Malta must follow the right cues

by Malcolm Scerri-Ferrante

Without the European big epic film Agora, the first six months of 2008 would have been stagnant for Malta's film industry, the Producers Creative Partnership said.

The second half of the year, however, turned out to be "a healthier mix", with a number of small- to medium-sized productions, the sort of productions Malta should be attracting throughout the year.

Among these shoots was one of Germany's most prolific directors Michael Bully Herbig who chose Malta for his feature, Wickie The Mighty Viking, based on the popular cartoon character. A Discovery docudrama and a string of other small films and commercials have made 2008 a good year for the local industry.

Given the global recession, there was much debate on whether the entertainment industry will be seriously affected. It seems there will be an indirect effect but whether it will be big enough to rub off negatively on Malta's film servicing industry still has to be seen.

As foreign film productions decreased somewhat overseas, there was no valid reason why Malta should be totally immune to all this. "The unexpected should be expected," the PCP said.

It said Malta's generous financial incentives counteracted the producers' increasing budget concerns. Film producers get as much as a 22-per-cent rebate on several expenditure items.

The upside to this is that producers are receiving more rebates than ever before. On the flip side of the coin, Maltese crew and services have to compete with EU "foreigners".

One positive view is that the new rebate regulations are indirectly forcing Maltese crew and service providers to pull up their socks and compete on an international scale. More often than not, producers are more than willing to hire local crews in view of obvious savings on travel, accommodation and living costs, as long as the service they received was professional and prices reasonable.

Advertising budgets worldwide are decreasing and the popularity of digital social media means lower budgets are spent on television advertising. As a result, a decline in television commercials being shot worldwide was expected, a situation some countries were already experiencing. The PCP said that, with regard to the film industry, the indications were "not exactly positive" in light of the recession as well as a looming actors' strike.

However, the PCP said experts believed the entertainment industry shall be resilient to the recession. What was happening was a greater diligence on film costs and more cost-efficiency as budgets become tighter.

According to the PCP the conclusion is that "there will be less 'wastage' and film investments shall be weighed more carefully. Hence there will be less movies produced which translates in a degree of less work opportunities."

"If Malta plays its cards right and is very careful with its pricing and level of service, then with optimism, the local industry should ride well over the turbulent waves that lie ahead," the PCP concluded.