Culture 3 min read By Lauren Baxter
«Somewhere In The South» wins top pitching prize at Taiwan Creative Content Fest
Malaysian feature project «Somewhere In The South» took the top Pitching award at the Taiwan Creative Content Fest, while the Taiwan-Korea musical theater collaboration framework was also signed at the event in Taipei.
Malaysian feature project «Somewhere In The South» has won the top Pitching prize at the Taiwan Creative Content Fest in Taipei, earning the TAICCA x CNC Feature Film Grand Award and a cash prize of $35,000. The film is written and directed by Tan Ce Ding and produced by Edward Lim's Evil Genius Studio in Malaysia. The win places the project among the highlights of this year's festival, which brings together creators, producers and industry partners from across Asia.
The project is co-produced by Giraffe Pictures, the Singapore company led by Anthony Chen. Chen is best known as the director of «Ilo Ilo», which won the Caméra d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival, one of the most prestigious prizes for a debut feature. His involvement as a co-producer adds a regional dimension to the Malaysian project and reflects the cross-border collaboration the pitching platform is designed to encourage.
The festival's pitching awards were presented as part of the event, which is organized by TAICCA and the Taiwan-based CNC. The fest also gave a notable showing to a second project. «Reunion Dinner» took three prizes at the same event, making it one of the most decorated projects in the competition.
Beyond the film awards, the festival produced another notable agreement. TAICCA signed a memorandum of understanding with the Korean Association of Musical Producers, known as KAMP, at the event in Taipei. The agreement aims to expand musical theater co-productions between Taiwan and South Korea, with a broader goal of creating opportunities for musical productions across Asia.
TAICCA is a body backed by Taiwan's Ministry of Culture that promotes Taiwanese creative content both at home and abroad. The musical partnership with KAMP extends that mission into live stage work, an area where Korean producers have built a substantial track record. The memorandum sets out a framework for cooperation, and the first specific projects under the arrangement have not yet been identified.
Several details about the winning film remain unannounced. Financing, production timeline and release plans for «Somewhere In The South» have not been reported, and it is not yet clear when audiences might see the finished feature. The pitching award typically helps projects attract further partners and funding, but how the prize will affect the film's path to completion has not been detailed.
Source: deadline.com
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