More than 100 Taiwanese filmmakers have issued a joint statement, expressing their concerns about recent proposed changes to an international funding scheme by the Taiwan Creative Content Agency (TAICCA).
Headlined ‘Worried about TAICCA tarnishing the international image of Taiwan’, local film and TV professionals who have signed the statement include actor Lee Kang-Sheng, producer-editor Liao Ching-Sung, producer Patrick Mao Huang, sound designer Tu Duu-Chih and music composer Lim Giong.
Earlier this month, it was announced that the Taiwan International Co-funding Program (TICP), which has backed award-winning titles such as Tiger Stripes, would shift its focus to more mainstream projects as part of a rethink of the programme.
The filmmakers are concerned the new policy will put the entire eco-system of Taiwan’s international co-production industry in jeopardy and cause Taiwan’s international image “irreparable damage”.
They are putting forward three demands calling for: an immediate dialogue between TAICCA and the industry to clarify the status of TICP and the National Development Fund; the reopening of TICP’s application process; and a transparent and open communication with the industry for future policy changes.
TICP is a flagship incentive scheme that was launched by TAICCA in January 2021 to create international collaboration opportunities for Taiwanese creative forces for both above-the-line like directors, writers, producers and actors and technical crew such as cinematographers, lighting technicians, editors and sound designers.
TAICCA has invested in 37 projects through TICP over the last three years, which includes upcoming Berlinale Competition titles Black Tea by Abderrahmane Sissako and Shambhala by Min Bahadur Bham as well as Nele Wohlatz’s Sleep With Your Eyes Open, which will play in Berlin’s Encounters section.
The joint statement acknowledged TICP’s contributions and said: “We highly value the diversity of content, the increasing international strength in the commercial and art markets, and the growing international cooperation experience of the entire Taiwanese industry chain brought in by TAICCA’s efforts.”
However, TICP reportedly stopped accepting new applications in December, just a few weeks after TAICCA signed a widely publicised cooperation agreement with France’s CNC during the Taiwan Creative Content Fest (TCCF) held by TAICCA in November. Besides, TCCF accepted international projects for the first time and allowed them to be qualified to apply for TICF.
Following media enquiries, TAICCA made a short announcement on their Facebook page in early January, saying that there would be an “optimised, expanded and upgraded” version of TICP.
“This sudden and significant change has not only left Taiwanese professionals in shock, but also surprised their international collaborators,” the joint statement said.
“We are extremely disappointed and unsettled by the inconsistency and lack of transparency in TAICCA’s policy. Throughout the entire process, there has been no formal announcement regarding the termination or suspension of TICP. The details of the so-called upgraded and expanded version have not been officially disclosed, and there has been no communication or discussion with the industry about the transitional measures for linking the old and new systems.”
While TAICCA published a Chinese-language announcement of TICP 2.0 on January 19 (followed by an English version on January 22), the joint statement said that there was no “comprehensive communication and discussion with the industry”.
“The detailed application methods, review processes, and standards were not simultaneously disclosed, and it remains unclear whether the diversity of applicable project types has been maintained,” the statement added.
The filmmakers feel TICF 2.0 is an attempt to force the inherently different National Development Fund programmes or Regulations for Diverse Content Development and Investment into the professional scope of international co-production.
Filmmakers who are behind the joint statement also include directors Lou Yi-An and Hwarng Wern-Ying, producers Kuo Ming-Jung, Ivy Shen, Kuek Shee Heng and Gene Yao, as well as Malaysian director Jin Ong and French producer Vincent Wang.
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