A Nationalist Party MP has requested a full breakdown of the cost of a recent film awards ceremony after claims it went more than four times over budget, exceeding €2 million.  

Addressing a press conference on Tuesday, Opposition MP Karl Gouder said he had filed a number of parliamentary questions to get a detailed breakdown of the spending on last week’s Malta Film Awards.

The first-ever edition of the Malta Film Awards was held on Saturday.  

The black-tie event was boycotted by high-profile filmmakers, who criticised the cost of the event compared to the annual budget set aside for the industry.

On Tuesday, the auditor general was asked to carry out an audit on the event and get to the bottom of the spending.  

Film Commissioner Johann Grech has been evasive over whether the event stuck to its allocated €400,000 budget.  The commission's total annual budget is €600,000. 

Some industry insiders have claimed the event could have cost in excess of €2 million.  

The Oscars-style awards show was hosted by famous British comedian David Walliams. 

Meanwhile, Gouder on Tuesday said that over the past few days he and his PN colleagues had met with film industry operators who expressed concern that so much money had been slashed around on an award ceremony instead of investing in the local sector. 

"The event could have been mistaken for the launch of the Labour Party's electoral campaign," Gouder said. 

Concerns that the money could have been better spent on filmmakers were also raised by one of the winners on the night, with an actor using his acceptance speech to appeal for better funding for the local film industry. 

Gouder said the industry was starving for funds.  

He was joined by election candidate Alex Mangion who said the money that had been wastefully splurged on the event could have instead gone to those who are being hardest hit by the rising cost of living.