Editorial

The screening in Malta of the epic sword and sandal epic Troy should make the country's administration take stock of what Malta's Film Commission has been doing to build up this country's film industry. Even if in quality Troy may not become the Ben Hur of the present generation, it seems set to become a blockbuster.

Malta's role in this film has already brought us important publicity in past weeks. Coming after Gladiator, it should go on strengthening the island's reputation as a place where, apart from offering interesting locations, film-makers can find excellent craftsmen and technicians. We need to build on what is sure to be a great commercial success, to attract a steady flow of film-makers from Europe and North America to come here and use our resources and growing expertise.

At a time when we are desperately trying to attract large investments, the Malta Film Commission is hoping the government will offer more incentives to film-makers than the relatively modest ones made available to the filming of Troy. That film put close on Lm12 million into the economy and when one considers the multiplier effect of this expenditure, with every dollar spent generating three dollars in the economy, Malta's financial benefits must have been impressive.

What can be and should already have been done to follow up the success of this venture? The Film Commission has pointed out that as a result of the huge, worldwide success of The Lord of the Rings trilogy, tourism in New Zealand, where the films were made, has increased immensely. The mountains, valleys and plains of that country have become places sought eagerly by people who had never thought of that country as a tourist place.

So far, however, little has been done by local sources to generate publicity about Malta in connection with Troy, and other films shot here, such as The Count of Montecristo, which offers some majestic scenes of the island. The Film Commission does not have enough funds to do this work itself and the Malta Tourism Authority does not seem to have woken up to this possibility yet.

Fortunately, it is not too late to make up for this dilatoriness. A combination of exciting video clips shown on foreign television stations and of local guided tours of sites and encounters with personalities connected with the film would be a good start of such an exercise.

Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi's Cabinet should also meet the Film Commission's expectations for the creation of an infrastructure that would make it less necessary for the commission to go hunting for productions to be shot in Malta. Film producers should be able to show an interest without having to go through bureaucratic mazes and knowing exactly what they are going in for.

Labour in Malta is not, and cannot be expected to be, as cheap as it is in, say, certain North African countries which are Malta's rivals in the attraction of film productions. What we can do, for instance, is for the Film Commission to be enabled to meet a certain percentage of the cost of hiring Maltese labour. Again, the renting of Ricasoli for a nominal sum (an incentive made available to the makers of Troy) could be accompanied by good rebates on other services.

While we struggle to get our tourist trade back to its former limits, it would be wise to strengthen our film industry at the same time.