COVER STORY
From Hollywood hills to the
Maltese islands
Captain Phillips – Photo by Jasin Boland © 2013 Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. All Rights Reserved
T
he latest in a string of hugely successful Maltafilmed productions currently in the process of filming in Gozo, By the Sea has taken the local and international media by storm. Martina Said chats with Malta Film Commissioner Engelbert Grech about the flourishing local film industry and its ever-growing resumé. 14
The Maltese islands have been hosting foreign productions as far back as the 1920s – one of the earliest feature films being Sons of the Sea in 1925. Since then, the islands have doubled up for numerous different countries in the Mediterranean and Middle East, as well as for a multitude of regions, and many productions have also filmed fictional and historical places. Following the filming of a string of
blockbuster and highly-acclaimed films here in Malta, ranging from Ridley Scott’s Gladiator (2000) to Warner Bros’ Troy (2004) and beyond, Malta’s profile as a competitive filming location has gone from strength to strength. Some of the most recent films shot here include Captain Phillips (2013) starring Tom Hanks, which tells the true story of Captain Richard Phillips and the 2009 hijacking by Somali pirates of