The Malta Producers Association has called for the immediate resignation of film commissioner Johann Grech.

The association was reacting to a story in the media claiming that the Malta Film Commission was choosing to promote certain local film production companies to international producers while excluding others.

“The writing has been on the wall for some time now with many industry stakeholders becoming increasingly concerned that the film industry seems to be doing well only for a chosen few,” the producers said in a statement.

“It should go without saying that the private sector must be allowed to function without any interference from partisan interests. The fact that a government authority is wilfully and maliciously interfering with the livelihoods of private citizens is corrupt and utterly unacceptable in a democratic nation in the EU,” it said.

In its statement, the MPA said that some years ago the Film Commission had removed the existing online directory and replaced it with an opaque system it called “Opportunities For All”.

“It is bitterly ironic that despite its title the new system seems to have been designed to be an opportunity for the very few, determined privately and arbitrarily by the Film Commissioner...

“This is a blatant abuse of his position and shamelessly distorts the market. It is a blatant violation of the rights of all producers to be given an equal opportunity to work and reveals his talk of providing opportunities for all to be nothing but pure spin.

“That this is done in an industry where Malta’s reputation is paramount, makes his actions even more treacherous and deals yet another blow to Malta’s reputation in an industry which is so sensitive to the exercise of good practice and good governance,” the MPA said.

It demanded the immediate return of the online directory listing all film personnel.

Should Grech not resign, then Tourism Minister Julia Farrugia Portelli should remove him, the MPA said. 

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The Malta Film Commission, under the leadership of Johann Grech, has embarked on an ambitious project to strengthen further the local film industry, the commission said in reply.

We have succeeded in making Malta a player on the world stage. We have increased the cash rebate programme to 40% to increase our competitive edge globally. We have launched a masterplan for the Malta Film Studios, regenerating the whole area and have already started the process to build the first soundstages in Malta. This is the first investment by the Government after 40 years.

Since 2018, the Malta Film Commission has increased its outreach to studios and independent film makers to attract more productions to our islands. We have changed the industry from a seasonal one, to one guaranteeing back to back productions.  In 2019, we had over 21 film and TV productions, meaning that a total of €40 million was injected into our economy. Our local crew has been working from project to project, since May 2018.

With the launch of the programme ‘Opportunity for All’, we have started to create an industry for the many, not the few. ‘Opportunity for All’ is a programme aimed not only for local producers and service providers, but for all crew members who work in the industry and for those who want to join the industry. Today, there are 363 companies registered and 700 individuals in ‘Opportunity for All’. We want a liberal market, eliminating the monopoly of the few.

Since 2018, more than 16 different local service providers have worked on more than 35 different productions. Under Johann Grech’s administration, the majority of existing local service providers have all worked on these different projects. Therefore, it is completely false that the Malta Film Commission is providing opportunities only for the “chosen few”.

The Malta Film Commission, at any level, exercises no interference whatsoever when it comes to the choice of a foreign production choosing a local service provider. If and when asked for an opinion, the Malta Film Commission does discuss local service providers, however it is always up to the foreign production to do their due diligence and choose freely and accordingly. Neither the Commissioner, nor the Malta Film Commission decide who ultimately works on the foreign production. Therefore, allegations in this respect are false.

The decision to remove the previous directory needed to be taken in light of the then-upcoming implementation date for the General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (GDPR). Once the previous directory was removed, work started immediately on the new programme “Opportunity For All”, now being populated by more than 1,000 companies and individuals working in the local film industry.

The “Opportunity For All” programme works in total compliance with GDPR. The current system operates as a consent-based data gathering application and we will be providing full access to studios, producers and filmmakers based on their enquiries. Nonetheless, the programme is already being used when foreign productions inquire crew data relating to different departments within the film industry.

Furthermore, Johann Grech categorically denies statements published on certain media that he has, by some form or another, used his position as a platform for profit and pocketing of money or gifts of any kind, from any individual. Together with the Government, the Film Commissioner Johann Grech will keep working in the best interest of the local film community, by ensuring that our industry keeps growing and our people keep working. The Commissioner’s ambition remains to make Malta a world-class film industry.

List of productions