Tom Hanks and Raoul Bova are in Malta again. They are “on location”, the American star to take part in yet another blockbuster movie and the Italian heart-throb to act in a series that will be mostly shown in Italy.

Over the past years, Malta has seen many famous visitors coming over for filming. Some have also visited on holiday, as the island becomes more popular among mega-stars. There has also been talk that one or two of them are interested in buying property here too.

Malta is fast becoming a favourite location for filming. Its mild climate is, no doubt, very attractive, and many areas in Malta provide a natural set. Added to this, the facilities offered are excellent and the Maltese help – be it in set-building or the capabilities of film extras – never goes amiss. Our use of the English language is also an asset.

The Da Vinci Code, Troy, Gladiator and Munich were among the recent additions to films that were shot many years ago, such as Midnight Express and Popeye. These and others have made Malta famous in the film industry, and more films are expected to be shot in Malta in the coming years.

In all, some 65 productions were filmed in Malta in the last four years, generating more than €100 million in the industry. Not all were blockbusters, but some of them were, and others had an impact on a minor level. Yet, they were all important.

What is sure is that they act as an indirect promotion for our islands, both within the same industry itself but also for tourism purposes. The fact that the name ‘Malta’ features as one of the places that were used as locations for filming is already an advertisement in itself. And the more film producers decide to use Malta, the more the chance that others will learn of their experience here and decide to follow suit.

Still, we cannot rest on our laurels. We must continue to provide the perfect ambience for such a thriving industry, and we must be careful in the way we deal with such events. It takes one small incident for Malta to get a bad name, and in this kind of industry bad news travels fast.

So, while on one hand we should be proud to have achieved so much in the past few years, we should leave no stone unturned to make sure that the film-makers – from the actors, directors and the crew – get the best experience ever during their time in Malta.

It is only in this way that the film-making industry would grow.