“Black Tide Island” producer Roger Cheng joins Janine Stein on ContentAsia On Air to discuss the making of the Taiwan drama, which follows five jailed doctors and intellectuals held at Green Island Prison during the White Terror period (1947-1987). In this episode, Cheng talks about: • The five-year development process, from discovering an archive photograph to funding a period production in a small market • The full-scale prison set rebuilt in Tainan, on a government-funded production location, and why the crew chose practical builds over CGI • Medical and language training for the cast, including Hakka, Taiwanese, Mandarin and Japanese dialogue coaching • The musical elements woven into the series, drawn from real accounts of prisoners who formed a band while incarcerated • Reactions from descendants of former prisoners who visited the set • The interactive online experience built alongside the series, offering a 360-degree view of the prison set • Co-production trends across Taiwan, Korea, Japan and Southeast Asia, and the shift from commissioning models to shared-financing structures • Cheng's production company, Go Inside, and upcoming projects including a telemovie on Taiwanese baseball scouting, expected next spring Black Tide Island was directed by Jim Wang and produced by Hakka TV and Go Inside. Chapters • (00:00) Introduction to Black Tide Island • (01:03) Why this story, personally • (02:33) Five years from idea to screen • (04:05) Handling the politics of the White Terror era • (05:56) Rebuilding Green Island Prison in Tainan • (10:08) Medical training for the cast • (10:28) Music, opera, and the prisoners' band • (13:02) Filming in Hakka, Taiwanese, Mandarin and Japanese • (16:19) The interactive online experience • (18:47) Reactions from descendants of prisoners • (23:43) Co-production and Taiwan's creative freedom • (29:40) Roger Cheng's company, Go Inside, and The ATM Heist Explore the Black Tide Island interactive online experience: https://blacktideisland.tw/en Roger Cheng's earlier documentary, "Inside The Great ATM Heist", is available on CNA's YouTube channel: Part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zId2XwHQAs Part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kk63FhCWtFM