Taiwan International Co-Funding Program (TICP) from Taiwan Creative Content Agency (TAICCA) continues to make an impact at the 74th Berlinale. Black Tea and Shambhala enter the main competition, while Sleep With Your Eyes Open competes at Encounters. Festival veteran Tsai Ming-Liang scored two official selections with his latest documentary Abiding Nowhere in Berlinale Special and The Wayward Cloud at Berlinale Classics Special.
Black Tea is Abderrahmane Sissako's follow up feature after Timbuktu with Taiwan as a key location and two Taiwanese actors Chang Han from A Brighter Summer Day and Wu Ke-Xi of Nina Wu playing alongside Nina Mélo in this cross-cultural romance. The film also received investment from Kaohsiung Film Fund.
Also in the main competition is Shambhala, the second feature from Nepal's Min Bahadur Bham, which sees a woman journey across the Himalayas to prove her innocence. Liao Ching-Sung and Roger Huang are two executive producers from Taiwan with Justine O. as the co-producer. Having previously led the team behind The Assassin, here they looked after the post production that included sound design by Tu Duu-Chih and Tu Tse-Kang.
Sleep With Your Eyes Open is a comedy set in Brazil with Midi Z's regular collaborator Wang Shin-Hong in the cast and with editing by Tsai Yann-Shan of Nina Wu. Taiwan is also responsible for other post-production departments including VFX, sound mixing, color and grading.
Abiding Nowhere is the 10th installment in Tsai Ming-Liang's Walkers series commissioned by Washington's Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Asian Art, co-produced with Taiwan Public Television Service and with support from the Ministry of Culture, Taiwan. Apart from the screenings of Abiding Nowhere and The Wayward Cloud, Tsai will conduct a masterclass entitled ‘Tsai Ming-Liang – A Long March from Cinema to Art Scenes' on February 16th.
Produced by Taiwan's Patrick Mao Huang through his Flash Forward Entertainment, the India, US, China, Indonesia and Taiwan co-production In the Belly of a Tiger is selected to the Forum section and will compete for cross section prizes.Â
TAICCA recently announced TICP 2.0 that aims to respond to the international investment market and attract projects with bigger scale and more diversity. Homme Tsai, the Chairperson of TAICCA, stated that three films supported by TICP making it into Berlinale is a testimony to the capability of Taiwan's talent. The new TICP 2.0 will respond to industry needs and attract more interest from the international film industry, bringing more visibility to the pool of Taiwan talent on the international stage. TAICCA will also have representatives at Berlinale Co-Production Market to share financing and co-production resources from Taiwan and attract quality projects to collaborate with Taiwan talent.
Taiwan has one project made into Co-Production Market official selection with A Woman Builds, the new feature from Stonewalling directing couple. Produced under her company Island X Pictures, Taiwan producer Ming-Jung Kuo is joined by Singapore's Akanga Film Asia and Japan's YGP-Films on Huang Ji and Ryuji Otsuka's fourth feature. As part of the Co-Production Market initiative, TAICCA is also recommending three Taiwanese producers Chen Yung-shuang, Ting Ruei Su and Fenda Lyn, who will take part in the Visitors Programme.Â
At the European Film Market, TAICCA will hold its Taiwan Spotlight Pitching Session on February 16th to highlight four feature projects for international film professionals. Following her Gaga that charmed the festivals, director Laha Mebow will pitch Sayun's Dreams. After selection in Rome's MIA, Tokyo Gap Financing Market and the recently announced HAF WIP, Deep Quiet Room from director Shen Ko-Shen, will also pitch for his first fiction feature. They will be joined by two debut feature projects, comedy My Phoenix Sister by Kao Huai-Ju and fantastical comedy Karma Tango by Zhang Zhi-Teng.
37 companies with 86 projects will be presented at the Taiwan Pavilion. Completed films include Island In Between, hotly nominated for Oscar Best Documentary Short; winners of San Sebastian Best Director A Journey In Spring; winner of Golden Horse Awards Best Director Old Fox; and Busan premiered Salli. Winner of TAICCA X CNC Award at last November's Taiwan Creative Content Fest, documentary After the Snowmelt is another key project presented at Taiwan Pavilion.
Taiwan Pavilion Online Catalogue｜https://pavilion.taicca.tw/2024-efm/
Taiwan's International Co-funding Program 2.0 (TICP2.0)｜https://en.taicca.tw/article/5fe86426
