Troy shooting in Malta attributed to treaty signing

Troy, the first UK-Malta co-production, starts shooting today, spending over $20 million in Malta on labour, set construction, accommodation and transport expenses over a period of 10 months since work started in November.

For the first time ever, Malta is to feature as a co-producing country on the credits of an epic movie - expected to be one of Warner Bros' major releases next year - further consolidating its position on the movie-making map.

It is thanks to Malta's signing of the co-production treaty - the European Convention on Cinematographic Co-production - in 2001 that the $180 million-budget movie is being partly shot here over the next nine weeks, the Malta Film Commission said.

The convention allows Maltese producers to enter into bilateral and multilateral co-productions with 35 European countries.

By filming in Malta and co-producing the movie with a Maltese company, the production benefits from tax incentives in the UK.

The Maltese company Latina Pictures has, therefore, been set up to co-produce the film and would be putting up some 20 per cent of the budget, according to treaty requirements.

Apart from the locations, which are versatile and easily adapted to double for other countries - in Troy's case, Troy and ancient Greece - the treaty is considered to have played a major role in bringing the movie to Malta.

Troy is being shot at a host of locations, including Hal Far, Fort Ricasoli, where the city of Troy has been constructed, Mtahleb, Ghajn Tuffieha, Golden Bay, Mellieha, Cirkewwa and Dwejra.

Starring Brad Pitt, who arrived on Friday, it is being directed by Wolfgang Petersen (The Perfect Storm). Its stellar cast also includes Eric Bana, who is featuring in the forthcoming summer blockbuster The Hulk, Orlando Bloom and Sean Bean (The Lord of the Rings), Julie Christie and Peter O'Toole. Helen, "the face that launched a thousand ships", is German actress Diane Kruger.

Troy is being filmed over a total of 100 days and has already shot for two weeks in the UK, continuing in Mexico after filming in Malta is completed on July 4. The film was originally meant to be shooting in Malta for six weeks, but was extended to nine.

Over 450 Maltese are currently employed on the movie, together with 300 foreigners, while the MFC has put 10 trainees in various departments as part of its ongoing efforts to increase the trained and experienced crew base in Malta.