On Sunday, President of Malta Myriam Spiteri Debono attended the second edition of the Golden Bee Awards, during which she emphasised the importance of the Mediterrane Film Festival for the local economy.

In her speech, during the event, hosted by the Malta Film Commission, Dr Spiteri Debono stressed the need to promote the film industry in Malta.

“Continuous promotion of the industry is of primary importance and essential if the industry is to develop into one of the pillars of the Maltese economy,” she highlighted.

Nonetheless, she recognised that for the industry to be sustainable, the film industry has challenges which have to be “faced, tackled and surmounted one by one.”

This includes a sustained promotional action plan, which entails marketing from year to year, and has to take into account changing international scenarios of the industry.

“Hence, the promotion of the film industry is a perennial challenge,” she reiterated.

In this regard, she added, the promotion of the film industry should overcome the perception that the film making industry “does not provide a year-long occupation.”

She draws parallels with the tourism industry and how before its acute promotion by different administrations it was “seasonal in character.”

“The perception was that the tourism industry was not stable in character and did not provide job security for those who worked in the sector,” she continued.

Dr Spiteri Debono defined the Mediterrane Film Festival as a business development tool and one cannot “underestimate the highly positive impact” that the film industry can indirectly have on Malta’s international image and its benefits for other major industries.

Throughout her speech she underscores the notable increase in workers in the industry and how it expanded from 300 employees in 2017 to around 1,000 today.

Furthermore, she highlighted that while an agreement was put in place for just and equitable working conditions, the local film industry must operate within a framework “which fosters the public’s trust.”

The Malta Film Commission was previously criticised for the €137 million in cash rebates offered to foreign productions over the past five years. The Nationalist Party had argued that such funds could have been spent locally instead of given to foreign studios.

Big spending continued to be a hot topic surrounding the local industry as the Malta Film Awards’ budget in 2022 was set to €400,000 but instead cost around €1.3 million. In addition, the commission was highly criticised for the substantial cheque it signed off to returning host David Walliams.  

Without addressing the concerns directly, President Spiteri Debono highlighted that in order to foster the public’s trust in its operations, the Commission and the Commissioner have to keep in mind and respect the principles of accountability and good governance.

“Good governance both in internal structures and operations, and in a way that this is perceivable from the outside, particularly by Maltese society at large,” she continued.

Wrapping up her thoughts, the President noted that, from the financial estimates for the current year 2024, a global figure of €39.8 million, is being earmarked for the industry.

This projected figure, she added, is financial input from the state coffers in order to “strengthen, reinforce, and make the film industry more competitive.”

While €3million will be utilised in the upgrading of the film facilities, another €35 million are to be used for incentives.

“I emphasise that this is the people’s money. Accountability and transparency cannot be underestimated. These values, together with the diffusion of information, are the basis for fostering and nurturing the people’s trust in the film industry,” she concluded.