From fantasy, thriller to sci-fi and coming-of-age drama, Taiwan’s pitches had it all. This year again at Annecy International Animation Film Festival, the Taiwan Spotlight presented five projects to a global audience of industry professionals at the Mifa market. The pitches were presented by Taiwan Creative Content Agency, which has also hosted the Taiwan Pavilion at Mifa.
AnimationXpress spoke to the participants of the five projects to learn more about them:
Wacky Tidy Pals
- Format: 3D animated series
- Status: Pre-production
- Credits: Redic Hsu (director), Joy Chiou (producer)
- Company: Mixcode
Synopsis: When a mysterious natural force disrupts the village, four characters embark on playful adventures, solving mysteries through exploration and clever deduction.
During the project’s early research, director Redic Hsu found that tidying up is a major tension between kids and parents. And when the founders of his company MixCode became parents, they realised it was true. “Our goal is to turn conflict into a connection and make tidying a shared adventure,” shared Hsu. “We want Wacky Tidy Pals to be a show that children fall in love, then naturally pick up the underlying messages.”
“Pitching at Mifa opened up some amazing conversations with people from all over the world. The positive feedback we received about Wacky Tidy Pals gave us even more confidence that this show has strong international potential,” he exclaimed.
Puringau
- Format: Animated series
- Status: Post-production
- Credits: Liao Tai-yu (director), Youko Vignau (producer)
- Company: MK Origin Studio
Synopsis: In a time when ancient faiths are fading, a young girl named Akay sets off on a journey to protect the forest and uncover her identity. Gifted with ancestral witchcraft yet feared by those she vows to help, Akay finds herself caught between suspicion and belief. As dark spirits rise and false gods spread, she must learn to confront her own powers—and the shadows within. Rooted in the spiritual myths of Taiwan’s Indigenous peoples, Puringau is a story of nature, courage, and the fragile bond between humankind and the forgotten gods.
Puringau was conceptualised when director Liao Tai-yu met the youngest sorceress of the Paiwan tribe. “I wanted to reframe the image of a witch—not as something dark, but as a figure of cultural depth and resilience,” said Tai-yu.
For Tai-yu and the team, the biggest challenge is balancing creative freedom with cultural respect. “Telling an original story rooted in indigenous heritage takes time, care, and constant dialogue.”
Tai-yu added, “I’ve been coming to Annecy for years, always learning and hoping for a chance like this. Finally pitching on stage was incredibly meaningful. Seeing the positive response to our project made me feel all the hard work over the years has truly paid off.”
Blue Runners
- Format: Animated series
- Status: Post-production
- Credits: Huang Shih-ming (director), Joy Chiou (producer)
- Company: Stepmotion Pictures
Synopsis: After an injury ends her track career, Pin-hua meets Ah-yuan, a boy struggling with depression but eager to run. Their journey together rekindles her love for the sport. Pin-hua forms a running team with Ah-yuan and rival Heng-hui, and they challenge an impossible relay race. As time passes, each faces personal struggles, but they ultimately find strength and healing through running together, learning that even in solitude, they are not alone.
Adapted from the award-winning novel by Chang Ying-min, Blue Runners stems from the director’s personal experiences and the emotional depth of the original novel. “The series aims to share a heartfelt message: when we’re at our lowest, the support and presence of loved ones can be the strength that helps us rise again,” said producer Joy Chiou.
The team is seeking like-minded international partners. “Our biggest challenge is securing financing within a limited timeframe. Blue Runners tells a universal story of healing and growth, and we believe it can deeply resonate with global audiences,” stated Chiou.
Pitching at Annecy Mifa gave the team a platform to connect with global buyers and professionals. “We received encouraging feedback and insightful suggestions that helped us refine the project to better align with international audiences. The experience strengthened our vision and boosted our confidence in moving forward.”
Bliss: Beyond The Edge of Time
- Format: Animated series
- Status: In production
- Credits: Directors – Kevin Geiger, Jade Lien, Yu-shu Liu, Jo-jo Hwang, Liao Wei-chih, Chiu Li-wei; Producers – Feng Wen, Jo-Jo Hwang
- Company: Flash Forward Entertainment
Synopsis: A poignant, unflinching look into the future, where the cold precision of technology collides with the fragile essence of humanity. Five distinct stories unfold — each tracing a different path, yet converging on a singular question: in a future when memories can be erased, identities rewritten, and fate engineered, what remains truly ours? At the edge of civilisation, love lingers in the void, freedom demands its price, and companionship becomes a quiet defiance against oblivion. Science fiction is not merely a vision of what’s to come tomorrow, but a mirror reflecting who we are today.
Bliss: Beyond The Edge of Time is a Taiwanese animated science fiction anthology inspired by the I Ching — an ancient Chinese system of 64 hexagrams that map the shifting forces of the universe, revealed the executive producer Kevin Geiger. “What makes Bliss special is also what makes it challenging: it’s not one voice, it’s six. Six directors from six studios with strong creative voices and varying opinions. There’s never a dull moment,” he said.
Sharing his experience of pitching at Annecy Mifa, he highlighted, “The positive response was a great morale boost as we head into the home stretch of production. We appreciate everyone who packed the room during our pitch session.”
Tag
- Format: Animated series
- Status: In development
- Credits: Erik Lee (director), Erin Huang (producer)
- Company: Go Go Studios
Synopsis: After a motorcycle crash leaves gang youth Tiger in a vegetative state, his soul slips into the Underworld, where a grim fate awaits: being forced back into his paralysed body within seven days. Desperate for escape, he turns to Nana—an experienced proxy in the realm of the dead—and becomes entangled in Tag, a system of spiritual substitution orchestrated by the enigmatic medium Uncle Guang. As the missions grow increasingly brutal, buried truths emerge: Uncle Guang is twisting faith to orchestrate murder, and Nana is, in fact, Tiger’s long-lost mother. Caught between truth and kinship, Tiger makes his choice—to return to the living world, expose the conspiracy, and reclaim a life of his own.
“Tag was inspired by a simple question: What does it mean to live,” noted director Eric Lee. It draws from a Taiwanese ritual of soul substitution, steeped in moral ambiguity. “What drives a ghost to act beyond death—redemption, defiance, love, or the pursuit of freedom? Though set in the afterlife, the story echoes a deeply human truth: to live is to choose,” he added.
In presenting Taiwan’s religious culture in a way that feels both authentic and universal to a global audience, the project poses challenges in “balancing emotional weight—guilt, trauma, redemption—with supernatural elements in the storytelling,” he explained.
At Annecy Mifa, the team was moved by how deeply people connected with Tag—across cultures and languages. “It gave us confidence that while animation offers the most imaginative way to tell this story, Tag could also find life beyond animation—perhaps as a live-action film, comic, or game.”
The Taiwan Spotlight took place on 10 June. Annecy Film Festival was held in Annecy, France from 8 to 14 June 2025.
