Taiwan’s Funding & Rising Status As Global Production Hub: Part One

Taiwan was one of the few territories that emerged from the pandemic relatively unscathed. As an island, it was relatively easy for the government to secure the borders to control the spread of Covid, so production carried on more or less uninterrupted, and cinemas mostly remained open during the pandemic. The lack of Hollywood releases during this time gave local films space to breath, and the industry also benefitted from a reverse brain drain as many Taiwanese who had been working in mainland China returned home.

In addition to these unexpected Covid benefits, the industry has also received a boost from the activity of the Taiwan Creative Content Agency (TAICCA), the government agency launched in 2019 to support Taiwan’s creative industries. Not only is TAICCA supporting local film and TV production and infrastructure, it is also positioning Taiwan as an international co-production hub through its new funding schemes. It has also launched the Taiwan Creative Content Fest (TCCF) in early November as an industry event to build bridges between Taiwan and the rest of the world (mainland China is welcome but not really present).

This edition of Streamlined takes an in-depth look at the TAICCA funding, and the future potential of Taiwan’s creative industries, but as there’s so much to say, the newsletter will be split into two parts. This first part is focusing on co-production funding and the NDF.