Resources strained at filming in Malta reaches a peak

This month will go down in history as the busiest time for Malta's film servicing industry since the industry was launched in Malta some 50 years ago, the Producers' Creative Partnership said today.

In 1964 the Rinella tank was built and an organized form of film servicing soon followed, although it was to remain very sporadic and uncertain for the first 35 years.

Amongst the list of productions filming in Malta this month is Paramount's "World War Z" directed by Marc Forster and starring Brad Pitt, and a Norwegian feature film "Kon-Tiki" which is considered to be biggerthan normal Nordic productions with 650 extras on one day.

Also filming in Malta this month is  Sky1's TV Series "Sinbad" which is filming until early next year.

Malta will also see a challenging car commercial filming in the water tanks as well as on location, an Italian production as well as part of a Bollywood feature film.

The limited experienced crew available in Malta is being spread thinly amongst all productions and this is forcing producers to fly in more foreign crew then would usually be necessary, the PCP said. Some locals with limited or no experience are being given more opportunities then usual but local production managers are wary of having too many inexperienced crew members. Budgets are being strained in order to make up for missing local resources. Meanwhile some local service providers are struggling for the basic services such as car hire and hotel accommodation.

"Whilst this increased activity all bodes well for Malta, helping keep its reputed spot on the Hollywood map, the PCP cautions all those in the industry to remember that Malta needs to be on the map only for the right reasons. Whilst it is inevitable that market forces will play a part in costs, industry stakeholders should be careful not to overprice themselves. Following the filming of "Munich" in 2005, there were rumours amongst filmmakers abroad that in Malta "everyone wants to get rich whilst the sun shines". Since then Malta has 'repaired' its reputation back to being a cost-effective filming destination but it is very easy to lose it once again in the coming weeks," the PCP warned.