TAICCA Co-Hosts Taiwan Series Showcase and Co-Production Incentives with Series Mania, Unveiling the First TV Series Produced by Director Hou Hsiao-Hsien

TAIPEI,Sept. 1,2021 -- Europe's biggest and most prestigious TV series festival,Series Mania Forum,has opened online from August 30th to September 1st. This year,the Taiwan Creative Content Agency (TAICCA) has partnered with Series Mania to host the Taiwan Series Showcase and Co-production Incentives,which will stimuli-cast Taiwan's latest series,market trends,as well as co-production incentives and resources in both Taipei and Lille.

TAICCA and Catchplay’s joint venture Screenworks Asia announced Twisted Strings

TAICCA VP Alice CHANG at the Series Mania Taiwan Series Showcase and Co-production Incentive

Leveraging on the significance of Series Mania,Screenworks Asia,a TAICCA and Catchplay's joint venture,also announced a new series Twisted Strings in partnerships with Taiwan's Bossdom and Singapore's MediaCorp. The series is executive produced by internationally renowned director HOU Hsiao-Hsien and directed by HUANG Xi,director HUANG and lead actor LEE Kang-Sheng also attended the event to share their filming experiences with global audiences.

Catchplay CEO Daphne YANG thanked TAICCA for organizing the showcase for Catchplay to announce this exciting project to the world. The series is expected to co-premiere on CATCHPLAY+,HBO,and HBO GO,as well as Singapore's Mediacorp meWATCH next year.

Director HUANG Xi mentioned that,in his debut TV series,the crew took a film approach on this series,and explored this medium as the project progressed. HUANG highlighted the filming location,Keelung,as a city with a very distinct personality surrounded by mountains and the ocean,and they instantly knew it was perfect for the series. "Keelung is a great destination not only for tourists,but also a great filming location for international filmmakers and series creators," added HUANG.

During the showcase,TAICCA Vice President Alice CHANG introduced the Taiwan Pavilion at Series Mania andTaiwan's International Co-funding Program (TICP)as well as recent international audiovisual content trends. According to Ampere Analysis,the fourth quarter of 2018 saw a growth in international co-production,with 8% of the projects heading into production with completed scripts. Yet,International co-productions dropped to 5% in the second quarter for 2020 due to COVID-19.

CHANG hoped that the TICP would encourage more international co-production opportunities for Taiwanese content creators,and increase the interest in Taiwanese original IPs,creative environment,and talents.

With three series and one published work shortlisted in the first year of participating in Series Mania,CHANG believed that this stellar record for Taiwan indicated the diversity in Taiwanese content had successfully marked its place at international festivals,once again showing confidence in TAICCA's international co-production schemes.

Creative teams behind the three works officially selected by Series Mania also presented their titles at the showcase,including Fragrance of the First Flowerfor the Short Forms Competition,as well as Who Killed the Good Manand The Amazing Grace of Σfor Forum Exclusives.

The teams of Seqalu: Formosa 1867,the Taiwanese epic by Public Television Service,and The Making of an Ordinary Woman II,a co-production of Screenworks Asia and CTS,also attended the showcase. They demonstrated the benefits of working with Taiwan and Taiwan's amazing original IPs to the European audience.

The Series Mania festival will run from August 26th to September 2nd in Lille,France,and online,with over 2,700 international buyers and professionals in the TV industry gathering at the Series Mania Forum. Participating as a governmental-affiliated agency for the first time at an important market in Europe,TAICCA is eager to showcase the best of Taiwanese contents to the international markets.

About TAICCA (https://en.taicca.tw/)

The Taiwan Creative Content Agency (TAICCA),established in June 2019 and supervised by the Ministry of Culture,is a professional intermediary organization working to promote the development of Taiwan's content industries including film and TV,publishing,pop music,ACG,and more.

Media Contact

TAICCA PR | Kaylen Chung | kaylen.chung@taicca.tw

TAICCA Global Business | Shannie Hsu | shannie.hsu@taicca.tw

TAICCA Global Business | Erica Lin | erica.lin@taicca.tw

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