[attach id=398296 size="medium"][/attach]
Malta and Gozo have served as a backdrop in scores of films since the first recorded instance of movie-making on the islands took place in 1925.
Sometimes the islands have played themselves and served an intricate part in the plot, as in the movies Malta Story and Mackintosh Man; other times the wide variety of magnificent architecture, landscapes and beautiful beaches masqueraded as a foreign city, as in the case of Munich and World War Z.
The islands’ magical quality even led to them standing in for fantastic lands in far off fantasy realms, as in Clash of the Titans and Popeye.
Film-makers have also been enticed to the islands thanks to a huge number of other factors – among them three magnificent water tanks, perfect for filming scenes set on the ocean, and the availability of hundreds of willing, hard-working craftsmen and actors well-versed in the language of Hollywood.
Technical, historical and narrative information about each and every film
Nowadays, tax incentives and the presence of local personnel trained in the art of film-making have added to the incentive package.
Hundreds of famous actors, producers and directors have worked on this tiny Mediterranean outcrop, from repeat visitors Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie to Alec Guinness, from Paul Newman to Roger Moore and Michael Caine to Robin Williams and from Madonna to Sharon Stone.
Meanwhile, Maltese actors and extras have graced the fore and backgrounds of many of these films, with the islands’ language sometimes used as a substitute for various others, as in the films Midnight Express and Shout at the Devil.
In Malta on the Silver Screen, the first book of its kind, Angela Peel has collected technical, historical and narrative information about each and every film completely or partly shot on these islands. It is an opus that has taken years of research and interviews with people who participated in the making of these movies, to put together.
The book also contains a useful reference guide to locally-produced films, a sector that has seen much growth in recent years.