Written by new-contact on Feb 15, 2011. Posted in On Location

Asterix sequel and Sinbad TV show to help expand Maltese crew base

Malta’s renowned for the quality of its local production services, but the availability of crews has sometimes alienated productions. This could change with the help of upcoming projects including feature Asterix and Obelix: God Save Britannia and TV series Sinbad.

The country doesn’t yet have an indigenous industry, which has been a problem for local service industry personnel. With filming projects being sporadic in the past, Maltese crew members found it hard to climb the training ladder and locals weren’t motivated to enter the industry.

Luisa Bonello, Commissioner at the Malta Film Commission, believes this is now changing: “The introduction in 2005 of financial incentives for productions shooting on location in Malta, and the slow but steady improvement of film-related services and infrastructure have meant that we are finally at a stage of constant overseas production work present on the island, giving the film-servicing sector a more or less permanent footing on which to develop and improve.”

Nearly 20 different productions filmed in Malta in 2010, with shoot days ranging from two to 90. The upcoming Sinbad project will shoot for 100 days. The intention is that this build-up in filming will further stimulate the local servicing industry and solidify Malta’s place in Europe.

Homepage image courtesy of Malta Film Commission.