A Maltese filmmaker has been left in the dark after his project was approved for a film grant, only to find himself missing from the list of fund recipients as costs begin to mount.

Matthew Maggi said a year-long intensive writing course will cost €10,000, half of which he has already paid. “I haven’t heard back from them,” Maggi said after he was promised a grant but has heard little from the government on the funds while expenses come out of his own pocket. Other production costs include writers’, producers’ and lawyers’ fees, he said.

Maggi, like many other filmmakers, applied for a grant set up by the Malta Film Commission (MFC). Titled Creative Malta, the fund allows local filmmakers to tap into a €600,000 reservoir to financially aid the several stages of a film’s production and release, including fees to take the film to festivals.

Maggi said he applied for funds to help during the writing phase of his first feature film back in January. Five months later, he received confirmation from the commission via e-mail that his application had been approved and €15,000 had been awarded for the scripting of his project. However, when the MFC released a list of all the beneficiaries of this year’s funding last week, Maggi’s project is notably absent.

They are finding an excuse to not give me the money- Maltese filmmaker Matthew Maggi

“I am asking: where are the funds,” the filmmaker queried, as he has yet to receive official communication that his funding has been cancelled. Instead, when asking the commission via e-mail why he has not been included on the list, the MFC replied cryptically: “We are updating system regularly… There is a process… rest assured if you are awarded funds, you will be listed…”

Confused, Maggi explained that, following the e-mail, the commission sent another, this time casting doubt on the course he was set to take to improve the script.

In the follow-up, the MFC representative assured Maggi of his funds but noted that the writing course may not be within the grant’s guidelines.

“They are finding an excuse to not give me the money,” Maggi said.

Maggi also noted that, with a Hollywood actors' strike having effectively brought the film industry to a standstill, there is an even more urgent need for local filmmakers to receive local funding that they have been promised.

According to the Creative Malta guidelines, script workshop fees are eligible to be covered by the grant but makes no mention of courses. Maggi argued that writers’ fees are also eligible, which is what he will use to pay for the course.

Known for speaking out against the film commission and the way it uses its funds, Maggi believes that the commission, including film commissioner Johann Grech, is against him. “I should not be singled out for speaking up. I am a bit stoic about this situation and I shouldn’t be stoic about it. I am just too used to it.”

Responding to questions sent by Times of Malta, the MFC refused to comment on the status of Maggi’s grant, citing legal advice.