates, tax credits and other fiscal measures has been one of the foundations of various governments since Malta joined the European Union, and it is undeniable that these films have placed to Malta on the map (although maybe they have the country). star as a black market center as she did in Jurassic World may not be the best advertisement) and they are good for the economy.
However, we have to see this compared to the support – or lack thereof – that is offered to the local film industry.
Maltese film houses may not be the ones making dinosaur blockbusters, but there is significant local talent that is not receiving nearly enough support from the government to stay afloat.
Movies like Pizzeria and Carmen among others they are proof of the talent present among the local ranks.
However while up €50 million has been reserved for foreign blockbusters, local filmmakers only have access to a fund worth €600,000 – one that hasn’t even become available yet.
This is a rather pathetic number compared to what is spent on the international industry: The government spent the equivalent of just over 5% of that just to erect three dinosaur statues to promote Jurassic World, and spent hundreds of thousands of euros (we would love to tell you exactly how much, but the Malta Film Commission continues to stubbornly refuse to tell us) to organize the Malta Film Awards.
Producer Pierre Ellul, who worked on it Carmenhe said The Malta Independent on Sunday that “all the attention is on foreign projects and the Maltese filmmaker is left out in the cold.”
“€600,000 as a pot for all film producers on the island to finance the five branches during the life of a film project – grants for the writer, development, production, distribution and marketing – is ridiculously poor, ” he said.
“Film is an expensive medium. Professionals in the field should be able to make a decent living from it, not be treated as such enthusiasts There are people in Malta who actually work in films and earn a living from films.”
Asked by this newsroom why the fund was not made available to local film producers this year, Tourism Minister Clayton Bartolo replied: “We are working on several changes to this fund to local producers are given the opportunities they deserve.”
Asked what the changes will involve, he said that “there is no need to worry” as all the details will come out when it is announced – however, the Minister did not give a date for when this will happen.
It is a pity once again that the government seems to have favored selling itself to the highest foreign bidder rather than supporting local industry and local productions.
Perhaps it is another evidence of the widespread colonial mentality that still occupies the minds of the Maltese, where we seem happy to see Malta on the big screen and make a big part of it.
One can only hope that the government stops abandoning Malta for the glitz and glamor of Hollywood and offers the local industry the support it deserves.