Local dive centres have reported cancelled dives and disappointed customers due to the closure of Mgarr ix Xini, Ta Cenc and Fessej Rock for the filming of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s By the Sea.

The film is the story of a woman caught in “an undertow of passion and rejuvenation while visiting a seaside village with her husband”, according to Entertainment Weekly.

Along with some official stills, the magazine has released By the Sea’s official synopsis.

Set in France during the mid-1970s, Jolie plays Vanessa, a former dancer, with Pitt as her husband Roland, an American writer.

The dive centres said that the areas closed on August 24 and were due to reopen on October 15 but the date has been moved back several times. The latest reopen date is mid-November.

The centres said they were not consulted prior to the decision to close these areas and they believed the government was in breach of European legislation.

The centres said two meetings were hastily arranged with the Minister for Tourism and the Film Commissioner to discuss how access to the sites could be obtained when northwesterly winds prevented diving in other areas.

While it was agreed at the meeting there should be a process in place to allow the divers access on these days, permission to dive there has been denied.

The centres said that without these sites, there were only two other sheltered spots accessible on the south coast and with 12 dive centres in Gozo and others from Malta diving in Gozo on a daily basis, these sites had become very crowded raising concern for diver safety.

The centres said that while they did not want to stop the filming, consideration should also be given to the many holidaymakers, including divers, who paid money to enjoy the areas and a compromise should be reached.