With the Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) opening on October 4th, Taiwan has two feature films, Salli and A Boy and A Girl, selected for the section A Window on Asian Cinema, while Reclaim My Summer is vying for a prize in the Wide Angle Asia Short Film Competition. A further two Taiwan projects, Mr Tiger and Appetite for Desire, will be presented when the Asian Project Market (APM) opens tomorrow. Following last year’s launch of the TAICCA Award at APM, Taiwan Creative Content Agency (TAICCA) will give out the $10,000 cash prize at the October 10th award ceremony. The winning project will also be eligible to apply for TAICCA’s Taiwan International Co-Funding Program (TICP) and to work closely with Taiwan’s film industry talent.
Salli, the directorial debut from LIEN Chien-Hung, is about a woman from a chicken farm flying to Paris to find love. It received investment from TAICCA and grabbed three prizes at the Hong Kong - Asian Film Financing Forum earlier this year, including HAF Goes to Cannes. A Boy and A Girl, written and directed by Hsu Li-da, centers on the title characters’ dead-end lives and their plans to leave their hometown. In the Wide Angle - Asian Short Film Competition, Reclaim My Summer, Chen Hao-wei zooms in on the desire for freedom of a teenager growing up in a recycling business. Of the two APM projects, Mr Tiger is director Hsu Chao-jen’s second feature following his 2012 New Current competition film Together, and is adapted from a short story of the same title. Appetite for Desire is the debut feature from Taiwan’s Golden Bell Award winner Peter Ho. Meanwhile, documentary XiXi from director Fan Wu received support from the Asian Network of Documentary Fund, part of Asian Cinema Fund.
Mr Tiger in APM, is the second feature project of director Hsu Chao-jen, adapted from a short story of the same title.
Over at the Asian Contents & Film Market (ACFM), on top of the partnership memos signed with ACFM previously, TAICCA’s Taiwan Pavilion will present 176 completed titles and projects from 69 Taiwanese film and TV companies to international buyers. The TAICCA and Kaohsiung Film Fund co-financed feature project Malice by Lim Lung-Ying is set to announce its new partnership in Indonesia with the leading cast from both countries. This follows the earlier confirmation of a partnership with Czech company, Lonely Production, during Locarno Pro’s Match Me last year. Now entering its fourth year of collaboration, Taiwan continues to host the Pitch & Match: Taiwanese IP session at Busan Story Market in which ten Taiwan publications, selected by the organizer and across a wide spectrum of genres and subjects, will be presented. Sample translations of the selected publications are provided for better accessibility and to foster joint IP development. For the talent networking event Platform Busan, TAICCA recommended six new directors to attend, making connections with the international film industry. TAICCA CEO Jiun Wei LU states that by bringing Taiwan’s talent, IPs with adaptation potential, and technical capabilities to Korea, it hopes to engage in deeper collaboration with the market and businesses to create global financial opportunities.
Appetite for Desire in APM, is the debut feature from Taiwan’s Golden Bell Award winner Peter Ho.
Taking place at the same time as BIFF, the Asia Contents Awards & Global OTT Awards (ACA & Global OTT Awards) sees two Taiwanese works nominated across four categories. Receiving development support from TAICCA, the widely acclaimed Wave Maker is nominated for Best OTT Original, with Buffy Chen nominated for Best Supporting Actress. Based on real crime cases and with international co-production, Taiwan Crime Stories is nominated for Best Asian TV Series, with Hsueh Shih-ling nominated for Best Supporting Actor. Since its inception in 2019 under its original name, Asia Contents Awards, Taiwanese work and talent has been nominated every year. TAICCA will sign an MOU in Busan to deepen exchange between both sides.
TAICCA collaborates with Taipei Film Festival’s Top Talent initiative and will support the international exposure of nine actors. Four of those will travel to Busan, including Esther Liu, attending BIFF for her leading role in Salli; Kai Ko, Tiffany Hsu, and the nominated Hsueh Shih-ling, to present awards at the ACA & Global OTT Awards.
Taiwan Pavilion at ACFM: https://pavilion.taicca.tw/2023-acfm/