Hom Tsai, TAICCA President, talks about the Taiwan Strategy

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As Taiwan seeks to make a bigger mark for itself on the international stage for creative, industrial and political reasons, its Taiwan Creative Content Fest is diversifying, expanding and venturing more into cross-border travel.

Hom Tsai, President of TAICCA, an industry support body, outlined the event’s strategies and innovations in a conversation. Variety.

What are the objectives of the Taiwan Creative Content Festival?

TCCF is an international event for content licensing and project investment. Professionals from more than 20 countries around the world gather in Taipei over 6 days to connect, learn and unlock new business opportunities.

This year’s event is divided into three sections: Market, Pitch and Innovations. These include all verticals in the content industry: creation; manufacturing; and distribution and marketing.

TCCF promotes licensing and co-production opportunities by matching global IP projects with investors. In addition, the event will feature exhibitions and panels to foster the exchange of ideas and experiences among experts in the industry, as well as connect Taiwanese talent with international resources.

Driven by the essence of human connection, the content industry recognizes that online interactions alone cannot replace the authenticity of real human engagement. Emphasizing the irreplaceable value of personal connections, TCCF is committed to revitalizing these important connections through physical exhibitions.

How has this year’s event evolved from last year’s edition?

As a highlight of this year’s event, TCCF has increased its global profile by garnering participation from internationally renowned companies and organizations and awarding awards.

This strategic initiative aims to cast a wide net, attracting a diverse range of teams, including teams from overseas. The aim is to facilitate transactions, foster investor interest and generate high levels of engagement, thereby creating a self-reinforcing cycle of positive interactions.

This year’s developments mark a significant milestone, setting the TCCF apart from its previous three editions. The emphasis on authentic connections and international collaboration underlines the festival’s commitment to advancing the content industry.

As a market that closely follows Busan’s ACFM, Tokyo’s TIFFCOM and Los Angeles’ AFM, what else does TCCF offer?

2023 TCCF market extended by 3 to 4 days. Although still focused on content and IP licensing, this year it has expanded further by inviting companies and organizations from various sectors of the content industry, providing a one-stop solution for all professionals. The market seeks to be a place that facilitates new collaborations and encourages opportunities for international co-products.

As the pandemic ends, the global content industry is gradually reactivating, and buyers and sellers from around the world are looking forward to meeting and networking again. It is the largest TCCF market to date, with major media companies such as Japan’s Fuji TV, Hong Kong’s TVPI and Singapore’s Mediacorp TV joining for the first time.

While FilMart, Busan ACFM, TIFFCOM and Golden Horse focus primarily on selecting and showing Asian or Mandarin-language content, TCCF pitching has expanded its reach to include audiovisual programs for the first time this year. All over the world. Additionally, we have invited a panel of international jurors to make the selections to ensure the project’s global market potential. These pitch programs are offered through open pitch events, showcasing a wide variety of themes, topics and talent, divided into four categories for buyers and investors to attend based on their business strategies and specific interests.

TCCF has also introduced a new 'Story to Screen’ session looking at Taiwanese original IP. TCCF Pitching offers participants a more fulfilling experience.

What are Taiwan’s strengths as a content / entertainment industry hub? What does it do well?

Taiwanese film and television are gaining international recognition and popularity, in my opinion, due to the popularity of OTT platforms. It accelerates its impact around the world.

The industry saw significant success with the emergence of horror film content that garnered much attention from Japanese audiences. We have some co-production projects from Japan.

Other themes such as 'BL’ have a significant presence in various Asian markets, particularly in the field of popular gender identity in Japan, South Korea, Southeast Asia and beyond.

What are the weak areas that Taiwan needs to improve as a content/entertainment industry hub? (E.g. project funding, corporate funding, lack of world-class production companies. On-screen talent with global reputation. etc.)

We believe there is still room for improvement. Therefore, TAICCA hopes to take advantage of international co-production and cooperation opportunities to engage in more skills training and exchanges with foreign partners. We aim to further develop our core competencies, learn from international experiences, adopt new technologies, enhance the quality of our film and television content and expand our market presence.