26/04/2017 - The budget of the fund, intended to support local filmmakers at all major stages of a movie’s life cycle, has been increased to €300,000

The Malta Film Commission has announced the new and improved Malta Film Fund, which will, for the first time, have an increased budget, totalling €300,000. The fund is intended to support local filmmakers at all major stages of a movie’s life cycle, including development, production and distribution, thus bringing Maltese cinema to the next level.

Primarily aimed at the development and production of Maltese films, the Malta Film Fund is open to new and established filmmakers, and to all genres – encompassing feature films, creative documentaries, animation, high-quality international TV series and short films – and intends to create and enhance a self-sustained, indigenous film industry.

The Malta Film Fund includes seven different grants. For development support, there are two schemes, the Writers’ and Development Grants, which offer a maximum of €5,000 and €30,000, respectively. At the production stage, the fund offers a Production Grant for features and documentaries, which can provide a maximum of €120,000, and two schemes for shorts, Short Film Production for New Talent (up to €2,500) and Short Film Production (up to €20,000). Finally, in order to expand the presence of Maltese productions internationally, the fund has two schemes related to distribution, a Film Distribution Marketing Grant (up to €10,000) and an International Film Festival Fees Grant, which can cover up to €300 for shorts, and €500 for feature films and documentaries.

Film commissioner Engelbert Grech mentioned that the changes were made following discussions with key industry experts and local filmmakers in order to face up to the challenges of the industry. Minister of Tourism Edward Zammit Lewis underlined that the Film Fund is part of a strategy to create a strong and sustainable Maltese film industry.

The Malta Film Fund is administered by the Malta Film Commission under the auspices of the Ministry for Tourism.