Tom Hanks in Malta to shoot Captain Phillips

A movie based on a true story shot out at sea

Tom Hanks is in Malta at the moment for the shooting of the film Captain Phillips, based on the true story of an American captain whose container ship Maersk Alabama was taken hostage by armed Somali pirates in 2009. The story evolves on how the captain tried to escape until he was finally rescued by the US navy. Shooting is expected to start next month but the double Oscar winner actor has already arrived in Malta earlier this week on a private airplane. 

Captain Phillips is a Sony Pictures Entertainment production that will be released in 2013. Malta Film Commissioner Peter Busuttil stated that “Malta fits the film location perfectly”, and although Maltese ports will be used for a few scenes, most of the filming will take place out at sea on a tanker and in the water tanks of the Mediterranean Film Studios.  The production team is due to stay in Malta until the end of May, after which they will head on to Morocco to continue the filming of beach scenes. 

The film industry in Malta is continuing to flourish, as two other productions are currently being shot in Malta; the Italian television series ‘Come un Delfino’, starring the heart-robbing Raoul Bova, and a Russian production Fort Ross. There are also a number of ongoing documentaries while the filming of a children’s movie is also expected to start towards the end of April.