{"id":165483,"date":"2025-12-03T05:09:09","date_gmt":"2025-12-03T05:09:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/165483\/"},"modified":"2025-12-03T05:09:09","modified_gmt":"2025-12-03T05:09:09","slug":"taiwan-movie-left-handed-girl-shot-on-iphones-and-inspired-by-real-night-market-stories","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/165483\/","title":{"rendered":"Taiwan movie Left-Handed Girl shot on iPhones and inspired by real night-market stories"},"content":{"rendered":"

LONDON \u2013 Taiwanese-American film-maker Tsou Shih-ching takes audiences to a bustling Taipei night market in family drama Left-Handed Girl, weaving in personal and collected experiences.<\/p>\n

Chosen to represent Taiwan at the 2026 Oscars, the movie marks her solo directorial debut.<\/p>\n

She co-directed American indie Take Out (2004) with American film-maker and Oscar winner Sean Baker (Anora, 2024) and the two became frequent collaborators. Baker co-wrote, edited and produced Left-Handed Girl, which is showing on Netflix.<\/p>\n

Around two decades in the making, the film stemmed from Tsou\u2019s grandfather telling her off for using her left hand, traditionally believed to be the devil\u2019s hand.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Nina Ye in Left-Handed Girl. <\/p>\n

PHOTO: NETFLIX<\/p>\n

She shared the story with Baker after meeting him at university in New York and they set out to make a movie, finishing a draft script in 2010 and travelling to Taiwan to scout locations. However, the project proved difficult to finance.<\/p>\n

Tsou kept in touch with the night-market vendors over the years and found new inspiration when she became a mother.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d always go back to visit them, getting to know their stories and the life in the night market. It\u2019s like collecting stories and also maturing this whole idea,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

In Left-Handed Girl, a single mother (Janel Tsai) and her two daughters (Ma Shih-yuan and Nina Ye) return to Taipei to open a noodle stand after living in the countryside. Settling into new routines, they face new challenges and past secrets resurface after the younger child is scolded for using her left hand by her conservative grandfather (Akio Chen).<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Nina Ye (left) and Tsou Shih-ching at the 16th Governors Awards held in Hollywood, California, on Nov 16.<\/p>\n

PHOTO: AFP<\/p>\n

The movie is shot on iPhones, the only option for filming in a busy market, said Tsou.<\/p>\n

\u201cI always knew I wanted to shoot in a real night market, but to do that, you have to hide everything because when people see you filming on location, they always want to know who the star is. If you\u2019re using an iPhone, they wouldn\u2019t think that\u2019s a movie,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

The approach also helped show the young protagonist\u2019s perspective on the world around her.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want the audience to see it through this little girl\u2019s eyes. It\u2019s like a sense of wonder,\u201d said Tsou, who juxtapositioned the vibrant scenes with an intergenerational family story. <\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted to keep the whole family dynamic strong. You can see how women survive in this society that\u2019s male-dominated. It\u2019s important to show that dynamic and to have the audience think about their own family.\u201d REUTERS<\/p>\n

Left-Handed Girl is available on Netflix. <\/p>\n

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