When several billboards announcing a new Malta Film Festival sprung up like flowers in an Indian summer recently, some eyebrows were raised.

True, it is a great idea to have something to celebrate and banish post-COVID blues but why make such a big hue and cry over an event taking place five months down the line?

Eyebrows were raised even higher when Times of Malta revealed that the festival (celebrating 100 years of Maltese cinematography, no less) was to cost almost as much as the total budget dedicated to financing Maltese film productions. Not surprisingly, Maltese producers, members of the Malta Producers Association and of the Malta Entertainment Industry and Arts Association, protested about the absurdity of it all.

And, equally unsurprisingly, 24 hours later, the government gave out intimations of more money in the pipeline for the film industry.

So, what can we conclude from this 10-minute Keystone Cop movie?

Firstly, that as the election looms it pays to shout out loud. Secondly, and much more importantly, we can no longer allow commissions and quangos to be run at the whim of the government and for the government’s own benefit.

The original idea behind the Malta Film Commission was to create a central point that would act as an enabler and information point for all things film. Although films are run completely by private enterprises, their producers need government help to thrive. This assistance usually consists of cutting through the many levels of bureaucratic red tape on issues ranging from locations and employment to permits and the police. Assistance is also often required in the management of incentives and other funding opportunities.

The commission curates a database of service providers, crew and suppliers to encourage the use of Maltese skill sets in foreign productions. And it has also launched a film fund to foster the local film product.

While the idea of a film commission is, in principle, a good one, it has also led to the centralisation of key elements of the industry. This has given it and, indeed, the film commissioner a lot of power, most of which unsupervised and unscrutinised. This can have long-term detrimental effects on the very industry it purports to support.

We have been down this road before. The Nationalist government found itself in equally hot water when the Malta Producers’ Association was extremely unhappy with the then film commissioner. Many industry professionals blame the decision to hang onto that commissioner for the dearth in film production in subsequent years.

Malta can no longer afford this sort of amateur decision-making in what is now a multi-million-euro industry that boasts a highly-skilled, creative and knowledgeable workforce. The local film industry has consistently proven to be up to the challenge of delivering a quality product. It can no longer be treated like a shiny bauble, useful only as a selfie opportunity for a minister or prime minister with some rising starlet or macho hero.

The industry is more than worthy of proper support. That support should come not just in the form of finance but also through the actual engagement of the sector in formulating and creating the policies together with the film commission.

We can no longer afford the appointment of film commissioners at the whim of ministers acting without accountability or scrutiny. If we want to take this sector seriously, it must be fully engaged in deciding the support required.

Anything less is detrimental to the industry that the commission purportedly supports.