A local film company is being chased to pay a €35,000 hotel bill and crew wages after filming a production last year.

Lumisfar Film Malta Ltd is being threatened with court action by the owners of Qawra hotel DB San Antonio over an unpaid two-month hotel stay.

A film crew that worked on the production, Separati, told Times of Malta they are also chasing the film company for payment.

The film company has committed to settling the dues in the coming weeks.

According to hotel general manager Bradley Dingli, the company had failed to provide any reasons for not settling the amount.

It’s been a year now and I and some other crew members and suppliers are still waiting for final payments. This is absolutely crazy- Ben Borg Cardona

“Currently, we are in talks with them to settle out of court. Until such an agreement is reached, the court proceedings shall continue,” Dingli said. 

Meanwhile, cameraman Ben Borg Cardona said he has been left high and dry.

“It’s been a year now and I and some other crew members and suppliers are still waiting for final payments. This is absolutely crazy,” Borg Cardona said.

The Italian ‘rom-com’, directed by Alessandro Capone, follows four middle-aged men, three of who are separated, helping out their friend who is facing his own separation case. The movie has no official release date.

According to the Malta Film Commission website, Separati was the third production filmed in Malta in 2021, with a budget of €1.7 million.

Borg Cardona said crew members were paid weekly and, while some members have received their full payment, others are still waiting for theirs.

“My immediate crew, who worked closely with me, and I are still waiting for our last invoice,” he said.

They spent four weeks filming at the hotel and he said the production felt ‘dodgy’ from the start.

Borg Cardona has been chasing the production company for months and said he had never experienced such treatment before in the film industry.

In a thread of emails seen by Times of Malta between crew members and the production company, Lumisfar Film Malta Ltd said they are “committed to pay the amount due by April 20”.

Martin Bonnici, who represents filmmakers and crew for the General Workers Union said a number of artists who took part in Seperati informed the committee how they were not paid for their services.  

He said the union is doing its utmost and putting pressure so that the commitment for payment will be met and if possible the issue will be settled.

Company says it is awaiting final payments

The owner of Lumisfar Film Malta Ltd, Salvatore Pagano, confirmed that the crew members and two external suppliers are still waiting for final payments but said everything will be settled by next month.

Picture taken on set of the production. Photo: InstagramPicture taken on set of the production. Photo: Instagram

He explained that the production experienced payment problems after an Italian company, which agreed to buy a 30 per cent stake of the film, dropped out of the deal unexpectedly.

“We haven’t stopped trying to find the resources to pay for a single minute,” he said.

“The film commission, which has been helpful, sent us a payment as agreed and said further payments would follow when we finished paying the crew. We just needed one further payment to finish paying the crew but that was not possible.”

Pagano said more than €200,000 have been spent in Malta and he is expecting a credit of €40,000 to come through by April.

“Meanwhile, the film has been requested by both Netflix and Sky and will appear in Maltese and Italian cinemas once it is released,” he confirmed.

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