Wickie the Mighty Viking ends filming in Malta

Filming in Malta of the feature film Wickie the Mighty Viking has wrapped and it will be released in cinemas in Germany, Switzerland and Austria next year.

Having sold millions of novels and comic books and the star of a 78-episode animated series, Wickie has been firmly established as a cult figure over the past 35 years. Filming started in August in Germany, under the direction of Michael Bully Herbig, and continued last month in Malta and Gozo. Mr Herbig's films have been seen by no fewer than 23 million cinemagoers.

Filming took place for four weeks at the Mediterranean Film Studios in Rinella, where pirate and Viking ships were built. One of the boats was also made seaworthy to sail from Kalkara to Gozo.

Some 40 Maltese extras joined the 100-strong German crew and cast. Filming included a 30-strong Maltese support team.

The producers and director said they were interested in filming on the island because of the water tanks and the studios, which provided excellent craftsmanship in its boat-building skills.