[WATCH] David Walliams’s €120,000 fee for awards part of marketing strategy, minister says

British actor David Walliams’s €120,000 paycheck for hosting the Malta Film Awards was part of an international marketing move, Tourism Minister Clayton Bartolo said.

Bartolo was pressed by journalists following news that the Maltese taxpayer forked out €120,000 to host the Malta Film Awards. The tourism minister was asked to justify the astronomical fee for one night, to which he responded that the marketing efforts, including having Walliams as host, had already brought good results for the industry.

The Malta Film Awards' budget in 2022 was €400,000. However, Bartolo had stated that the Malta Film Week had cost some €1.3 million.

The costs of the Film Commission’s events are often in the headlines. The commission is known to refrain from publishing its costs while refusing the media’s attempts to shed light on its financial expenditure.

On Wednesday, MaltaToday asked the tourism minister whether Walliams’ role as host, along with other flashy and costly events hosted by the Film Commission was merely to feed Film Commissioner Johann Grech’s vanity.

“I don’t agree with you,” Bartolo said, implying that the events are an effort to maintain Malta’s competitiveness as a destination for foreign film producers. Addressing mass criticism of the costly events the Film Commission is known for, Bartolo said, “The opposition wishes that Malta loses out from productions.”

This newspaper also pointed out that during the same year, Maltese film producers were given a mere €600,000 by the government, and asked Bartolo whether he thinks this is justified when compared to Walliams’ pay package.

“First of all, we promised to increase those €600,000, and they have increased the following year,” he noted, adding that that funding now falls under the Culture Ministry’s portfolio, but did not address the disheartening difference in payments between Walliams and local film producers.

The tourism minister was also asked why a court order was necessary for the publication of Walliams’ pay package, to which he referred to confidentiality clauses in Walliams’ contract.

“If we break those confidentiality clauses, our country’s reputation is in danger, and I wanted to be sure that we don’t tarnish our reputation,” he said, noting that Malta’s reputation is crucial for its film industry.

Bartolo added that this year, Malta will once again host the Mediterrane Film Festival. Earlier this week, MaltaToday reported that the expenditure for the 2023 Mediterrane Film Festival is set to be published in the “coming days,” according to the tourism minister.