Taiwan-based streaming platform Catchplay and its production subsidiary Screenworks Asia have unveiled a slate of Mandarin-language originals, led by crime thriller series Not A Murder Story.
The titles include regional collaborations involving co-production partners from Hong Kong, Indonesia and Singapore, with further notable projects including teen romance series I Can See You Shine and psychological thriller Love Is A Bitch from award-winning filmmaker Sung Hsin-Yin.
Announcing the slate at a press event in Taipei today marked the first in-person launch of Screenworks Asia, which was established in mid-2020 as a joint venture between Taiwan Creative Content Agency (TAICCA) and Catchplay to produce original Taiwanese content aimed at international markets.
Not A Murder Story is an eight-part whodunit written and directed by Ko Chen-Nien, who was nominated for best new director at the Golden Horse Awards in 2020 for her film debut The Silent Forest. It is co-produced by Screenworks Asia, Taiwan’s Gala Television Corporation and Hong Kong’s MakerVille.
The series follows a wannabe actor – played by Liu Kuan-Ting (A Sun) – who lands a breakout role, only to wake up one morning to find a dead woman beside him. It also stars Sonia Sui (Women Who Flirt) and Gingle Wang (Detention).
Also in post-production is I Can See You Shine, a coming-of-age comedy drama series about the friendship of two high school girls. It has been written by award-winning scriptwriter Huang Xin-Xuan, known for series The Making Of An Ordinary Woman I and II.
Love Is A Bitch marks Screenworks Asia’s first feature film production, written and directed by Sung Hsin-Yin whose animated feature On Happiness Road won a series of awards including best animated feature at the Golden Horse Awards in 2018. This psychological thriller stars Ivy Shao, from Netflix’s More Than Blue: The Series, as a news anchor. Filming is set to begin next month.
Also on the slate are two productions set to start filming next year. Lesley In Taipei: Grass Jelly Bubble Tea is a romantic comedy series made in collaboration with Yulia Evina Bhara and Makbul Mubarak, the Indonesian producer and director duo of Autobiography, which premiered in this year’s Venice Horizons strand. The series centres on an Indonesian woman who travels to Taipei where she hopes to find love, friendship and herself. It is written by Taiwan’s Chen Ke-Yun and Lin Pin-Jun with Makbul.
Mini-series Islanders is a Taiwanese romantic psychological drama based on Lolita Hu’s 2019 novel Islands. It will be co-directed by Chen Hung-I and Tsai Pao-Chang and co-produced with Taiwan’s Jollify industries.
Previously announced is Indonesia-set supernatural horror series Losmen Melati, a co-production between Catchplay and Singapore’s Infinite Studios. It centres on a secluded guesthouse where travellers are confronted by their worst nightmares. Now in post-production, the Bahasa Indonesian-language series will be distributed by Catchplay in Taiwan and Indonesia. Clover Films will handle sales for the rest of Southeast Asia.
Growing presence
It marks the continuation of a promising start for Screenworks Asia. Three of its Mandarin-language productions won seven awards (out of 30 nominations) at Taiwan’s Golden Bell Awards last month, which included family comedy series The Making Of An Ordinary Woman II; Taiwanese auteur Hou Hsiao-Hsien’s first executive produced mini-series Twisted Strings, in collaboration with HBO Asia; and variety show Dee’s Talk.
“This has been quite a challenging but rewarding two-year journey,” said Daphne Yang, CEO of Catchplay Group. “Fortunately, through collaboration with outstanding talents and partners, we were able to deliver and release our first three projects successfully. The belief is in partnerships and in bringing quality entertainment content with more creativity and diversity to the world.”
In addition to local press and industry, today’s press event was also attended by key international guests such as Mickey Ong, general manager of CJ E&M HK; Alan Tuan, Disney+ head of local content; Janslle Ong, Chinese-language content acquisition manager for Netflix; Connie Cheung, senior manager for international business at MakerVille; and Magdalene Ew, Warner Bros Discovery head of content, entertainment.
They are in Taiwan for TACCA’s Taiwan Creative Content Fest, which will kick off its market component tomorrow, and their attendance follows the reopening of Taiwan’s borders and removal of strict Covid-related travel restrictions.
Meanwhile, Screenworks Asia officially announced that Kat Yeung has been international distribution director since July. She was previously distribution manager of Hong Kong-based Mandarin Motion Pictures.
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