Animation and character intellectual property businesses became the biggest exhibitor category at the 2026 Taiwan Creative Content Fest, which has concluded in Taipei. Organizer Taiwan Creative Content Agency, or TAICCA, reported 29 exhibitors in the category, compared with 19 in 2025. Overall participation fell from 117 exhibitors to 107, comprising 69 Taiwanese companies and 38 overseas participants. The Pitching program featured 93 projects and stories for industry attendees from 28 countries. Buyer attendance and transaction figures were still being compiled.
Artificial intelligence was central to an opening-day agreement signed on Nov. 6 between TAICCA and Weta FX, the New Zealand visual effects company known for “Avatar” and “The Lord of the Rings.” Their memorandum of understanding seeks to develop Taiwan as an Asian content industry AI hub. Weta will work with Taiwan’s Moonshine Studio, establish a technology platform supporting Taiwanese film and television projects, and provide exchanges and internships for young filmmakers.
Weta chief executive Daniel Seah described a rapid change in studio attitudes. Legal departments had prohibited generative AI on projects early in 2025, but clients were asking about potential savings by the turn of the year. Since the third quarter of 2026, he said, having an AI strategy had become a condition of working with clients. Approaches elsewhere varied: Toei president Yoshimura Fumio said his studio uses generative AI for backgrounds under its own rules, while Blue Spirit chief creative officer Charles Beirnaert said the studio cannot use AI on its Netflix productions.
Regional business opportunities also featured prominently. Taiwan Television Enterprise program planner Grace Chan reported increased Vietnamese buyer participation, following a year when Korean buyers and prospective partners were the largest group. The $35,000 TAICCA × CNC Feature Film Grand Award went to Malaysian feature “Somewhere in the South,” written and directed by Tan Ce Ding and produced by Singaporean filmmaker Anthony Chen. Cinematographer Wayne Lo reported interest among emerging Japanese filmmakers in working with TAICCA to advance projects.
Companies also explored ways to develop stories across formats. Toei is introducing a games label whose first three releases will be original titles, with games intended to become a starting point for new intellectual property. Japanese microdrama app Bump is considering manga and animation adaptations. Although publishing, comics and webtoon exhibitors declined from 12 to five, Mirror Fiction’s “The Three Witches of Shetou” secured both the TAICCA Award: Best Story and the friDay Video Original Story Award.
TAICCA’s audience research supported interest in adaptations. Among viewers of Taiwanese film and television, 40% had also watched Taiwanese screen adaptations. The study identified romance as a promising area for development across comics, popular music and mobile games.
Investment presentations showed another source of support for production. TAICCA’s four joint-venture funds have backed 27 projects, attracting NT$4.9 billion in private capital alongside NT$740 million from the agency, approximately $180 million altogether. Two ventures involve Taiwanese telecom companies. The Chunghwa Digital Cultural and Creative Fund totals NT$1 billion, while Enjoy Entertainment, formed with Far EasTone, invested in 15 projects during its first 10 months.
Enjoy’s slate includes a Taiwanese remake of the Korean series “Our Blues,” scheduled for a global Netflix launch on Dec. 3. Another investment, “The Rope Curse 4: Kuntilanak,” connects several themes from the market. The Taiwan-Indonesia horror collaboration, also backed by Toei, earned NT$80 million, or $2.6 million, at Taiwan’s box office, setting a record for the franchise.
