Minister blames Opposition after film production relocates to Morocco

The Tourism Minister has blamed the Opposition for the relocation of film production from Malta to Morocco.

During parliamentary question time, Nationalist MP Beppe Fenech Adami asked Minister Clayton Bartolo to confirm whether, and why, a film production set to film in Malta had been relocated to the North African country.

“This is why they left,” he said, pointing to the Opposition benches. He did not outline any further as to why the production had chosen to relocate.

In a separate parliamentary question reply, the minister said the Malta Film Studios are fully booked until the end of the year.

The film commission has been under the spot light over the past years. Last August, the Nationalist Party formally requested the Auditor General initiate an investigation into an expenditure of approximately €137 million by the Maltese Film Commission.

It was also revealed earlier this year that Mediterrane Film Festival cost the Maltese taxpayer €3,790,776 according to an economic impact assessment tabled in parliament.

The 92-page report, which was coincidentally published on the same day as the public inquiry report into the death of Jean Paul Sofia, details the expenditure and "direct, indirect and induced" economic impact of the lavish festival.

The report comes a few weeks after it was revealed that taxpayers paid David Walliams €120,000 to host the Malta Film Awards in 2022.