As the filmdom gathers in Berlin winner of the 70th Berlinale to emerge, the Taiwan Creative Content  Agency (TAICCA) catches their attention with the young, winners of the agency’s Original Award, and the prestigious, director Ming Liang TSAI. Taiwan IP Showcase, held on Feb. 24, attracted more than a hundred international professionals and introduced them to the beauty of Taiwan’s original contents.

Starting from the left: Chien Hung LIEN director of “Sally,”Producer Ui Lin WANG and director Zhen Nian KO from “Silent Etude”; producer Ting Ruei SU and director Yi LIU from “Chi: The Method of Breathing”; Ching Fang HU, TAICCA’s president; director Elvis LU and producer Stefano Centini from“A Holy Family”; event coordinator Kevin CHEN

TAICCA steps into the spotlight of international film markets for the first time in Berlin and integrates the cultural resources on the island to curate the Taiwan Pavilion at the European Film Market. On Feb. 23, the agency’s networking party, Taiwan Cinema Night, drew more than 400 international professionals, introducing TAICCA as the gateway to Taiwan’s content industries.

Taiwan IP Showcase, held on the day following Cinema Night, is designed to promote selected original contents from Taiwan in the international market. TAICCA’s president, Ching Fang HU, said that TAICCA is very happy to open up its international co-operation mechanisms at the Berlinale, where Taiwan films are often warmly welcomed. Thirty years ago, director Ming Liang TSAI’s “Rebels of the Neon God” amazed the world at the Berlinale, and the feat is looked up to by the generation follows him. Following TSAI’s example, TAICCA brings the winners of the agency’s Original Award to Taiwan IP Showcase in Berlin, broadens international co-operation opportunities, and encourages interdisciplinary crossover.

Attendees were mesmerized by the teasers

Members of the three award-winning projects did their first pitching overseas at Taiwan IP Showcase in Berlin. “Chi: The Method” showed up first and brought new perspectives for the Wu Xia genre. Based on a scandal that happened at the school for the hearing impaired, “Silent Etude” made the attendees breathless. And last but not least, the documentary “A Holy Family” revolves around director Elvis LU’s personal dilemma between kinship and religion, bringing some attendees to tears. 

Producer Ting Ruei SU and director Yi LIU from “Chi: The Method of Breathing”, a TAICCA Original Award winner

Producer Ui Lin WANG and director Zhen Nian KO from“Silent Etude”, a TAICCA Original Award winner

Producer Stefano Centini and director Elvis LU from “A Holy Family”, a TAICCA Original Award winner

Other than the works that have won the TAICCA Original Award, the Taiwan IP Showcase also allowed related projects to pitch as well. “Sally,” directed by Chien Hung LIEN, is inspired by an actual online dating fraud in which the victim was a Taiwanese woman. Hui Chen HUANG’s documentary, “Loma- Our Home,” depicts aboriginal protests in Taiwan.

Taiwan IP Showcase in Berlin not only demonstrated some of the best original contents from the island but also enabled filmmakers from different parts of the world to exchange their ideas on co-production. From Wu Xia fantasy to documentary, films from Taiwan mirror the island’s creativity as well as diversity.

Producer Ui Lin WANG and director Chien Hung LIEN from“Sally,” winner of Golden Horse Film Project Promotion Grand Prize