The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic might have paralyzed global travel but that has not stopped Taiwan from flexing its muscles and putting its film and entertainment content on the world stage. Having made solid presentations at various markets across the world throughout the year, it is bringing the world to the island to meet local creatives at the inaugural edition of Taiwan Creative Content Fest (TCCF) this month.
Presented by the Taiwan Creative Content Agency (TAICCA), an independent agency set up by the Ministry of Culture and the cabinet (Executive Yuan), TCCF transforms three existing industry events into a brand new flagship program that is a hybrid platform for content development, venture capital matchmaking and an international market place to promote Taiwan’s content industry and talent to buyers from around the world.
It is the first time that Taiwan is hosting an interdisciplinary industry event dedicated to the cultural content as a whole, from novels and games to TV shows and manga. The event also serves as a meeting point between Taiwanese and global cultural industry players to exchange ideas and insights.
As one of the few success stories in containing the coronavirus, TCCF will take place in its physical form from Nov. 17-22 in Taipei, expected to be attended by 2,000 from local regions. Another 2,000 attendees are expected to be participating in the event virtually. More than 215 buyers representing 147 companies from 22 countries and regions have already registered for the event, a TAICCA rep says, with most of them coming from Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Japan, South Korea and North America.
TCCF has been planned long before the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, says Ting Hsiao-Ching, chair of TAICCA, as the agency actively explored new channels to present Taiwanese creative content from films and TV or web series to books and animation internationally.
“We hope to inspire creators and buyers with new narrative methods, cutting-edge insights and dynamic new partnerships in the post-pandemic era of the cultural industry,” Ting says.
TCCF will encompass a range of events including networking activities, forums, trade fair and showcases. “We strive to create cross-domain collaboration opportunities and make Taiwan known to the world,” says Ting, adding that representatives from Dentsu Group from Japan, Netflix, Fox, HBO and the Producers Guild of America are expected to attend the event.
Among the highlights, two original project showcases presented by the Golden Horse Film Project Promotion and GagaOOLala will take place during TCCF to introduce Taiwanese cultural content to international buyers.
TAICCA will also give Taiwan original content an international boost with the launch of a program called Last Stage, which offers a grant of up to $300,000 to projects containing Taiwan elements with distribution networks in two or more countries. The program aims to open up international channels to showcase original content from Taiwan. The projects can be a co-production developed by local or international partners.
Panel discussions will play an integral part of the event. Ting will be hosting a panel called “Human Touch — A Closer Future” addressing the changing cultural and economic landscapes in the post-pandemic era challenged by technological innovation. Joining Ting on the stage will be Audrey Tang, the celebrated digital minister of Taiwan, and Tea Uglow, creative director of Google’s Creative Lab in Sydney.
Experts from global media and production companies such as Ricky Ow, president of WarnerMedia Entertainment Networks, Asia Pacific and Christophe Bruncher, EAVE Producer and Head of Studies for Ties That and Bind, will be offering Taiwan content creators tips on international market demand, creating productions that have a global appeal and forming partnerships with those from across the globe.
This article is provided by "TCCF".
