The Times of London yesterday carried an article on Malta`s film industry, saying that "in recent years, Malta has built up a reputation as the Mediterranean`s mini-Hollywood".

In the article, `The island of everywhere`, author Daniel Rosenthal provides the "tiny island`s list of recent credits" from Gladiator to U-571, Guy Ritchie`s Swept Away and The Count of Monte Cristo, as well as a host of commercials and music videos.

According to the article, the reason "the former British colony, just 16 miles long, with a population of about 400,000, (has) come to attract such a disproportionately large quota of major projects" is due to water and, more specifically, the tanks at Rinella, the history of which is outlined.

The tanks are described in The Times as "blending seamlessly with a clear horizon, so directors can give audiences the illusion of seaborne action, taking place miles off the coast, without relying on back projection".

However, Malta`s film industry does not only revolve around the tanks.

"Producers initially drawn to Malta for the tanks quickly recognised its other assets: a superb climate, easy access from major European cities and English-speaking craftsmen available at extremely competitive rates. Above all, the cliffs, coastal inlets and mediaeval architecture of Malta and its twin island, Gozo, offer unspoiled locations that are a major draw for period dramas such as the $38 million The Count of Monte Cristo."

According to the article, the film`s director, Kevin Reynolds, and production designer Mark Geraghty had scoured the Italian and French coasts in search of a location which could pass for Marseilles of 1814, but found every skyline was ruined by 20th-century buildings.

"I was pretty sceptical that we were going to find anything even approaching the look we needed," Reynolds was quoted as saying, "until we saw Malta".

In the end, the panorama of Dockyard Creek in Grand Harbour was chosen as the perfect stand-in for Marseilles. After visiting other locations, the production company ended up shooting in Malta for five weeks instead of one as originally planned. The 17th-century, cliff-top fort on Comino doubled as Château d`If and a carnival scene set in Rome was filmed in a mediaeval square in Mdina.

"Malta is a fantastic place to work," Reynolds was quoted as saying in The Times, which also said that film and TV brought at least Lm4 million into the Maltese economy in 2001.

Producer`s Creative Partnership founder Malcolm Scerri-Ferrante was also interviewed and pointed out the dire need for a large sound stage, which would enable producers to use the island as a one-stop shop for studio and location work.

In the article, Mr Scerri-Ferrante also spoke about the importance of developing financial incentives for international producers, as well as the fact that Malta continued to service the needs of foreign film-makers, while its handful of native screenwriters and directors struggled to raise even minimal budgets to tell Maltese stories.

Mr Scerri-Ferrante mentioned the failure of the state-backed, $10 million film fund, Maltese Falcon Productions - which was supposed to co-finance around four low-budget Maltese features a year - when backers pulled out. Today, the fund was still dormant, The Times said.

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