January 5th, 2008

The Times of Malta

Riding the wave

Malcolm Scerri-Ferrante reviews the film business in Malta and warns about crew shortages inhibiting the industry’s growth.

Another year has passed with Malta witnessing yet another vibrant film-servicing industry. Several productions have been shot on the island ranging from a sizable Russian feature – Man Of East – to a small children’s film, part of a Danish trilogy  – The Lost Treasures Of The Knights Templar III – and to one of France’s biggest films of the year – Largo Winch. Parts of other productions, namely the British TV productions Roman Mysteries, Warriors and Coronation Street, the German film U-900 and the mini-series Harbour Of Hope and the popular Italian TV series Carabinieri all fell nicely into the year’s “gaps”, making 2007 one of the busiest in recent years.

Keeping up the trend for 2008 is one of Europe’s most challenging features, which started prepping in Malta last fall and is scheduled for filming this coming spring.

Moreover, the government has recently increased its maximum cash rebate from 20 per cent to 22 per cent of eligible expenditure. This increase is notably for films which depict Malta as itself. The government is beginning  to recognise the positive impact that films can have on the tourism industry.

Producers of films which depict countries other than Malta but which still pass the newly-introduced cultural test can still look forward to a substantially increased rebate now that a larger portion of their budget shall be eligible. This is because expenses incurred in Malta and related to EU-based crew and suppliers are now also eligible for the rebate. Previously only selected expenditure of the “Maltese spend” (Maltese labour and Maltese services) was eligible.

This is very much a 180-degree turnaround by the Maltese government. When formulating the incentives for the first time back in 2005, the government was very intent on basing the cash rebate exclusively on expenses that were in some form or manner also traced to the government’s coffers. With the European Commission now regulating policies on financial incentives, a cultural test is now being imposed for each production. Moreover, no discrimination is being allowed between Maltese or EU services.

This makes Malta’s cash rebate substantially more attractive and, despite the looming US film union strikes, the new incentives can still potentially lead to a boost of “European-content” films coming to Malta.

So there is cause for celebration, at least in hindsight. However, film crews are still scarce on the island, especially where first-class professionals are concerned. The total number of local pros and “semi-pros” combined usually represents between 40 and 65 per cent of any film’s shooting crew depending on its size and demands. Two or more productions prepping and/or shooting at the same time naturally present a difficult and uneconomical situation for producers who are then compelled to bring into Malta more foreign crew.

Through the introduction of financial incentives and a film-friendly mentality instilled within government departments, Malta has in recent years managed to keep itself in the limelight of both the US and European film industries. However, the formulation of a consistent policy on the training and development of local film crews is still forthcoming. A self-financed and non-profit making short course proposed in 2006 was rejected on the basis of lack of policy concerning private initiatives.

There is a need for Malta to review, polish or create its film policy specifically on developing local human resources. It needs to implement a strategy whereby qualified film crews are increased in a manner that is not solely reliant on the natural evolvement expected from increased work flows.

MFS’ model making has attracted many producers to work in Malta.  Angelo Delia (right) is the Construction Manager and the last remaining full-time model maker at MFS.  Training schemes are also urgently needed for such specialized skills

The year 2007 turned out to be even busier than expected, with a period when four productions overlapped each other. Due to the lack of experienced crew, no fewer than eight trainees were engaged on the French film Largo Winch, all of whom are now either still working in the industry or following film-related courses in Europe. If every film gave a similar boost to these newcomers by engaging them as trainees then, sure enough, Malta would be solving part of this problem. But there needs to be a much faster pace by which Maltese can learn the film trade in order to embrace the amount of film work coming to Malta, in order to safeguard the efficient support of future work loads and to ensure a solid growth in this industry.

It is easy for some to undermine the gravity of this situation as there are politicians who share the spirit of this industry but who do not always truly understand its exigencies. The overall policies and strategies for this industry have to be intelligent ones consisting of various plans activated in timely stages.

The lack of professional film crews seriously restricts Malta’s attractiveness for many producers who are seeking to pay Maltese crew rates. Bringing in foreign crews not only translates into higher salaries/wages but also into additional flight, hotel and living expenses. In the same way the government wisely decided to introduce a small film production fund, it would perhaps be an idea for it to introduce a training fund that would subsidise the costs for Maltese to train in certain recognised institutions abroad.

There are some crew members who have managed to garner experience in the recent surge of productions and who are taking advantage of the current market forces but, sadly, only to the extent of demanding salary increases that are inconsistent with the Maltese cost expectancy of foreign producers. This, of course, only aggravates the crew shortage problem and some producers are compelled to engage lesser-trained individuals on their films. The only positive repercussion is that this leads to faster kick-starts or quicker promotions for new emerging talent.

If the current healthy trend of film work is not to be threatened then, with some optimism, crew members will learn to adjust their fees according to the respective film budgets. Salary increases are acceptable to most producers if these are in line with the rate of inflation and/or in accordance with increased experiences or responsibilities.

Instead of trying to jump up the ladder career-wise, some crew members would be better off focusing on achieving first-class levels in their professions before discussing wage increases. Malta is one the few countries in the world where first-time trainees habitually expect to get paid. In most countries trainees are queuing up behind production managers’ doors eager to work for free in order to learn and obtain their first movie credit. Whether this is due to Malta’s size or not may be debatable.

Another restraining factor affecting the growth of this industry is the limited or absent local infrastructure where specialised film equipment and sound stages are concerned. Financial incentives for investors are not proving to be effective enough. Perhaps the government should look into providing an alternative method of aid in order to give a boost to new investments.

The introduction of a small film fund of about $300,000 for local productions, however small, is a positive sign that the country wants to nurture its talented film makers. Such schemes give a great boost to emerging new talent and could gradually lead to a small but consistent home-grown film business. What has yet to be seen is the formulation of a qualified and professional film board to ensure that the right projects get selected and to ensure these public funds do not get wasted on the likes of unwatchable attempts at so-called local “features”, which have been produced in recent years.

Mediterranean Film Studios (MFS) has managed to keep its head steadily above the water despite its skeleton staff and other limitations. Should one look back at critical periods in the company’s 43-year old history, one would hope that any new shareholders would nurture the growth of the industry in a way that there is no attempt to begin monopolising it and in a way that the company’s growth actually benefits from its own profits.

One should not underestimate the crucial part MFS plays in the growth of this industry. Although times have changed and some productions are nowadays able to film in Malta independently of MFS, the fact remains that the water tanks serve as a popular attraction to producers and this places MFS at least on par, in the sense of importance, with Malta’s valuable locations and cash rebate.

Hopefully, good decisions will be made by the government and no less by the players in this industry. One is tempted to throw full responsibility on the government but really and truly every individual working in this industry has an impact on its growth and on the island’s reputation. With some optimism Malta will ride well the current wave of increased productions so that the positive trend is enjoyed in the long term and this wave does not become a short-lived experience simply because of lack of foresight.