National convention to discuss the film industry

The film industry yielded €105 million to the Maltese economy over the past four years and contributed to job creation, Finance Minister Tonio Fenech said today.

He said work was carried out in Malta on 65 productions including 26 films or TV series during that period.

Mr Fenech made his comments as he toured the facilities of MoviePeople Malta, a company co-founded by two young Maltese with co-investment by Italian businesses. The company services the film industry.

Mr Fenech said the film industry had created business for a range of sectors including hotels, transport and logistics, catering, costume-makers and others involved in building film sets.

Last year, film shooting of Brad Pitt's World War Z engaged some 900 extras.

He said the Malta Film Fund was offering a number of courses related to the film industry and the government was attracting productions through its generous financial incentives.

A national convention on the film industry, entitled FilmSpeak, will be held next month by the governemnt and the Malta Film Commission. The convention will discuss the state of the film industry in Malta and the way forward.