The European Film Awards 2012 which will be hosted at the Mediterranean Conference Centre next December promise to be a prestigious cultural event but also a unique promotional opportunity for the Maltese Islands.

The event, organised by the European Film Academy, which is in its 25th edition, will be held in Malta for the very first time on 1 December, with some 50 satellite stations and over 100 journalists expected to be here to follow proceedings. Around 1,000 guests are expected to attend and the Malta Film Commission (MFC) is actively involved in the organisational aspect. Details of the event were announced yesterday at the Upper Barrakka Gardens in a joint news conference by Finance Minister Tonio Fenech and Culture Minister Mario de Marco.

Over the past four years, over 75 productions have been filmed in various locations of the Maltese Islands, leaving over €110 million in the local economy. These include a mix of international movies to Bollywood productions and Italian or Russian series.

However, the indigenous film industry is still in its infancy, and to date very few local productions feature in film festivals abroad. As a matter of fact, none of this year’s 47 entries in the European Film Awards hail from Malta. On the other hand, since the setting up of the MFC in 2008, over €700,000 have been allotted to support Maltese productions, and interest is on the rise. Meanwhile, the list of 47 films from 31 European countries, recommended for nomination in this year’s awards was announced. In the coming weeks the 2,700 members of the European Film Academy will vote for the nominations in the different award categories. The nominations for the 17 categories will be announced on 3 November at the Seville European Film Festival in Spain.

The hosting city of the European Film Awards alternates between Berlin and another European city. Founded in 1988, the academy unites 2,700 European film professionals.