Malta’s blossoming film industry has seen a particularly positive year, with a total of 12 productions leaving behind an estimated Lm8 million, Investment, Industry and IT Minister Austin Gatt said yesterday.
Over the past year, Malta has seen a total of 164 shooting days for productions ranging from blockbusters such as The Da Vinci Code and Munich to a number of advertisements for which Malta has served as a backdrop.
Going into the financial impact of the productions hosted by Malta this year, Dr Gatt explained how total expenditure had amounted to Lm5.5 million, while the multiplier effect of filming activities has raised the total economic impact to some Lm8 million considering a conservative 1.5 times multiplier effect.
Lm700,000 were refunded by the government to production companies as tax rebates as part of the package of financial incentives introduced for the film industry last year. However, another linked incentive, which provides for tax credits for companies investing in Malta’s film industry infrastructure, has not been taken up by a single company to date, Dr Gatt added.
Dr Gatt was speaking during yesterday’s launch of the Malta Film Commission’s Production Guide for 2006-2007, which is now in its third edition.
Malta Film Commission (MFC) chairman Chris Grech, also present for yesterday’s presentation, highlighted two main initiatives underway by the MFC with the aim of bolstering the Malta offering.
The first, he explained, was a survey of each and every production company filming in Malta with a view to gauging their opinions on both Malta as a filming location and more brass tacks issues such as the availability of equipment and the skill levels of local companies, film crews, support staff and services.
Initial findings from the survey point to strengths such as high-quality hotel accommodation, transport services and a richness of filming locations. One significant shortcoming, on the other hand, was a general unavailability of production equipment – such as stages and sound and filming equipment – from the local sector.
This shortfall was registered despite the fact that tax credits had been offered to partly offset the cost of investing in such equipment.
The second initiative is a gap analysis study, which, after being awarded to a foreign company through a tendering process, is expected to be finalised by September.
Describing the study as “crucial”, Mr Grech referred to the fact that Malta is facing stiff international competition in attracting film crews and that the study would go a long way toward identifying what would be needed to make Malta a prime filming location. The results are expected to help create a product development strategy and to give the MFC direction in determining what aspects of the local industry need to be bolstered and what new facilities and strategies would need to be implemented.
The results of the study and of the survey, will also be used to formulate the MFC’s marketing plan for 2007-2008.