Labour MPs stop Film Commissioner grilling at parliamentary committee

Government MPs staged a coordinated intervention during a tense Public Accounts Committee (PAC) hearing on Monday, blocking a motion to recall Film Commissioner Johann Grech, who faced mounting questions over unaccounted public expenditure and sweeping, unverified claims about Malta’s film industry.

Led by MPs Glenn Bedingfield and Andy Ellul, the four Labour members, who constitute the majority in the PAC, voted against a motion to call the Film Commissioner again next week, saying that they had agreed to allow Grech only for one session.

The session descended into acrimony as the Labour MPs closed ranks to shield Grech—an appointee of the current administration and a figure closely associated with the faction of disgraced former Prime Minister Joseph Muscat.

Their move appeared to be a calculated effort to limit potential political damage after Grech struggled to answer several probing questions from the Opposition, despite arriving armed with an army of staff and glossy presentations to stress the point that he’s been the best film commissioner since the industry was established under a PN government.

Committee chairman Darren Carabott sought to summon Grech for a second session to provide more substantive answers, but a motion to that effect was blocked by the four Labour members.

They argued that there had been a prior agreement to limit Grech’s appearance to a single session and accused the PN MPs of asking too many politically loaded questions. They told Grech not to answer questions by the Committee Chair.

Elusive answers and unverified claims

Grech’s performance before the committee did little to inspire confidence. He delivered a presentation heavy on buzzwords but light on detail, sidestepping questions about the spending practices of the Malta Film Commission under his leadership.

Claiming that the film industry had generated €1 billion over the past five years, Grech offered no data to support this figure.

When asked to account for the cost of a 10-minute promotional video for last year’s Mediterrane Film Festival—in which he also played a starring role—Grech was unable to provide a precise amount, stating only that the data was still being compiled. He later gave a general estimate of €560,000 for the production.

“I do not go into these details,” he said when pressed, and kept stressing that “an impact report” – to be provided by a team of his own choosing – was in the making.

Similarly, Grech defended a €120,000 payment to British comedian David Walliams to host one of the commission’s events, describing it as “money well spent.”

Among other unsubstantiated claims, Grech stated that the filming of Gladiator II had injected €500 million into the Maltese economy.

He also asserted that 1,000 full-time crew members were employed in the local film industry, and that €635 million worth of productions had been drawn to Malta during his tenure.

When questioned about a 2020 plan to build three sound stages, Grech failed to provide an update. He did, however, confirm that a blueprint for the first sound stage had been finalised, though he could not say how much it would cost or when it was expected to be ready.