Arts Council chair calls for trebling of allocation for local productions
Funds from Malta’s “thriving” foreign film servicing industry should be directed towards local productions, which currently rely on a “meagre” €1 million fund, according to the chair of Arts Council Malta. Albert Marshall stated that the current film fund needs to be “at least” tripled to €3 million for Maltese indigenous films to flourish alongside the foreign movie industry. “To make this work, we need closer cooperation between two ministries: the tourism ministry, responsible for the thriving servicing industry attracting foreign films to Malta, and the culture ministry, which, through Arts Council Malta, oversees the indigenous film industry,” he said, noting that the current level of collaboration is “not enough.” (Times of Malta)
Slight drop in property sold in June
In June 2024, the number of final deeds of sale and promise of sale agreements for residential property reached 966 and 1,080, respectively. The data, released by the National Statistics Office, provides provisional figures on residential property sale transactions based on their registration date with the tax authority. In June 2024, the number of final deeds of sale for residential property was 966, marking a 2.9% decrease compared to June 2023. The total value of these deeds was €243.9 million, a 4.9% decrease from the corresponding value recorded in June 2023. (The Malta Independent)
PN councillor elected as Birkirkara Mayor
Nationalist councillor Desirei Grech has been elected as the interim mayor of Birkirkara after Labour’s leading candidate opposed the party’s nomination for the position. During a council meeting on Tuesday, the Labour Party directed its councillors to nominate independent candidate Kaylocke Buhagiar for mayor. However, the party’s most popular candidate, Yana Debono Grech, voted against this nomination. These instructions followed Debono Grech’s failed bid for mayor last week, which did not secure a majority. With no candidate from Labour, the Nationalist Party, or independents achieving a simple majority in the mayoral vote, Grech was elected mayor for a three-month period on Tuesday, as the most popular candidate from the leading party.
