The Minister for tourism in Malta, Edward Zammit Lewis, said at the first meeting of the “Gvern li Jisma” (translated from Maltese to: a government that listens) that the film industry in Malta is likely to generate over €80 million for the Maltese economy this year. He also mentioned the figures from 2013, which stood at €5 million and they went up to €29 million in 2014. He then confirmed that the amount from last year had already been exceeded by this time for this year, and therefore the amount is likely grow even further.
These great figures show the growing popularity of Malta as a filming location. The government is working on improving the film industry and the resources needed by production companies. The tourism minister also said that Gozo needs to be better prepared for coping with filming productions, as the recent shooting of By the Sea with Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt had shown that the sister island of Malta is not prepared enough to cope with larger productions.
There are currently three productions being shot in Malta, and more are to be carried out this year. The movie industry is recognising the potential that Malta has to offer as a filming location and the benefits connected to choosing the islands. The government has also implemented interesting fiscal incentives for production companies. Among them are cash rebates, VAT refunds and other incentives.
If you have a movie production company, and you would like to find out more about Malta as a filming location you are welcome to contact the office of Dr. Werner & Partner. We have assisted many clients to take advantage of the Malta limited company model for movie production companies and to make effective use of the incentives that Malta offers film production companies.
