Chunghwa Telecom, Taiwan’s largest phones and broadband internet company, unveiled an investment and production slate of two new series and two movies on Tuesday, the first day of the Taiwan Creative Content Fest.
The new titles are part of the giant firm’s effort to build out the creative industries ecosystem and follow a year on from a co-financing deal with Taiwan’s ministry of culture.
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“Chunghwa Telecom is not just a platform and internet service. We need to support the content industry,” said Hu Hsueh-hai, president of consumer products.
Asserting that “content is king, and channels are queen,” Hu explained the company’s three goals for 2025 in the content sector. These are to support high-quality content, support top-quality distribution channels (the company claims 10 million mobile users and 4 million fixed-line broadband households); and to prioritize sound business models. That will involve leveraging tech and data.
Culture minister, Li Yuan joined the Tuesday event after attending the Legislative Yuan earlier in the morning. He stood with Chunghwa and said that the scheme had been approved by legislators in May. The government portion looks likely to be funded by Taiwan’s National Development Fund. “We are 20 years behind South Korea, but aim to catch up,” Li said.
Chunghwa’s slate is headed by “The Fame,” a crime drama series which comprises two seasons of seven episodes each. The three main protagonists are a celebrated actress, her wealthy businessman husband who is kidnapped and a policeman who was the woman’s friend in earlier years but who has become estranged. The narrative in the first season requires the estranged friends to work together to combat a cunning kidnapper. The second season focuses more on their business dealings.
The show is reported to be based on a real-world case from the 1990s. Having counted on additional finance from the Ministry of Culture and Eastern Broadcasting, the show is now in post-production.
Currently in production, drama “Addicted” follows a female protagonist and depicts teenage struggles as it charts the rise of drug use and jailed drug users in Taiwan.
“Trapped in Yellow” is a (formerly Greener Grass Productions) and was previously presented at the Golden Horse Film Project Market. According to Taiwanese rural folklore, figures spotted in yellow coats in the mountainous forests are not human, but ghosts who seek to lead the living astray.
Production is by Hank Tseng Han-hsien and Ivan Chen Shin-chi, both of whom previously worked on another Taiwan horror “The Tag Along.” Directed by first time feature director Tsai Chia-ying, the film’s production was briefly blown off course by the recent typhoon, but is expected to be back on course in time for a 2025 release.
Chunghwa is also behind “Marching Boys” a music-themed drama about three youngsters from an elite high school who attempt to resist the abolition of their marching band. The boys feel a need to fight for what they love, but also to prove to the rest of the world that they are more than simply rich kids being academically crammed and groomed for a privileged life. The picture is being lined up for a theatrical release in summer 2025.
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