Malta sharing limelight with the stars

With the movie A Different Loyalty starting filming today, Malta is once again hosting a number of high-profile actors, stepping into the international media spotlight and featuring prominently - directly, or indirectly and almost on a daily basis - in foreign publications and on TV stations.

The month of June is hosting a record number of A-list stars, from Brad Pitt to Sharon Stone, Peter O'Toole and Eric Bana, Sean Bean, Rupert Everett and Orlando Bloom, whose presence on two important films is raising awareness of Malta's potential as a film location.

There is a wealth of information available via the internet on the major movie Troy and now A Different Loyalty - and consequently Malta.

As many as 15 foreign photographers were trying to grab a shot of Troy star Brad Pitt and his wife Jennifer Aniston, who was in Malta last week. Pictures of the couple fetch big money.

The island is doing the rounds throughout Europe and America: from the highbrow Culture supplement in The Sunday Times of London to the tabloids Sunday Express, Daily Mirror and The Sun, gossip magazines such as the Italian Oggi and TV programmes.

Malta is also featuring in US Weekly as a filming location, but also as an island in its own right, reaching millions of Americans.

The films are expected to raise Malta's international profile and continue to secure its position on the international film industry map, the Malta Film Commission said.

It also feels that the film industry is currently complementing the tourism industry.

The fact that both films are shooting primarily in Malta means that it could be promoted through these locations, Film Commissioner Oliver Mallia said. The UK used Harry Potter locations to market the country as a tourist destination.

Mr Mallia pointed out that the five-star hotels in the St Julian's area are hosting the large number of foreign crew currently working on the movies.

The MFC is also receiving several enquiries about what is known as movie tourism - tourists interested in visiting Malta to tour past film sets, MFC coordinator Luisa Bonello said.

The ripple effects of the current movie scene in Malta are positive from an economic point of view - studies show that the multiplier effect of a movie is such that every dollar spent by a production on location generates $2.3 in the local economy.

The fact that Malta is doubling as 1960s Beirut and ancient Troy in the same week and using the same locations shows its huge potential and diversity. One of the island's "edges" is the fact that locations are adaptable and can be reached in the space of minutes.

The fact that big and smaller-budget movies are shooting simultaneously is another indication of Malta's ability to adapt to a production company's circumstances and requirements, Ms Bonello said.

But the MFC is not relying solely on the interest generated by the big names and huge movies that have landed in Malta. During the Cannes Film Festival, it had several important meetings with producers on potential and "highly interesting" projects for Malta, and is currently following them up.

Most are in the early stages of development and the MFC is monitoring them closely to "secure that if they are realised, they are realised in Malta".

As part of its marketing strategy, the commission had a 15-second advert, running on three huge screens along the famed Croisette once an hour for 17 hours a day for the 12 days of the festival. The advert focused on Malta's versatility as a film location.

Among its marketing tools, the MFC has also produced a second and updated edition of its production guide, along with its revised web site, which have received positive feedback from the producers and production companies they have been presented to.