Maltese government woos Indian filmmakers with rebates, incentives

MUMBAI:In a bid to increase inbound tourism from India, the Maltese government has decided to follow the most common, yet effective path – roll out the red carpet to Bollywood.
Konrad Mizzi, Minister of Tourism, Malta, told ETthat the government already offers a 25% cash rebate to film and TV show makers and a single-window clearance for shooting in the central Mediterranean country.

“We have a financial system that helps production and we have 25% cash rebates that can go up depending on how much the production promotes the island, both in terms of location and also in terms of foreign direct investment,” Mizzi said. The financial system, he said is there to encourage film production in Malta from across the world. “We had a lot of Hollywood movies, big Hollywood TV shows and now India is making very good use of this system with Thugs of Hindostan being the first big beneficiary.”

International studios such as Paramount Pictures, Universal Studios, Fox Studios, New Regency, Working Title (UK) and Europacorp (France) have all produced films in Malta. Their titles include ‘13 Hours’ (directed by Michael Bay), ‘Assassins Creed’ (starring Michael Fassbender), ‘By The Sea’ (starring Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt), and ‘The Promise’ (starring Christian Bale). One of the most popular TV shows, ‘Game of Thrones’, has been shot on multiple locations in Malta.

This has boosted inbound tourism in the country significantly and Mizzi said this year the focus is to reach 2.6 million.

Meanwhile, the government is also planning to announce a new later this year. “It will be announced in the budget, which will be effective January next year.

That will make shooting in Malta even more lucrative for Indian filmmakers,” Mizzi said.

It is important to note that Malta is not the first country to offer cash rebates to filmmakers. Abu Dhabi Film Commission also offers a 30% cash rebate on entire spend on production and post-production activities in Abu Dhabi. However, in case of Abu Dhabi, the rebate is capped at $5 million.

Mizzi said that in case of Malta, there is no cap. The government has so far given away rebates of up to Euro 18 million annually.

“We also provide a single-window clearance. Our Film Commission acts as a single point of contact to get all the permissions. Also, it lists the authorised service providers to ensure that a producer gets all the information and can focus on the creative side rather than the logistics and the headaches related to the movie.”

Further, Malta will host the first-ever Malta India Film Festival from December 14-16, which will invite filmmakers from across the world who have either Maltese or Indian element in their films.

Supported by the Ministry of Tourism, Malta, the endeavour is to build a creative bridge encouraging art, culture and entertainment involving the two countries.