Forbes Article Cost Malta Film Commission €14,000, More Than Minimum Wage Earners Make In A Year
A sponsored Forbes article cost the Malta Film Commission a whopping €14,000, more than minimum wage earners make in a year.
The hefty-priced article was published by forbesmiddleeast.com in September 2021 and largely focused on Film Commissioner Johann Grech, whose photo is the only one featured in the article and whose name is mentioned no fewer than seven times.
In the 500-word piece, Grech describes the Film Commission’s role in making Malta a “world-class film destination” thanks to its locations, local crew, water tanks and 40% cash rebate program for foreign productions.
This promotional article, which was handled by a Mauritian consulting company called Penresa Limited, forms part of the €2 million bill footed by taxpayers for direct orders by the Commission in 2022.
A large sum of the bill was linked to the Malta Film Awards, held in February 2022, in which €47,000 were used for luxury trophies for the night.
It was also reported that British comedian David Walliams was allegedly paid over €200,000 to host the Malta Film Awards. However, no official breakdown of the €1.3 million film awards bill was ever published, despite several Freedom of Information requests.
In response to a recent parliamentary question by PN MP Julie Zahra, Tourism Minister provided a very vague breakdown of the costs, stating that €81,328 was spent on travel, €69,484 on marketing, €478,520 on “creative”, and €708,011 on logistics.
Meanwhile, Maltese filmmakers were left to their own devices last year after the Commission’s “failure” to publish its annual €600,000 film fund.
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