figure and facts

Figure and Facts

The Book Meets Film Forum, organized by the Taipei Book Fair Foundation (TBFF), had great success at the Hong Kong International Film & TV Market (FILMART). The Busan International Film Festival (BIFF), one of the most important film festivals in Asia, is going to create a platform similar to the TIBF forum at a film festival in October 2012 for Korean publishers and producers, believing that such a platform has great potential. Project Manager Jane Yu at the TBFF is happy to see their project recognized by the BIFF and welcomes the idea of a Korean counterpart of the forum, which would help to create good links between the two industries.
The Book Meets Film Forum co-organized a reception party with the Hong Kong Asia Film Financing Forum (HAF) on March 21st 2012—a networking opportunity in a relaxing atmosphere for filmmakers and publishers from China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Korea and Japan. Hsu Chiu-huang, Vice Minister of Taiwan’s Government Information Office, led representatives from more than 100 TV and film companies to visit Hong Kong for the event. He was happy to see a platform coordinating the TV, film and publishing industries in Taiwan, a step from individual paring-up in the past. He pointed out that a lot of film and TV productions were based on books, and that the forum—the first of its kind in Asia and a great success in Hong Kong—would continue its efforts to facilitate communications between the industries.
The 16 titles recommended in the forum received great attention. One-on-one meetings were set up one after another, with producers looking for partnership with Taiwanese publishers. Excited by the potential of Taiwanese literature works, they had interests in introducing them to different markets. Some were already talking about the possibility of screenplay adaptations, with potential partners including movie companies from Hong Kong and China, who came with funding proposals. Jacob Wong, Director of HAF said, “People in mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan have a great demand for motion pictures, a lot of which are based on written works.” He liked the upbeat mood in the Taiwanese film industry, saying that it was full of hope while filmmakers in the rest of East Asia still felt they were struggling.
Many Taiwanese producers and TV & film companies came to Hong Kong for the FILMART and, unexpectedly, had their first contact with Taiwanese books—through the forum. Yeh Tien-lun, director of Night Market Hero, took the opportunity to arrange talks with several of the publishers. Director Yee Chin-Yen shared his experience with adaptations. The forum is creating cooperation opportunities and reducing communication barriers for the industries at home and abroad.