Heavyweights in the artistic and cultural sector have come out against a government plan to run open-air cinema events in July, just months after an established film festival was denied public funding. 

Writers such as Immanuel Mifsud and Alex Vella Gera took to social media to express disappointment at the plans, which they slammed as "amateur" and "mediocre". 

The Culture Ministry announced earlier this week that it would be offering free, open-air screenings of Hollywood films such as World War Z and Jurassic World in Valletta. The screenings are being organised by the state-run Valletta Cultural Agency. 

Those plans dismayed the Film Grain Foundation, a non-profit which for the previous five years had run the Valletta Film Festival. Back in April, the foundation had said that it was cancelling the 2020 edition of the event due to a lack of public backing, coupled with restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic.

In a statement on Thursday evening, the foundation said it was disappointed that only months after stopping its financial support to the festival the government had now launched an outdoor cinema event to be held at around the same time.  

Oliver Mallia, who heads the foundation, told Times of Malta on Friday that unlike other major festivals held every year, the Valletta Film Festival was only part-funded by the state. 

Around 30 per cent of the festival's funding had come through Arts Council Malta funds in previous years. This funding deal expired earlier this year, and when the foundation applied to renew its funding agreement, it was offered a much lower amount. 

"We were surprised by the amount offered and the reasons given. It completely threw us off and we turned it down as it was not enough for us to work with. We eventually had to cancel this year's festival,” he said.  
 
"Government is now organising an event which it is paying 100 per cent of, for free and with a very questionable list of films." 

The foundation's dismay was echoed by the Malta Film Producers Association, which said it appeared as though the state was "muscling in" and seeking to take control of the cultural sector, rather than allowing private entities to flourish. 

It appeared authorities had the time and money to organise screenings of highly commercial US films but no time to promote local content, the MPA said. 

The annual Valletta Film Festival is estimated to have attracted around 50,000 patrons and showcased over 500 feature and short films at various outdoor and indoor venues around Malta and Gozo.

It exhibited various local films and supported local filmmakers at other top-tier festivals and markets such as Berlinale - Berlin International Film Festival, Festival du courtmétrage de Clermont-Ferrand and Sunny Side of the Doc in France.

Move disappoints cultural sector 

News of the government's open-air cinema plans also raised a few eyebrows in Malta’s artistic community.  

Toni Attard, former director of strategy at the Arts Council, listed reasons why he felt it is a bad idea to air free screenings of American films, organised by a European Capital of Culture legacy organisation.  

The Valletta Cultural Agency is an offshoot of the Valletta 2018 Foundation, which was created to prepare Malta's European Capital of Culture stint that year. 

The Valletta Film Festival created by the Film Grain Foundation, he said, was “undoubtedly one of the best international festivals in Malta”. 

“It brought industry together, audiences experienced a diverse programme accessed through both ticketed and free events and the festival started building a significant international reputation,” he wrote on Facebook. 

“If a lack of public funding stopped this edition from happening, the least the political conglomerate could have done is reach out. Instead they ignore it, replace it by throwing taxpayers money at a cheap quick fix and compete with what multiplex cinemas already do.”

Celebrated author Alex Vella Gera poured scorn on those behind the move, comparing it to past instances of meddling in the organisation of the Valletta jazz Festival. 

Writer Immanuel Mifsud said that the decision was what happens when "amateurs" are put in decision-taking positions.

He said he wanted what was best for the country, and that was why he took these matters to heart.