Written by on May 7, 2013. Posted in On Location

Malta Minister pledges filming support as BBC shoots The Whale

Malta’s Home Affairs Minister has pledged his continued support for the country’s filming industries on a set visit to BBC production The Whale. The TV movie tells the story of US whaling ship The Essex, which was sunk by a whale in 1820 and inspired Herman Melville to write Moby Dick.

Filming has been taking place on Gozo and also at Mediterranean Film Studios in Malta, with servicing from Latina Pictures. Minister Manuel Mallia visited the set with Malta Film Commissioner Peter Busutill. The Whale tells the story of The Essex through the eyes of Thomas Nickerson, who at 14 was the youngest onboard and one of only eight people to survive the wreck.

“At the emotional heart of the drama is orphan Nickerson’s coming-of-age story,” said the production’s screenwriter Terry Cafolla, “ where he meets three powerful male role models in the captain, the first mate, and a steward. As the narrative develops, his views on what makes a man switch dramatically as he sees how these role models respond under some of life’s most extreme pressures.”

Malta recently doubled for Israel in Brad Pitt’s epic zombie drama World War Z and also doubled for the Indian Ocean in Tom Hanks’ upcoming true-life hostage drama Captain Phillips.

(Main page image: Mark Sansone; Malta filming image: PCP Malta)