Taiwan Showcases Homegrown Talent, Potential as Co-Production Hub at TIFF Industry

variety.com:

Vivienne Chow An ambitious slate of more than 80 titles is featured in Taiwan’s debut at Toronto Film Festival’s TIFF Industry section this year, presenting a diverse mix of productions in various genres in a bid to showcase not just the island’s homegrown talent but also its potential as a co-production hub in the region. “We want to emphasize our commitment in bringing Taiwan’s film and television works to the global stage, and at the same time, making Taiwan the best co-production partner in Asia,” says Izero Lee, CEO of Taiwan Creative Content Agency (TAICCA), which presents the slate at the market sector of the Toronto Film Festival this year.

TAICCA is an independent agency set up by the Ministry of Culture and the cabinet (Executive Yuan) that has been actively promoting the island’s cultural and creative content globally. “We are actively fostering relations with international companies, institutions, and festivals to meet these goals, while also promoting Taiwan’s own talent,” Lee says.

The production sales presentation from Taiwan sees a range of narrative features, documentary films, shorts, restored classics, and VR or immersive content released over the past year or recently completed, as well as projects that are still in development or pre-production with a target release date in 2023 and 2024.

Among the highlights of recent projects is crime drama “Goddamned Asura,” which is Taiwan’s submission for the upcoming best international feature film at the Academy Awards that was recently announced.