Episode of Popular Italian TV series 'Rex' filmed in Malta

Last week, the Parliamentary Secretary for Tourism, the Hon. Mario de Marco visited the film set at the Upper Barakka Gardens, during the filming of an episode of Italian TV series ‘REX’ which was being shot in Malta. He said that the presence of this crew here in Malta was a result of the Malta Tourism Authority (MTA)’s promotional efforts in Italy and has been made possible through the efforts of the MTA’s Film Unit and the Authority’s office in Italy.

The Hon. Mario de Marco, Parliamentary Secretary for Tourism, visits crew on set of filming of Rai Uno TV series ‘REX’, whose visit is being coordinated by the Malta Tourism Authority. At the Upper Barrakka Gardens, Valletta.

REX is a very popular TV series on Rai Uno, which is also very popular here in Malta. The episode which was filmed in Malta between Monday 26th October till Sunday 8th November will be aired between March and April 2010 during prime time. Kasper Capparoni, the protagonist of many popular TV series and miniseries such as Incantesimo, Elisa di Rivombrosa, Capri and others, is the main actor alongside REX, the beautiful and intelligent German Shepherd. Other popular actors with parts in the Malta episode included Fabio Ferri and Luca Ward.

The Italian production house Leader Production are filming the episode which has been specifically scripted to be set in Malta featuring the localities of Valletta, Birgu, Mdina and Marsaxlokk amongst others. The MTA’s Film Unit had established contact with Leader Productions during its participation in Film Festivals as part of an on going bid to raise Malta’s profile worldwide through the attraction of Malta-based television and film productions.

Dr de Marco added that in 2008, the programme’s viewership in Italy reached six and a half million per episode with an audience share of over 20%. This is important for Malta when one considers that Italy has now become Malta’s second largest market in so far as tourism is concerned. Moreover, apart from being screened in Italy, the series was sold to over 100 additional countries around the world, amongst these over 20 European countries including Malta’s other core markets of Germany, Spain, Austria and Sweden.

He said that there were other recent productions which featured Malta as Malta, with films such as Vinnai Thankdi Varuvaya (2009) – India; Anakop (2008) – Russia; Man of East (2007) – Russia; and Lost Treasures of the Knights Templar III (2007) – Denmark. Other television productions which feature Malta in their story apart from Rex, include Pater Castell (2009) – Germany; Carabinieri (2007) – Italy; Coronation Street (2007) – UK; and What We Did On Our Holiday (2006) – UK

The Parliamentary Secretary pointed out that there are incentives which consist of a cash rebate of up to 20% on qualifying EU spend in Malta for productions shot in Malta and that productions that qualify for the audiovisual financial incentives on offer from the Government are eligible for an extra 2% of the cash rebate they qualify for if Malta features as Malta.

Dr de Marco concluded by saying that the MTA recognises filming and film tourism as an important niche market and believes that such initiatives offer broad scope for promotion in a popular and diverse manner. It also showcases the Maltese Islands as an optimum venue for film production, given the excellent natural light almost all year round, mild weather as well as stunning locations.

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