‘Left-Handed Girl’ Hauls in Nine Nominations at Taipei Golden Horse Awards

TaiwanPlus News

The new film 'Left-Handed Girl' has racked up nine nominations for this year's Golden Horse Awards. Its director, Tsou Shih-ching, sits down with TaiwanPlus to share the process of making her solo directorial debut and what cultural and personal significance the film holds for her.

Transcript

00:00The new film Left-Handed Girl has emerged as the dark horse at this year's Golden Horse Film Festival,

00:15racking up a total of nine nominations.

00:18The director behind The Magic, Zhou Shikin, sits down with Taiwan Plus to talk about the making of her solo directorial debut.

00:24The idea originally came from her grandfather, who scolded her for using her left hand,

00:30a Taiwanese superstition that sees it as the devil's hand.

00:34It's a concept Zhou thinks means more than just the limb himself.

00:38Especially when I grew up in Taiwan, the only thing you have to do is obey the order.

00:46You are not allowed to think, you are not allowed to be an individual.

00:51But for girls and women in Taiwan, Zhou says there are many more of these unwritten rules that society tells them to follow,

00:59such as women needing to get married one day, take care of their husbands, and accept favoritism towards sons over daughters.

01:06She has watched these stories play out in her own family, and has seen how they often pit women against each other.

01:13You know, they will be like talking about, oh, the grandmother treats the other sister better, and they always hold grudges.

01:21It's really funny, like they're all like very, in their 60s, 70s, there's a lot of things unsaid, unspoken,

01:30but you can't challenge it because that's just part of the culture, right?

01:34So a lot of times, I think showing is better than talking about it.

01:41That's why I always say I make this film almost like I'm just trying to make a documentary about Taiwan society.

01:49Through Zhou's eyes, the audience follows three protagonists.

01:52A frustrated mother who surrendered to rules, a rebellious older daughter eager to break free, and a naive younger daughter.

02:00They're all on a journey to find a place where they belong, and to reconcile with their troubled past.

02:07The story had been in the making for more than two decades.

02:10Over the years, Zhou worked with her long-term collaborator and Oscar-winning director Sean Baker, who co-wrote and edited this film.

02:19The two gather inspirations from Zhou's personal life, and their epiphany came one night in Tonghua Night Market in downtown Taipei.

02:26We ran into this little girl with her mom in the night market, so that was, I think that was the point that we feel like,

02:33oh my god, this is a story we want to tell, and this is a real photo-type character.

02:41Every year, I will come back home, and, you know, I'll visit the night market family.

02:46So I kind of, every time I come back, I will get an update, and also I will add, like, stories in there.

02:53He basically just put in his own view when he reacted to the film.

02:58So I think everything, that's why a lot of people think this doesn't look like a Taiwanese movie.

03:06The film premiered at the 2025 Cain Film Festival, and went on to win many international accolades since its release.

03:15But Zhou says premiering it in Taiwan is the most nerve-wracking.

03:18Taiwanese audience is the most difficult, like, it's hard to please, you know, because they are the most critical audience as well,

03:28because this is where they live, you know, this is why they, that's basically their life.

03:34So for them to resonate with it, for them to kind of agree with it, I'm really, really proud.

03:41Left-Handed Girl has been nominated in nine categories, such as Best Picture, Best New Director, and Best Supporting Actors.

03:53While the film awaits the results this weekend, its wider release will likely attract many more viewers worldwide.

04:00Yusin Chen, Sandy Chee, and Irene Lin for Taiwan Plus.

04:03You don't wanna go live?

04:04During that time.

04:05ЬNA MCKOWAN

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