Malta was recently the backdrop for a popular Flemish soap opera called "Familie" which has been running in Belgium for over 11 years.

This was not the first time an episode of "Familie" has been filmed in Malta. In fact, it has become more or less a tradition for the series to come to Malta every year.

In 1996, around 500 fans as well as the entire cast and a number of Belgian journalists came to Malta to celebrate its 1,000th episode.

The directors of the soap opera are Ronny Waterschoot, Klaus Verschuere and Guy Thijs.

Actors include Gunther De Batselier, Nora Tilley and Silvia Claes as well as Malta's very own Manuel Cauchi who has been involved with the soap opera for six years and plays a character called Jo Bonduono, the manager of an electronics plant in Malta belonging to the Van De Bosche family around which the plot evolves.

The episodes filmed in Malta will be broadcast as from mid-September this year for approximately three months on the commercial station VTM. The show is broadcast from Monday to Friday at 8 p.m. and is watched by an average 1.3 million viewers a day.

The cast and crew in Malta were assisted by the Malta Tourism Authority and Air Malta. They were supported by the Malta Technopark Tenant's Association, Palazz L'Ahmar and the New Dolmen Hotel.