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Taiwanese filmmakers Nelson Yeh and Herb Hsu and U.S.-based, Taiwan-born writer-director Weiko Lin discussed strategies for taking Taiwanese content global at a seminar during Taiwan Creative Content Fest (TCCF) on Wednesday.
Lin is gearing up to direct Chalk, a thriller with U.S. and Taiwanese elements to be produced by Yeh’s Taipei-based Good Image and US producer Dave A. Liu’s Lucrative Media (Didi, Sasquatch Sunset).
The film revolves around a single mother who witnesses a murder, then is assigned a policeman to protect her who turns out to be her estranged son. Lin, who is repped by Anonymous Content and UTA, has recently been scouting locations in Boston.
Lin originally wrote the script as a wholly English-language project, but then decided to bring in Taiwanese characters and changed the script to include dialogue in both English and Chinese. Citing hits such as Past Lives, Minari and Everything Everywhere All At Once, he observed that audiences in both the U.S. and Taiwan are becoming more open to bilingual films.
“We’ll be using a U.S. style of storytelling but with local elements,” said Lin, who also cites Ang Lee as an influence. “Taiwanese audiences are used to the Western model of filmmaking because they grew up watching American content.”
Hsu, an actress and director with credits including 2021 drama The Child Of Light, is trying a different strategy – with a series adaptation of Jade Y. Chen’s novel Oriental Beauty, a story spanning the UK and Taiwan about the origins of a special brand of Oolong tea.
“It’s the true story of a tea that was a favorite of Queen Victoria,” said Hsu. “The story involves a Scottish tea merchant and a Taiwanese merchant who are both male characters but there are also some strong female characters. The series will explore how they adapt and grow in a patriarchal society.”
Hsu also talked about the positive response she received at international film festivals to The Child Of Light, which was mostly filmed in the Hakka language rather than Mandarin Chinese. “Many Taiwanese people wouldn’t go to see a Hakka-language film, but international audiences are less concerned about the language and more interested in the story and the culture behind the film.”
Yeh, who is also producing Oriental Beauty through Good Image, also talked about some of the challenges facing Taiwan’s film industry, including the growth of micro-dramas, which are competing for audience attention, and lack of support for local films. “We’re all trying to adapt to digital media after the pandemic – streamers have been a big opportunity to take our content global, but we still need to find the right combination of local and international elements.”
Good Image, which was established by Yeh in collaboration with Taiwan’s Green Film Production and Kbro Media, recently secured equity investment from Taiwan Creative Content Agency (TAICCA). Yeh’s credits as a director include hit comedy drama Night Market Hero and San Francisco and Taipei-set series, A Taiwanese Tale Of Two Cities, which was acquired by Netflix.
