Reflecting the new commercial sensibility amongst Taiwan's young filmmakers, production starts October 7 on a film that it described as Taiwan's first ever teenage gay comedy.
Formula 17, produced by start-up production company Three Dots Entertainment, is a light-hearted fable about a gay 17-year-old boy who moves to Taipei for the summer in search of first love.
"Unlike most Asian films dealing with gay subject matter, Formula 17 is a comedy where every single character is male, gay and happy about it. There is no emotional baggage and no turmoil," says Three Dots co-founder Michelle Yeh.
DJ Chen, who drew notice for her short films Sorry Spy and The Lost R5411 at last year's Golden Horse Film Festival and Taipei Film Festival, will direct the film. The script is by budding screenwriter Rady Fu who approached Yeh with the project.
The ensemble cast includes Taiwan's Tony Yo-Nin Yang, who recently starred in Taiwanese TV drama Crystal Boys, and Hong Kong actor and model Duncan Lai.
Yeh launched Three Dots, with former film industry colleague Aileen Yi, with the aim of making genre movies rather than the director-driven product that Taiwan is renowned for. Formula 17, the company's first film, is a low-budget production which is mostly financed by private equity.
"Most Taiwanese directors receive government funding, but local films rarely make a return at the box office," says Yeh. "We want to establish a system where there is investment and return. If we can do that on a low-budget picture, it will help us when we approach financial institutions in the future."
Formula 17 is scheduled to shoot until mid-November. Three Dots is working with Taiwanese studio Central Motion Picture Corp on post-production of the film.
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