Two years after giving up on his dream to have an established film fund in Malta, film-maker Mario Azzopardi is hoping to revive the concept in a meeting planned with Finance Minister John Dalli tomorrow.

"After resigning from the Maltese Falcon Productions film fund I had vowed never to be involved again, but even though I was away from Malta, din l-art helwa keeps pulling me back," he said with a resigned smile.

A film fund would open a gateway of opportunities and bring about the realisation of three to four films a year.

The idea was that the government and banks would inject money into the fund so as to back the production of local films. The fund could also pave the way for the signing of a memorandum of understanding between two countries where producers, writers and directors could pool their resources to jointly produce material.

Mr Azzopardi was yesterday speaking in between shoots of the American television series Dinotopia - his first in Malta since he emigrated to Canada 25 years ago.

His presence on the island also makes it the first time that a Maltese film director is shooting an American production on the island.

Mr Azzopardi has an affinity with the island and while he was in Canada he had struggled for several years to set up the first film fund in Malta, only to see all the good work crumble into nothing.

Mr Azzopardi had been the driving force behind the creation of the MFP, a state-backed film fund which was supposed to co-finance three or four low-budget features a year.

After one of its principal backers, Mid Med Bank, backed out following its HSBC takeover, Mr Azzopardi was so frustrated with the lack of progress of the fund that he quit as its development and production chief.

However, he has not given up on the idea of Malta becoming a co-producer of international films, creating a film producing industry in the process.

"In the meeting with Mr Dalli I hope to delve into the future of the film industry and maybe even re-ignite the idea of the film fund," Mr Azzopardi said.

"A film commission does not make an industry. Its role is to try and convince a producer to come and film in Malta. A film fund is the only way to go about it if Malta wants to create its own projects," he said.

Mr Azzopardi insisted that contrary to what had been planned for the Maltese Falcon Productions, a new film fund would have to be led by people who were experts in the financing of film business and experts in the industry itself.

Mr Azzopardi said that the shooting of Dinotopia will leave about $250,000 in Malta in just a week. With a film fund there would be many more opportunities and possibilities.

What made Mr Azzopardi divert his conversation from the shooting of Dinotopia to the film fund, was the fact that there were so many young people who had untapped talent.

Mr Azzopardi also heaped praise on Mediterranean Film Studios production manager Malcolm Scerri-Ferrante, whom he described as being as good as any to be found abroad.

"His experience is phenomenal. His talent should be taken care of. Malcolm is brilliant," he said.

Mr Azzopardi was also full of praise for the Maltese actors he had cast for silent parts as well as for the two who had been favoured over British professionals for the speaking parts.

"I had already booked two British actors for the parts of captain and radio man, but I have now opted for the talent of Edward Mercieca and Paul Portelli," he enthused.

"I have been missing for 25 years and it's nice to see a new generation of actors who are full of potential and who are as keen and as excited as we were back then," he said.

Established Maltese actors Jes Camilleri, Margaret Agius, Nanette Brimmer and Alan Paris were in fact an integral part of yesterday's shooting in the water tanks of the MFS.

Mr Scerri-Ferrante said that filming of Dinotopia, a co-production between Hallmark TV and Disney, started on Saturday and was expected to draw to an end on Friday.

Shooting of the series, which will be aired on ABC television, will also take place in Popeye Village, at Dingli Cliffs and on a beach in the north.

For the series, Mr Azzopardi will also be directing his 21-year-old daughter Lara who is this week graduating with a first degree in drama from the University of Toronto.

Mr Scerri-Ferrante said a foreign crew of 70 people was brought over to shoot two of the 13 episodes in Malta. The rest are being shot in Hungary and filming there is expected to be wrapped in August.

American director Tom Wright, who is filming a number of episodes, is also in Malta to shoot a few of the water scenes.

"The pilot of this series received rave reviews when it was shown in the US last month. This has led us to shift the launch forward to September instead of December," Mr Azzopardi said.

Delving into the plot of Dinotopia, Mr Azzopardi said the series revolved round the popular children's books which tell the tale of how humans and dinosaurs learn to live together in harmony in a fantasy land.

Everyone used to say that these books were impossible to shoot, but Mr Azzopardi and the rest of the team have proved them wrong.

At the moment Mr Azzopardi is riding on a high after his latest film Savage Messiah raked in a phenomenal C$2 million in just over three weeks.

This film, which was released in over 50 cinemas across Quebec, Canada, is a powerful, psychological true story based on the life of cult leader Roch Thèriault.

"Savage Messiah got the best showing in Quebec in 10 years. It is also expected to be sold for worldwide distribution," he said.

Despite his success with Savage Messiah, Mr Azzopardi is happy to be in Malta shooting Dinotopia.

"This is a dream come true. I hope it won't be the first and last."

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