Two episodes of American drama being shot in MaltaAuthor: Ariadne Massa 30 April 2002 
Mario Azzopardi (right) discussing a scene with Luc Picard on the set in Quebec, Canada. Picard has the main role of Roch Thèriault in Azzopardi's recent film Savage Messiah which was launched in over 50 cinemas in Quebec at the weekend Maltese-born film-maker Mario Azzopardi, who has over 200 hours of American television drama and several films to his credit, will be directing parts of a television series in Malta in June. Shooting of the series Dinotopia, a co-production between Hallmark TV and Disney which will be aired on ABC television later this year, brought a number of firsts for Mr Azzopardi. It is the first time he has returned to Malta to work on a production since he emigrated to Canada 25 years ago, and also the first time that a Maltese film director is shooting an American production in Malta. At the moment Mr Azzopardi is riding on a high after his latest film, Savage Messiah, was released by Muse Entertainment in over 50 cinemas across Quebec, just two days ago. This powerful, psychological film about cult leader Roch Thèriault has received rave reviews and is expected to be released on other big screens worldwide shortly. Savage Messiah is based on the true story of one of the most sensational cases of brainwashing and manipulation in rural Quebec and Ontario in the 1980s. Sitting casually at the reception of the San Gorg Corinthia Hotel, Mr Azzopardi said he was looking forward to shooting two of the 13 episodes of Dinotopia in Malta. Mr Azzopardi was in Malta over the weekend seeking good locations prior to filming on June 14. Yesterday, he returned to Hungary where the bulk of the filming is taking place. The majority of the filming in Malta will take place in the water tanks of the Mediterranean Film Studios in Kalkara, on a beach, cliff tops and along the western shoreline. Mr Azzopardi said these two episodes were originally scheduled to take place in Turkey, but he managed to convince the producers that Malta could offer similar artistic qualities. "Hallmark TV had had a very bad experience in Malta with the film Ulysses. Even the stories which came out from the shooting of Gladiator did not amuse them," he said. "However, things have changed and they were willing to give the island a second chance," he said. Mr Azzopardi himself has been left with a bitter taste after he struggled for several years to set up the first film fund in Malta, only to see all the good work come to nothing. He was the driving force behind the creation of Maltese Falcon Productions, a state-backed film fund which was supposed to co-finance three or four low-budget Maltese features a year. After one of its principal backers, Mid Med bank, backed out following the takeover by HSBC, Mr Azzopardi was so frustrated with the lack of progress of the fund that he quit as its development and production chief. However, he has not given up the idea of Malta becoming a co-producer of international films and creating a film producing industry in the process. "At the moment Malta is still in the service industry and has not produced any films yet, while with the film fund it would have been able to create its own projects," he said. "George Hyzler (parliamentary secretary in the Economic Services Ministry) is doing a good job, but at the end of the day we are still at the mercy of producers who have to be attracted to Malta," he continued. After shooting Dinotopia he is determined to return on a larger project where, contrary to most current films being shot here, Malta will be depicted as itself. This will provide an invaluable opportunity for the island to promote itself abroad as an exotic location. Source: Times of Malta, www.timesofmalta.com
 
| 
.