“A film of this magnitude requires a huge network of very talented people to transform from script to screen,” says Winston Azzopardi by way of introduction... and few know more about this subject than he. As co-producer ofTroy, a joint venture between Latina Pictures and Warner Brothers, Winston was involved in the overseeing of all aspects of development, pre-production and production of the $40m epic.

Naturally, the question which first springs to mind is: why Malta?

Winston explains that Malta, with its vast array of forts, historical remains and picturesque bays, is an ideal location for such epic films.

“The main site of filming was Fort Ricasoli in Kalkara as it provided us with the right sort of space and location where we could work with a certain amount of ease,” says Winston. “We also did extensive filming at sea and at Golden Bay and Mellieha”.

Ship-building, it seems, was also a deciding factor.

“Another important reason why we came to film in Malta was the facility to build ships in a relatively short period of time. In fact, we built two life size ships at Cassar Shipyard which were used extensively throughout the film.”

So is Troy going to be a turning point for film making in Malta?

“I believe that Malta is already on the film location map, especially with films like Gladiator and The Count of Montecristo. There is definitely huge interest in Malta and the Film Commission is doing an excellent job promoting and facilitating film productions. Troy will further enhance our status as an important film location.”

What is Winston doing at the moment?

“I am currently based in Los Angeles where I am developing my own projects that can be filmed here in the future. My company has six screenplays in development stage, of which two do actually feature Malta in the story”.

Although many had predicted the demise of the so called historical blockbuster, the genre seems to have taken off recently and there are several more films in the pipeline. Alexander is based on the exploits of the Macedonian king Alexander the Great, whilst Kingdom of Heaven is based on the Crusades. Augustus is another epic featuring Peter O’Toole but it was not so well received. It is definite that there are huge benefits for those involved in this revival and Malta should definitely be there to make the most out of it.

Troy is a UK/Malta co-production and a special screening in aid of the SPCA will be held on 14 May at the Eden Century, the same day that the film will be released in the US.