2020-11-10

TAICCA Initiatives Help Taiwanese Content Ride Cultural Wave to Global Distribution

There’s a “Taiwanese Wave” in global culture, spanning film, television and music — and the Taiwan Creative Content Agency is helping drive it.

TAICCA has launched several initiatives to connect Taiwanese content to buyers and now it is taking even bolder steps.

In July, TAICCA initiated the First Mile program, linking publishers, scriptwriters, and investors for the Print-to-Screen Adaptation Content Development Plan to boost TV and film production in Taiwan. The program extends to the 2020 Taiwan Creative Content Fest. During the fest, TAICCA will offer producers recommendations for original intellectual property suitable for audiovisual adaptations.

To follow up on the First Mile, TAICCA announced the Last Stage Fund, a program to find new international channels for original content from Taiwan. The announcement came at a press conference Tuesday.

Through this fund, projects developed by local and international partners, as well as original proposals developed in collaboration with international platforms, will receive up to $300,000 in grants.

The Last Stage Fund program TAICCA is offering aims to deliver exceptional stories from Taiwan to international markets. As long as the co-production projects are developed by local or international partners, with Taiwanese elements and distribution networks in two or more countries, they are eligible for the grant for up to 30% of production budgets (capped at $300,000).

“From the First Mile to the Last Stage,” said TAICCA chairperson Hsiao-Ching Ting, “TAICCA designs multiple systems and platforms to maximize global opportunities for great stories from Taiwan.”

TAICCA Chairperson Hsiao-Ching Ting。

TAICCA also selected Golden Horse Film Project Promotion and GagaOOLala to organize two original project showcases for local and international buyers during the Taiwan Creative Content Fest, which runs Nov. 17-22. These showcases will present more outstanding Taiwanese cultural content to buyers from around the world.

At the press conference announcing the Last Stage Fund, Ting also unveiled the international content market presentations selected so far for TCCF. The event attracted 75 companies who presented 262 titles and over 20,000 hours of content. For book publishers, 84 copyright owners brought 362 titles to propel content productions.

In addition, TAICCA and Golden Horse are teaming up to present the “Golden Horse FPP Series Showcase at TCCF” during the afternoon of Nov. 19. This pitching event will feature 11 candidates eligible for the Last Stage grant.

“Mandarin-speaking series are on the rise and prospering in recent years,” said Golden Horse Film Festival Executive Committee CEO Tien-Hsiang Wen, “so our Film Project Promotion adds series into the mix for the first time, with 40 wonderful entries.

“This partnership with TAICCA will create more opportunities with resources from both sides. I also hope TAICCA’s other future programs will bring more excellent film and television works to global markets and viewers.”

Golden Horse Film Festival Executive Committee CEO Tien-Hsiang Wen

As crucial partners in Taiwan’s diverse content development, TAICCA and its official partner GagaOOLala also joined forces to co-organize the “2020 GOL SUMMIT x GPS” on Nov. 16 and 17. This online pitching event is part of TCCF. GagaOOLala also announced the selected series at the press event and introduced them to international buyers.

“With support from TAICCA, we are glad to be the first global streaming platform from Taiwan,” said GagaOOLala founder and CEO Jay Lin. “GagaOOLala is always committed to bringing original LGBTQ-plus stories from Taiwan to the world. We help creators in Taiwan develop best-in-class LGBTQ-plus film and video projects. Our international open call attracts nearly 100 submissions from 12 countries or regions across genres. Many projects aspire to reach international networks and investments via the 2020 GOL SUMMIT x GPS.


GagaOOLala founder and CEO Jay Lin

“The enthusiasm,” added Lin, “is a clear indication that international co- productions are on the rise in the LGBTQ-plus audiovisual market worldwide.”