To help Taiwanese children’s animation enter the international market, the Taiwan Creative Content Agency (TAICCA) participated in Kidscreen Summit for the first time this year, the world’s largest trade fair for children’s content. TAICCA invited seven Taiwanese animation teams to showcase their works and engage in exchange during the Taiwan Spotlight Pitching. TAICCA also set up a Taiwan Animation booth for the teams and participated in a Get-together co-hosted with Canadian pavilions. The pitches of the seven teams drew the eyes of attendees and successfully attracted great interest from animation professionals across the world, and they can be expected to facilitate more international cooperation and copyright deals. The event took place from February 9 to 12 in San Diego, USA.

Among the seven teams were five works incubated by North American animation professionals in TAICCA’s Hollywood Animation: Children Content Development Workshop to meet the tastes and demands of the North American children’s entertainment market. The five works premiered at Kidscreen Summit: Crazy Night Market, Deer May, FIFI & BOBO, Polar Land, and Hide and Seek. The remaining two works were Chickie Small’s Café, winner of the TCCF NMEA Award, and TAKOKUMA’S ADVENTURE STORY, winner of the SEA Award – Malaysia. Both works entered the North American market with their original styles. International children’s content platforms such as Amazon Kids+, Disney Entertainment, Paramount, and Nickelodeon took enthusiastic part in Taiwan’s pitching session and expressed great interest in the development of Taiwanese animation. Sara Zotovich, instructor of the Hollywood Animation Workshop, was also in attendance for the full event to support the teams. Zotovich expressed that the teams have undergone remarkable growth during the four-month development process, and the pitches have demonstrated the teams’ mastery over and familiarity with the stories, earning them a high degree of acknowledgment.

Through onsite exchange activities such as the Taiwan Animation booth, Taiwan Spotlight Pitching, and the Canada pavilion’s Get-together, the seven teams also engaged in fruitful interaction with international animation buyers and related professionals, established international connections, discussed cooperation opportunities, and developed global business opportunities. Moreover, after quick project introductions by the teams, Canadian companies expressed their interest to invest and offered much positive feedback, encouraging the teams to finish their works with confidence.

In addition, Kidscreen Summit also offered Pitch Prep and Speed Pitching, two activities to assist in perfecting pitches: Pitch Prep allowed creative teams to introduce their works to well-known international directors on the first day of the summit and to immediately receive professional suggestions; Speed Pitching provided teams with a chance to have face-to-face discussions and short pitching with international brands, investors, and buyers. Then there was the Mix & Mingle with buyers from international platforms, where teams could engage in short exchanges and showcase their works to learn how to use a work’s characters to draw the eyes and interest of buyers in an extremely short time. The activities provided valuable professional resources and opportunities for exposure for works that were still in the development stage, helping speed up the entry of Taiwanese animation into the international market.

The seven projects were: Xanthus Animation Studio’s Crazy Night Market, themed around Taiwan’s characteristic night markets to tell a thrilling adventure story of children at a mysterious night market; Mangowork Studio’s Deer May, which uses characters based on Taiwan’s native animals to explore the joys and surprises of everyday family and school life; PIGGY FLIGHT FILMS’ FIFI & BOBO, an adventure story that encourages children to find inspiration in mistakes; DINODUCX Studio’s Polar Land, an adventure story about an albino brown bear who accidentally ends up in the Arctic Circle where he experiences culture shock; Chimney Animation’s Hide and Seek, a story about learning to understand the feelings of others and the meaning of friendship through games, helping children solve problems in the real world; Happy Chips’ Chickie Small’s Café, which offers the audience a comforting and funny story through the main character Chickie Small’s humorous interactions with customers; and Sunthingood’s TAKOKUMA’S ADVENTURE STORY, which gives the audience a warm and amusing experience through the story of Takokuma, a unique mix of an octopus and a bear, and his friends.

TAICCA Chairperson Homme Tsai indicated that by taking part in Kidscreen Summit, Taiwanese teams can engage in direct conversation and exchange with professionals from all over the world, and that the world can see Taiwan’s animation talent and original works.  “We expect to attract international funding and the support of more talent through this opportunity, and to promote the development of Taiwan’s original children’s animation industry to the global market”, says Chairperson Tsai.

“Kidscreen Summit” is a flagship event organized by Kidscreen, the leading global media brand for children’s content. Every year, the event draws around 2,000 professionals from over 50 countries. The content covers character licensing, image publishing, picture books, and more. Activities include public pitches, industry roundtables, and business meetings, as well as Pitch Prep, Speed Pitching, and Showcase. Countries such as Canada, the United Kingdom, Spain, Italy, France, and South Korea set up national pavilions at the summit this year, providing creators and buyers with a variety of platforms for collaboration and exchange.