European producers could benefit from Asia's pool of diverse talent and resources, its flourishing market, and the presence of co-financing and financial incentives, the speakers underscored

A moment from the panel

On 2 July, the Industry Days of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival hosted a session titled "Bridging the Dragon: Co-producing with Asia and CEE Is Possible," moderated by Deadline editor Diana Lodderhose. The journalist invited on stage Huangdan Zhao, Project Manager Europe, Bridging the Dragon; Erika Lin, Project Manager of Investment and Finance Department, Taiwan Creative Content Agency (TAICCA) and Claire Chang, Project Manager of Global Business Department, TAICCA.

The floor was first given to Zhao, who shared some key trends coming from the "promising East Asian market." She highlighted the figures of the three largest markets, namely China, Japan and South Korea. In 2023, the three countries' box offices respectively generated $7.74 billion, $1.5 billion and $964 million, raking up 1.3 billion admissions, 155.5 million admissions and 125 million admissions. To date, China hosts 86,900 screens, Japan 3,653 and South Korea 4,571.

She also underscored the main trends of the rising South-East Asian market, which is also experiencing significant box office growth, booming streaming platforms and gradually increasing their film incentives. Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia are performing particularly well in terms of production and exhibition.

She later touched on some co-productions between Europe and Asia, including Salli (Taiwan/France), Ennio [+see also:
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Zhao showed some of the film incentives in place, including Singapore's Content Grant - Go Global (worth up to $600,000 for each project), the 30-35% Malaysian cash rebate, the 20% Thai cash rebate on foreign shoots, the Philippines co-production fund (handing out up to $180,000), the new Japanese co-production subsidies and incentives for foreign shoots under the JLOX+ initiative and the recently announced Hong Kong-Europe-Asian Film Collaboration Funding Scheme, aimed to back eight projects each year and handing out grants worth $1.1 million each.

The mic was then handed to Lin, who touched on Pierce [+see also:
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film profile] (a co-production between Singapore, Poland and Taiwan bowing in the Czech gathering's Crystal Globe competition) and delved into TAICCA's activities and its International Co-funding Programme. The scheme can fund up to 49% of the eligible project's overall budget.

Finally, Chang zoomed in on the Taiwan Creative Content Fest, an industry event unfolding from 5-8 November in Taipei and billed as "a key hub and partner for co-production in Asia" as well as "a place to discover and share stories full of potential in Asia." The gathering hosts the largest public pitching sessions in the continent (open to films, series, documentaries, animation and new IPs), along with a dedicated market and a forum focusing on best practices and industry trends.