This Week • March 7 2004

Selling Malta as a film location

Winston Azzopardi’s name is synonymous with film making in Malta, the former Malta Film Commissioner more recently set up his own company to co-produce films with big production houses. Azzopardi worked as head of foreign programme acquisitions at Net Television during the first three years of transmissions. Azzopardi is a relaxed man who has a long history in Malta’s entertainment scene, owning a number of catering establishments.

You were Malta Film Commissioner and later ran a company that provides production services for films, where does your interest in the film industry stem from? Do you have a formal training in film production?
Yes I do have training. In 1995 after completing ‘Cutthroat Island’ I went to Film School in New York City to study film production. I was at an advantage then because I had the experience of working in films before unlike all the other students who had never set foot on a film set.

You also spent some years working in television?
In 1997, I was asked by Austin Gatt to assist Anton Attard and Roger Degiorgio in setting up NET TV. When the station went on air I did mainly foreign acquisitions. My claim to fame came when I struck a deal with Warner Bros and acquired the sit-com ‘Friends.’ Seeing it on air on NET was probably one of the proudest moments of my working career.

How do you compare your recent experiences as film commissioner and being a producer on one of the largest epic movies ever made?
The work is pretty much the same, one of our objectives at the Film Commission was to facilitate film productions, as a producer you have to handle all the logistics of a film from development until the film is released. The down side of producing is having constant problems and how you go about solving them.


What are your fondest - and least fond - film related experiences of the past years?
The fondest would probably be in August 2002, spending some time with Sean Connery in Gozo. Sean is an incredible human being and probably one of the nicest men I have ever met. I was particularly impressed by how 'normal' he wanted to live his life and how sorry I felt for him the way he just could not do this as everyone just hounded him wherever he went.
One night after having dinner together he sent his driver home and asked if he could hitch a lift back to his hotel. Those few minutes driving from Marsalforn to Ta’ Cenc were memorable as we just chatted just about everything but the movies.
My lowest was a month later when I left my post as Film Commissioner.

Now you are planning to leave the islands, what are your new plans?
Next month ‘Latina Pictures’ will open it's first office in Los Angeles. My objective is to market Malta as a film location. I could easily sit pretty here, bask in the sun and wait for a phone call to come in from someone interested in making a film in here. But this could be years for now. I always took a proactive approach towards attracting film productions to our shores. This is why we had a steady flow of films shooting here the last 3 years. You have to go out and get the work, hence LA. I am also developing my own projects at present and have commissioned 3 American writers to pen some interesting screenplays that could partly be shot here.

You once said Malta should go for more low-budget films and not the blockbusters, how has Malta faired in this respect?
I probably said as well as ‘blockbusters.’ There is obviously a larger market for low-budget films and this can sustain steady employment for the ever-growing number of Maltese film crew. The results have so far been satisfactory.

The impression people have is that the film location industry in Malta is not doing well and not attracting the business that was expected a few years ago, what do you comment?
I probably tend to agree that the prospects for the future are not promising. There are a number of factors relating to this, mainly that the competition abroad is increasing. Hungary for example are offering a 20 percent rebate on the spend in their country. In other words if a producer spends a million dollars making a film in Hungary, the Government will write him a cheque for 200K. Unless we offer some fiscal incentives, Malta will always be at a disadvantage. Another factor is that Malta is shrinking by the day due to new buildings. Take Fort Ricasoli which is our most attractive facility. There is a huge tower being constructed in Tigne which is towering over the fort therefore restricting the angle of the camera.
Another problem is marketing, the film commission is seriously under-funded. I strongly believe that the job of the film commissioner is to travel abroad and sell Malta as a film location, again and again. I understand that Oliver Mallia is not marketing Malta abroad as much as he would like to due to budget constraints. In my time I used to travel and let the Government worry about the money. Off course this was not the ideal way of running a Government entity but we got the results.
What should Malta be doing to attract more producers to locate their films here?
I was kind of hoping to be asked by the Government (who are aware of my move to LA) to act as the film commission representative in Los Angeles. Obviously this has not happened. There is an American lady representing the commission who unfortunately has not achieved the desired results. Bottom line is, it's all about marketing your country abroad and offering financial incentives. The competition is tough, go and get the work

How do you see Malta's future prospects in the film industry?
I am delighted that John Dalli is now responsible for the film industry. He was also instrumental in bringing Troy to Malta by offering a small but significant financial package to the producers. Once these incentives become more available to producers, I am sure the filming community will take full advantage of this and have a more sustainable industry.