Weeks before Malta's film commissioner spent "at least" €500,000 on a short promo film, some of Malta's best acting talent put together a satirical blockbuster trailer.
And the satire's director says he did it with a budget of just €150.
The contrast between the two productions is brought into even sharper relief by the production's plotline, which focuses on the lack of funding and attention given to local filmmakers.
On Friday, Times of Malta reported that a 10-minute feature starring David Walliams and featuring film commissioner Johann Grech cost more than €500,000 to produce. Some sources said the figure spent on the production was "much higher".
Grech would not confirm how much the short film cost. He said the short was intended to drum up interest in telling the story of the Knights of St John - a story he believes could be “as impactful as Game of Thrones or The Crown”.
The short film, which premiered at last week’s Mediterrane Film Festival, remains under wraps and has not been aired publicly.
It is the latest in a series of reports about high spending by Grech's film commission, with local producers highlighting how taxpayers have spent almost €8 million on two film festivals while little funding is made available for local productions.
The film commission says local funding is the remit of Arts Council Malta and that its high-cost festivals are essential to attracting foreign film investment to the country.
But tensions between authorities and Malta's endemic film sector remain. So a local filmmaker produced a trailer for a fake blockbuster, underlining the treatment of local artists by the administration.
Maxime Durand recruited actor friends, several of whom are successful in Malta and abroad, to shoot Day of the Pay.
Set in a world where artists are not paid enough or on time, the storyline revolves around two reporters who embark on an intense investigation of a string of murders in the administration.
The five-minute satirical trailer, which ends with the tagline “in theatres near you… if there were funds for it", seeks to make the point that Malta's film sector is capable of creating full feature films, if proper funding was available to local talent.
Durand said it took three weeks to produce the film, from writing the script to its final cut. Those involved took part without getting paid, with filming taking place on 11 different (not full) days.
In all, Durand estimates the whole production cost €150 - just 0.03% of the reputed €500,000 budget of the Mediterrane 10-minute short.
Still from Day of the Pay by Maxime Durand.
Still from Day of the Pay by Maxime Durand.
Still from Day of the Pay by Maxime Durand.
Still from Day of the Pay by Maxime Durand.
Durand told Times of Malta he personally does not apply for funds for his projects.
Instead, the inspiration for the trailer followed years of working in the local and servicing film industry and observing fellow Maltese creatives feeling hopelessly frustrated when millions are spent arbitrarily without consultation.
The 'trailer' was initially planned for an April’s fool competition, but Durand did not manage the deadline. The trailer was released on social media platforms in May but attracted fresh attention this week, following reports about the Mediterrane Film Festival.
“Apart from passing on a message to the audience with the help of satire, I hope the ‘trailer’ showcases the potential of local actors," Durand said.
“They are often undermined and not valued, and are given small roles in foreign productions that are not worth the effort on their part. There’s also a general national misconception that local talent is limited to the genre of soaps and drama, with creatives not given the opportunity of different genres."
Still from Day of the Pay by Maxime Durand.
Still from Day of the Pay by Maxime Durand.
Still from Day of the Pay by Maxime Durand.
Still from Day of the Pay by Maxime Durand.
The ‘trailer’ was written, directed and edited by Maxime Durand and co-produced by Simone Spiteri. It stars many of Malta's leading actors. All post-production, special effects, screen driving and filming was done by local professionals.
Correction July 6, 2024: A previous version misstated the context of the film commissioner's statement about the 10-minute short.