Taiwan is set to cement its position as the beating heart of LGBTQ+ cinema in Asia with the launch of the region’s largest LGBTQ+ filmmaking conference on November 24th. The GOL Summit brings together experts in different areas of film production to share their insights and experiences and foster new connections across the region.
The one-day conference, organized by Portico Media, will host panels on film funding, production, distribution and marketing, plus two keynote lectures. “Just look around you and you’ll see LGBTQ+ cinema is going from niche to mainstream” said Jay Lin, CEO of Portico and conference convener. “Taiwan is already making a name for itself as a hub for regional LGBTQ+ cinema with world-famous movies being shot, produced, and distributed from our country. This conference will bring together the region’s greatest LGBTQ+-friendly cinematic minds and kick the industry into overdrive.”
The conference takes place less than a month after Taiwan’s capital, Taipei, hosted Asia’s largest-ever LGBT pride parade, attracting 200,000 marchers from around the region. GOL Summit will be held the day after the world’s largest Chinese-language film awards, the Golden Horse Awards, take place in Taipei and just before the Asiahub New Media Summit.
Lin will kick off the summit with a speech on the position of LGBTQ+ cinema in Asia. Tsao Wen-chieh, President of Taiwan’s Public Television Service, will share how PTS is rejuvenating local content with strategic partnership with global players in another keynote speech. Regional filmmakers including Zero Chou, Chen Ming-lang, and Anusorn Soisa-ngim will discuss how receptive Asia is to LGBTQ+ cinema, while Jennifer Jao, Director at the Taipei Film Commission, and producer Jin Ong will sit on a panel sharing popular LGBTQ+ stories from the year and what is in their pipelines for 2020.
In between sessions, the summit will showcase GagaOOLala and GOL STUDIOS’ recent international co-productions. The event will also include an invite-only reception with more than 100 industry names.
The GOL Summit is supported by the Taipei Film Commission, Taiwan’s Ministry of Culture, and the newly-established Taiwan Creative Content Agency. “What is the present and future of LGBTQ+ content in Asia? What can we all do to shift from invisible to visible, from niche to mainstream? And, most importantly, how do we work together to make this happen? These are the questions we will tackle in Taipei this month,” said Lin.
GOL Summit kicks off at the Howard Plaza Hotel Taipei at 1.30pm on November 24th. Attendance is free but registration is required. More information atgolsummit.com.