Taipei-based production and distribution outfit Studio76 and Singapore’s IFA Media have wrapped production on sports drama Love Punch.
Directed by Hung Zhi-Yi, the TV film was produced with support from Singapore’s Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA), along with co-investments from TWR Entertainment Taiwan and Hong Kong’s Celestial Tiger Entertainment. Delivery is scheduled for the first quarter of 2023.
The film revolves around a woman in her late twenties who rediscovers her talent for boxing after a long hiatus. She unexpectedly meets her former boxing coach and the pair work together to help her reach the final rounds of professional boxing matches.
Wen Chen-Ling, who recently starred in PTS period drama Seqalu: Formosa 1867, and veteran actress Ding Ning head the cast of the film. The two actresses engaged in more than two months of professional boxing training from top coaches to prepare for the film, which involved gaining muscle and losing weight to look more like professional players.
Hung’s debut feature The Scoundrels (2019) received two awards and six nominations at the Taiwan Golden Horse Film Festival, along with two awards at Taipei International Film Festival.
Celestial Tiger Entertainment has acquired exclusive pay-TV rights for the film in 11 Asian markets, including Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Studio76 is handling international rights in all other territories.
Studio76 has produced a slate of award-winning TV movies, most recently Kill For Love, which won best Asian TV movie awards at Singapore’s Asian Academy Creative Awards and the ContentAsia Awards in 2021.
IFA Media’s recent work includes Thai-language drama series Forbidden for HBO Asia, Midnight Asia for Netflix and The World’s Biggest Druglord: Tse Chi Lop for Discovery+.