Jason Micallef slams €5 million spending on Mediterrane Film Festival

Valletta Cultural Agency boss and Labour Party special delegate Jason Micallef has slammed the amount of spending on the Mediterrane Film Festival.

“With €5 million in public funding we could hold 20 consecutive New Year’s Eve events in Valletta and two consecutive Isle of MTV concerts,” he wrote of Facebook. The post was also accompanied by ariel footage of New Year’s Eve celebrations at St George’s Square, and of the Isle of MTV concert at the Floriana granaries.

The less-than-cryptic post came after the Times revealed spending on the film festival cost €5 million in tax-payer funds. According to the report, special guests like Russel Crowe were flown to Malta in private jets, while American TV crews and journalists were flown in business class seats. All were accommodated in five-star resorts.

The festival has been mired in controversy since its inception, and despite earlier economic assessments that the Mediterrane Film Festival in 2024 cost €3.7 million, commission representatives told the Times the sum has been revised to €5 million.

A National Audit Office report in November 2024 had revealed the Malta Film Commission’s organisation of large events lacks transparency but initiatives to boost film production have yielded positive outcomes. In reaction, the commission said it had already implemented measures to address shortcomings.