A record-setting 60 thousand visits were recorded at the third edition of TCCF (Taiwan Creative Content Fest), exceeding the previous year’s footfall by twofold. The organizer, TAICCA (Taiwan Creative Content Agency) attributes this increase, in part, to the extension of TCCF’s program from 5 to 11 days, and to the expanded pitching program with greater participation from international buyers. Nearly 100 events were held throughout the 11-day festival, including exhibitions and performances that opened to the public throughout, attracting bumper crowds.

PITCHING

A total of 42 original projects were pitched at TCCF 2022, attracting online and offline buyers from Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, Australia, Spain, France and Canada. Among the 42 pitches, 24 were paneled by a delegation from Series Mania, Europe’s largest festival, forum and school, dedicated to series. This followed an agreement, signed between TAICCA and Series Mania earlier this year, to facilitate co-production between Taiwan and Europe.  

They selected a series titled JUDOKA, which tells the true story of a washed-up judo athlete from Taiwan, who falls in love with a gold-medal judo athlete from North Korea. JUDOKA will be presented on the Taiwan pavilion at Series Mania 2023, which takes place from March 21 to 23. According to the producers, Y.C. Tom Lee and Jae Yang, their project is already backed by the South Korean production company, Hanmac Culture Group, and recently caught the attention of another production company based in Serbia.

MARKET

A key content marketplace in Asia, TCCF 2022 gathered 133 exhibitors from Taiwan and the surrounding region. More than 100 international online and offline buyers visited the Market, which featured 812 titles – mostly by Taiwanese creators. The organizer, TAICCA is optimistic about growth in the Asia content marketplace, estimating a projected value in excess of 1 billion TWD from leads generated at the TCCF 2022 Market.

Taiwanese production company, Screenworks Asia exhibited some of its popular titles, including drama series The Making of An Ordinary Woman 2. The company’s Senior Planner in Content Production, Echo Ku saw great value in how TCCF 2022 brought together professionals from different areas of the entertainment industry in one place. Ku discovered valuable, cross-domain opportunities in music and gaming, plus she received practical feedback from international and domestic collaborators.

INNOVATIONS

Open to the public throughout all 11 days of TCCF 2022, Innovations aimed to inspire visitors with the future of content creation. It featured 26 exhibitors from USA, Japan, France and Taiwan, displaying 19 individual XR, interactive projection, and NFT works.

Within the Innovations space, Stereo staged “future of music” performances from 42 groups, collaborating in 33 shows, across 3 main stages. Lighting technology, modern dance, contemporary circus performance, film projection, live podcast, and other performing arts were combined to create an avant-garde spectacle.

Taiwanese indie rock band, Sorry Youth performed on a four-sided stage at the Stereo event, offering their audience a multitude of experiential perspectives. The band say they’ve noticed a resurgence of interest in live music, and highlighted their intention to bring new technologies into their live performances.

FORUM

The TCCF 2022 Forum featured an international lineup of 45 speakers. Asia Contents Producer in the Video Streaming Department at Japan’s Rakuten TV, Kim Kyoung-eun joined a Spotlight event about BL (Boy’s Love) drama, addressing how Taiwanese BL content creators can find a niche in the global market. Kim was excited to share that the number of viewers of Taiwanese BL dramas in Japan has increased 25 times since 2018. She believes this trend can continue, so long as the production quality remains high.

CEO of Singapore’s Star Ritz International Entertainment, Angie Chai joined an Industry Talk on Emerging Investment Opportunities in the Content Industry. She spoke about the paradigm shift from local television audiences to global OTT audiences. According to Chai, the biggest emerging investment opportunity is in content created for OTT.