Taiwan is on a creative mission. And no-one, least of all the local industry, is complaining. TAICCA VP, Alice Chang, talks about goals in a market already considered one of Asia’s most creative. 

In the past year, Taiwan’s Creative Content Agency (TAICCA) has been, along with Korea’s much older KOCCA, more proactive, visible and effective than any other government-backed agency in the region. 

Set up in mid-2019, TAICCA had by the end of 2020 seen NT$328.75 million/US$12 million of private funding promoted through its Cultural Content Investment Project, including investment in ContentAsia Awards winner Studio76, and helped cultural content enterprises raise funding of NT$954.85 million/US$34.4 million. 

Under the Ministry of Culture and overseen by Taiwan’s Congress, TAICCA’s many investments also include support for local production house Screenworks Asia, for LGBTQ+ streaming platform GagaOOlala; built a full-scale medical film studio to fill gaps in the country’s locations; and stepped up to fund multiple incubation, development and designed to boost Taiwan’s film and television output.

This has, the agency says, laid the foundation for a forward-looking, innovative and market-orientated ecosystem for Taiwan’s content industry. “Our mission/goal established is first to industrialise, second is to internationalise, and third to integrate,” says TAICCA vice president, Alice Chang. 

Not long after TAICCA was established, along came Covid-19. If the pandemic upended the production in some markets, Chang says the impact in Taiwan was not as devastating as in other parts of the world. Production was never officially halted as part of pandemic containment measures, and, while scaled back with some delays, the shows pretty much went on. 
At the same time, TAICCA is aware of a “new normal” for content in a post-pandemic environment. Chang talks about the challenges of a transformation that encompasses virtual environments and online content. 

One of the local industry’s other bigger challenges is integrating the wider genre demands and production specs of international streaming platforms. Chang says the entry of international platforms into Taiwan presents “great challenges and impact” on the local film and TV industry.

TAICCA has an ambitious remit across 10 fields, including film, animation and publications, all of which present challenges of their own. “The ecology and value chain of each field are different,” she says. “Therefore we must have a variety of different strategies. This is our big challenge”.

At the end of the five-year mark in mid-2024, TAICCA is aiming for a much bigger international footprint.

“At present, our IP production volume is gradually increasing because we have different strategy mechanisms in various fields, and we use various funds and assistance on international channels. Therefore, our production volume is constantly assisting the industry to improve,” she says. 

Among the highlights of the past year is showcasing Taiwanese content at France’s Séries Mania, which Chang says is an important part of TAICCA’s international partnership network. 
She talks about elevating Taiwanese stories beyond domestic scenarios, cultivating and nurturing talent, co-producing with international partners, and exposing Taiwan’s industry to global creative environments. Some might say done, done, done and done.

Published in ContentAsia November 2021 Magazine