The Asia TV Forum & Market (ATF) was held in Singapore from December 3 to 6, bringing together buyers of films and television shows from all over the world to partake in energetic interaction. This year, the Taiwan Creative Content Agency (TAICCA) once again set up the Taiwan Pavilion at ATF and hosted the LEAP pitch meeting, Buyer's Lunch: Taiwan Spotlight, and Happy Hour with Taiwan. Through various activities, TAICCA boosted the exposure of Taiwanese films and television shows and deepened international networks, hoping to facilitate more opportunities for international cooperation and expand international markets.

Taiwan's Representative to Singapore, Chen-yuan Tung (third from left), also attended Buyer's Lunch: Taiwan Spotlight.

To show the creative force of Taiwanese film and television, promote international co-financing and co-production, and expand markets, TAICCA set up the Taiwan Pavilion at ATF, bringing 87 Taiwanese companies with over 250 of Taiwan’s newest films and television shows. Television series included the widely-discussed sequel The World Between Us II, with its strong cast made up of Vic Chou, Hsueh Shih-ling, and Yang Kuei-mei; Marriage Exposed, created by Ariel Lin and starring Jerry Yan; and Islanders, adapted from the award-winning novel and starring Golden Bell winners Christoper Lee and Wu Kang-ren. Films included The Uniform, which premiered at the Busan International Film Festival, starring Buffy Chen and Chloe Xiang in a story of youth and growing up; and the crime action film 96 Minutes, produced by Jeff Tsou, executive producer of The Rope Curse, and starring Austin Lin, Vivian Sung, and Wang Po-chieh, which attracted the attention of international buyers with its tense plot.

TAICCA collaborated with South Korea’s Something Special and Hong Kong’s AR Asia Production on the LEAP Co-Development Program: Variety Show, which trained eight teams to make pitches on ATF’s stage. The eight teams were Taiwan Television Enterprise’s Generation S, Light Traveling’s Ghost Masters, To Go Film’s Peak Me Up, Lucky Entertainment’s Kingdom’s Table, GoodTrip Creative’s Parallel YOU-niverse, Portico’s HeartBeat, YIYI Pictures’ Roots & Routes, and Survival Wonderland by producers Wu Szu-I and Ko Tzu-Chi. The pitches had a broad scope and introduced the content of the shows and opportunities for global markets. The on-site Q&A and exchange was very lively, with international producers expressing their interest and professional buyers from the United Kingdom, India, United States, South Korea, and Hong Kong enthusiastically offering advice on how to enter international markets.
 

Eight teams trained through the "LEAP" program took the stage at the ATF pitching event.

The LEAP program lasted eight months and was split into three stages. During the first stage, 50 teams were selected to attend lectures, while during the second stage, experienced South Korean producers of variety shows selected eight teams to undergo professional training. Pitches at ATF formed the third stage, hoping to turn the training pitches into actual internationally co-financed and co-produced programs and to create more possibilities for Taiwanese variety content to engage in international cooperation.

This year’s Buyer's Lunch: Taiwan Spotlight was also a highlight of TAICCA’s presence at ATF, where Screenworks Asia, Studio76 Original Productions, TWR Entertainment, Time Vision, and TaiwanBar Studio presented new works. The teams seized the opportunity to showcase films, television series, intellectual property and animation suitable for international markets. The showcase received positive reactions from those in attendance and are expected to facilitate the sale of more international copyrights.

The pitching session was filled with lively exchanges.

The Happy Hour with Taiwan offered Taiwanese companies and international professionals and buyers an opportunity to build networks and assisted companies in establishing friendly relations with other agencies, thereby bringing more exposure to Taiwanese casts and crews.

TAICCA Chairperson  Homme Tsai noted that just like Taiwan recently winning the baseball world cup, he believes that Taiwanese audiovisual shows are also world-class works. TAICCA hopes that, through the Taiwan Pavilion, Buyer’s Lunch, pitch meeting, sales promotion, and investment by the National Development Fund, international buyers and producers are drawn to cooperate with Taiwanese teams. TAICCA will spare no effort in helping commercialize and bring international exposure, so that outstanding works from Taiwan can travel even further.