Malta's reputation as a credible filming destination rests on a combination of things: the quality of our light, the skill of our film crews, and the astonishing concentration of fortresses, palaces and old streets packed onto two small islands. Few countries our size can offer a producer the Three Cities, Mdina, Valletta and many other locations within a twenty-minute drive of each other, each one capable of standing in for its own distinct atmosphere, architecture and era. That versatility has helped build an industry that now brings productions, jobs and international attention to our shores.

This week I had the opportunity to speak in Parliament during the debate that revolved around the operation of Heritage Malta, and during my address, I took the opportunity to speak about the considerable overlap that exists between these two worlds, heritage and its conservation, and the film industry.

As a country, we have come a long way. We all remember a time when our fortresses, bastions, palaces and other national treasures lay abandoned and, in some cases, dilapidated. Nationalist administrations embarked on an ambitious journey of restoration, sometimes through European funding, sometimes through local funds, in order to bring these magnificent edifices to life, giving them a new dignity, and purpose.

However, there is a detail that is often overlooked, and that is how these places are an intrinsic part of Malta's film offering. When a historic structure is restored, it is only natural that modern necessities are installed in order to make these places accessible and safe. These often include new lighting systems, glass partitions, chrome fittings, accessibility ramps, and panoramic lifts just to mention a few.

All this is reasonable and often unavoidable for a building that needs to serve the public today. The difficulty is that these additions can permanently alter the historical significance of a site, in ways that matter a great deal to a film crew even when they are barely clocked by a visitor.

A production set in a particular historical period needs a location that can convincingly stand in for that period. A fortress with a glass lift or exposed modern amenities in frame makes it harder to easily double for a 17th century stronghold or 19th century garrison, whatever its architectural merits otherwise. When that happens, producers are either compelled to spend more money disguising the modern elements, at great costs, or else they simply look elsewhere. Each time this happens, Malta's catalogue of usable locations narrows a little further, and with it, the choice available to directors who might otherwise have chosen us.

Fort Ricasoli sits at the exact point where heritage conservation and the film industry meet, and this could be a great opportunity to explore ways of how these two worlds can overlap in meaningful dialogue. The fort is widely recognised as a historically significant jewel, which is in need of serious restoration, however it is also one of the very few sites in Malta where sets of a certain scale can still be built for international productions. These two realities need not be mutually exclusive, and we must believe that we are mature enough as a nation, to think beyond.

Are we mature enough to include an assessment of what historical buildings are worth to the film industry before a major restoration project? Should we be setting out clearer guidance on how modern lighting, signage and safety features are integrated into historic fabric, favouring discreet and reversible solutions? Could accessibility and safety requirements, which are not optional and should never be treated as such, be designed with more imagination so that they serve both the public and a camera lens without conflict?

A country that can convincingly represent several different eras is worth more to a production, and to the country, than one that can only serve a contemporary setting. Losing that flexibility is an economic loss, no different from any other competitive advantage a country allows to slip away through inattention.

Malta should adopt a conservation policy that is conscious of what the film industry needs, without ever letting that need override conservation itself. The two are not in tension if we plan for both from the outset.

Marilena Gauci is Opposition spokesperson for the film industry.