Embattled Malta Film Commissioner Calls Out ‘Hatred’ Amid Awards Show Criticism
Malta’s embattled Film Commissioner Johann Grech has called “unacceptable” criticism which said he was a “tumour” to the industry.
“This hatred shatters everything we believe in – both as a film and television industry and as a country. Teasing someone with inhuman words like ‘tumour’ is a scary thing. Different opinions exist, but they should never go down to such a low and nasty level,” he said in a Facebook post.
Grech is currently under fire over a lavish Malta Film Awards ceremony, which allegedly cost over €2 million, well over the €400,000 budget. MP Jason Azzopardi has claimed that British comedian David Walliams, who hosted the event, was paid over €200,000.
Grech has so far refused to confirm or deny the claims. He has only said it was “value for money”.
A budget of €400,000 was originally allocated to the Malta Film Awards, a festival held to celebrate the history of the Maltese film industry.
However, it was tarnished by a boycott imposed by several film players, who decried the €400,000 as excessive given that €600,000 have been allocated to the entire annual budget for the national Screen Film Fund.
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