By Brian Hu
The city of Taipei recently established a long-overdue film commission, headed by former film producer Jennifer Jao.
Three years ago, producers of the Hollywood blockbuster Mission Impossible III arrived in Taiwan in hopes of securing shooting locations at the skyscraper Taipei 101, then the world's tallest building. The film was turned down by Taipei 101 representatives, not because they didn't want Tom Cruise tumbling around in Taiwan's treasured landmark, but because the planning simply got too complicated. The representatives could only speak for the building itself. The producers would have to separately contact the traffic bureau and police department for use of nearby streets, as well as city and national park services for use of other nearby locations. The producers simply packed up their bags and ended up in Shanghai, creating 2200 jobs for locals there.
"We lost the chance to promote ourselves and we lost the chance to boost our film industry," says Jennifer Jao, director of the new Taipei Film Commission, which was established this January by the Taipei Cultural Foundation to assist foreign filmmakers, and to ensure that another Mission Impossible-sized opportunity doesn't slip by again.
That it took Taipei this long to create such an organization is a surprise given how important film commissions have been in facilitating global co-productions and location shooting. The American Film Market in Los Angeles and the Marche du Film in Cannes are as much showcases of shooting locations as they are places to buy and sell films. There is even the Association of Film Commissioners International, which publishes its own magazine (Locations) and hosts the important AFCI Locations Trade Show every year to help film commissions connect with film producers from around the world. If you're a producer looking for attractive locations, financial incentives, and assistance with casting, facilities, and housing, it makes sense to go to a city with a one-stop office for all of your practical needs.
Asia has dozens of film commissions already, including those in Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Bali, Hong Kong, and Cambodia. Korea alone has seven, and Japan has 16. It's not surprising then that in 2007, the Dark Knight producers took the Batman franchise to hospitable Hong Kong, bringing in unfathomable amounts in revenues. That, along with the MI:3 slip, was the last straw for Taipei. With the establishment of the Taipei Film Commission, Taiwan enters the scene as an active player.
The next step is promotion. In June, the Taipei Film Commission kicked things off locally with a forum featuring internationally acclaimed director Hou Hsiao-hsien, actress Hu Ting Ting who has had bit roles in Bridget Jones: the Edge of Reason and Anthony Minghella's Breaking and Entering, and other industry representatives who have international experience. In addition to debuting a bilingual website (which includes information about locations and incentives), the Taipei Film Commission has its own YouTube site and Flickr page in hopes of spreading the word virally.
More important work lies ahead, specifically in terms of getting the Taipei brand to prospective co-producers around the world. The Taipei Film Commission recently made its official premiere at this October's Busan International Film Commission & Industry Showcase (BIFCOM) and hopes to appear at the all-important Marche du Film in May and the Hong Kong Filmart in March, where European, North American, as well as Asian producers converge and scout out potential filmmaking partners.
In front of the international film community, the Taipei Film Commission is branding itself as a global city, but with traces of traditional Chinese culture. For instance, in the promotional materials handed out at BIFCOM, the Taipei Film Commission bills itself as a "multicultural" city with ultra-modern skyscrapers and dance clubs, but also as the home of "the biggest collection of Chinese art works on earth." Jennifer Jao also points to the fact that one of her primary requirements when hiring staff members for the commission was bilingual ability. The commission now is proficient in English, Japanese, German, and French. Jao recognizes the importance of building multi-lingual services because she acknowledges that the rest of Taiwan -- including local cast and crew -- is not as proficient in English as other nations around the world.
Already, the Taipei Film Commission has attracted international producers. Japanese production Torocco and Monika Treut's German co-production In Between are both commission-assisted pictures. Also of note is the fact that the film commission has assisted many diasporic Chinese filmmakers shoot in Taiwan. Acclaimed Australian director Clara Law recently shot part of her forthcoming Like a Dream in Taipei, as will half-Norwegian director Hakon Liu with Neon Dreams, a Taiwan-Sweden co-production, and California-raised Arvin Chen with First Page Taipei, which has German auteur Wim Wenders attached as executive producer.
Chen, whose Berlin-winning short Mei was also shot in Taipei, sees the Taipei Film Commission's function as not only attracting foreign capital to Taiwan, but also facilitating cultural exchange. "Having worked on co-productions in Taipei before, I think it's extremely important for the local filmmaking culture to gain exposure to outside filmmaking, and vice versa," says Chen. "I'm really happy that there is now a film commission to facilitate and promote such collaborations."
Jao too is excited about the possibility of bringing world film culture to Taiwan. Among her many plans is to produce an online magazine on the commission's official site, which reports to local filmmakers and film lovers about the going-ons of the international film community. "You cannot just see TV news all day," she says, referring to the celebrity-driven Taiwanese media. "As a student or filmmaker, you need to see more than that."
Inspired by booths at the Pusan International Film Festival's festival village, Jao also hopes to facilitate connections between Taiwanese cinema and film education more generally, bringing film schools in touch with what Taipei has to offer their students, as well as creating a culture of film appreciation for filmmakers and audiences.
"But we're restricted by the annual budget," she cautions. "We are searching for private enterprises to help us, and hopefully we can develop a training system and education system, hopefully with universities to help us push off our projects."
In the meantime, the Taipei Film Commission has enough to be excited about, not least because of the dazzling success of the hit film Cape No. 7 which has recently re-invigorated interest in Taiwanese cinema, both at home and in the Asian region. Chung Mong-hong's Parking, which played in the Un Certain Regard section of Cannes this year, opened the Golden Horse Film Festival last week and is set to become the first film commission production to open theatrically when it hits megaplexes later this month.
Published: Friday, November 14, 2008
