Film production in Malta
Malta is covered here with 1 location. Between the longest and shortest day, usable light swings by up to 4h 51min depending on where you shoot — planning across the country is not planning one single kind of day.
Shooting hours in Valletta across the year
Valletta is the location covered here for this country. The table gives sunrise, sunset, usable daylight and the start of the evening golden hour for every month — computed from the coordinates (35.8989, 14.5146) in the Europe/Malta timezone.
| Month | Sunrise | Sunset | Daylight | Golden hour (evening, from) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 07:12 | 17:11 | 9h 59min | 16:33 |
| February | 06:50 | 17:44 | 10h 53min | 17:08 |
| March | 06:14 | 18:10 | 11h 55min | 17:36 |
| April | 06:30 | 19:35 | 13h 05min | 19:01 |
| May | 05:58 | 20:01 | 14h 03min | 19:25 |
| June | 05:46 | 20:21 | 14h 35min | 19:43 |
| July | 05:57 | 20:20 | 14h 22min | 19:42 |
| August | 06:21 | 19:54 | 13h 33min | 19:19 |
| September | 06:45 | 19:11 | 12h 26min | 18:38 |
| October | 07:09 | 18:28 | 11h 19min | 17:53 |
| November | 06:39 | 16:56 | 10h 17min | 16:19 |
| December | 07:06 | 16:50 | 9h 44min | 16:10 |
What that means for planning
In Valletta, daylight swings by 4h 51min across the year. A schedule built around 14h 35min in June has only 9h 44min left in December — with the same setup count.
Concretely: in December, the sun in Valletta sets at 16:50, with golden hour starting as early as 16:10. Put the exterior at the end of the day and you shoot it in the dark, or not at all.
TillyGen folds each location's sun position straight into the schedule. An exterior that no longer fits before sunset in December is flagged in the plan, not discovered on the day. The same calculation sits behind every location page for this country.
Film incentives and rebates
Malta returns up to 40 % of eligible spend — strong for water and studio work. Malta's water tanks (Malta Film Studios) are Europe's standard for ocean work; fortress and Mediterranean looks sit within minutes of each other.
What that means in practice depends on the qualifying share: on a €1m budget with 70 % qualifying spend, the 40 % rate returns roughly €280,000. Provided without warranty. Permit and incentive conditions change; the responsible authority is always the binding source.
As of: 2025-01 · Source: screenmalta.com
Permits and local requirements
Filming permits are granted locally almost everywhere, not nationally: the city or district you shoot in is the responsible body, and processing times differ considerably within the same country. Public space, traffic areas and drone flights each run through separate procedures.
File early enough that a refusal still leaves room for a cover location — not so late that the permit becomes the condition for the only possible shoot day. Only the responsible local authority gives binding information.
Frequently asked
How many locations in Malta are covered here?
1. Locations are included when there is an evidenced production landscape — not every town in the country.
Which location in Malta has the longest shooting days?
In June, Valletta with 14h 35min of daylight. In December that drops to 9h 44min.
When is the best time to shoot in Malta?
On daylight length alone, June. Whether that also means the steadiest weather depends on the location — the individual location pages carry rain days and sunshine hours per month.
Do I need a separate permit for every location?
As a rule yes, as soon as public ground is involved. Private locations run through the owner; traffic areas and drones add further procedures. The local authority is always the binding source.