Companies from Taiwan will be out in force at next week’s Asian Television Forum in Singapore.
Portico Media is a company that produces, sells, and distributes LGBTQ content. It also owns the GagaOOLala streaming site, which has a similar theme. It carries a mix od acquired content, originals, and shows co-produced in partnership with companies from the U.S., Japan and Thailand.
Unlike other parts of Asia, Taiwan’s queer community does not have to remain in the closet for fear of legal sanctions. The only island in the region that allows same-sex marriage is the democratically-run one.
The company’s “Fragrance of the First Flower” premiered as part of the Tokyo International Film Festival’s series showcase and played at the recent Taiwan Content Creative Fest. Now it is part of Portico’s pitch at next week’s ATF.
There is a growing demand in Asia for so-called boys’ love (BL) stories, soft-core gay-themed content that appeals to both sexes and is reputed to strike a particular chord with middle-aged professional women, often referred to as office ladies (OLs).
According to some reports, gay cinema has struggled to find audiences in recent years. Website, Mydramalist claims that the number of LGBTQ and BL series it tracks increased from 71 in 2015 to 257 in 2021.
GagaOOLala’s first year of operation also points to the market having shifted online. “The U.S. is currently our leading market for subscribers, with a continuously upward trend. The list is followed unsurprisingly by Taiwan, Thailand, the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Hong Kong and Singapore,”Variety was informed by a representative from the company.
“Our geographical demographics have shifted to address the growing demand for Asian LGBTQ + BL content in and outside of Asia, as we pivot to become a streaming service that Asian content providers partner with for simultaneous global premieres.” The company is working with Thailand’s local public TV channel MCOT to carry several of its BL series outside the country. GagaOOLala had over 700,000 active users (MAUs) per month, 8 million page views per month, and more than 900,000 apps downloaded as of October 2021.
The commercial viability of Portico’s LGBTQ content was underlined ahead of ATF, by “Fragrance”According to reports, the show is in the process of moving to a third season and three shows. “Light,” “Innocence” “The Immeasurable”Distributors in Japan are reportedly authorized to distribute it. It is “Papa & Daddy”show, which won previously the ContentAsia award “Asia Content Award,” has been licensed to Tencent’s WeTV operations outside mainland China, for streaming in Thailand, Central and South America.
Flash Forward Entertainment will use the ATF to promote its feature film “Moneyboys,”This film premiered in the Un Certain Regard section during the Cannes Film Festival earlier in the year. C.B., an Austrian-Chinese filmmaker, directed the film. Yi, “Moneyboys” depicts the culture clash between China’s urban metropolises and rural villages as seen through the eyes of a young hustler named Fei. He works as a prostitute in the city. He is shocked to discover that his family accepts him for his money but not his homosexuality.
Screenworks Asia, a government-backed Taiwan company that sells Catchplay series, is also pitching at ATF. “The Making of an Ordinary Woman”) and Enjoy TV & Film Broadcasting Corporation (selling Malaysia-Taiwan co-production “Alone”).