Left-Handed Girl

Shu-fen, a single mother of two daughters, returns to Taipei after living far from the city for several years, to open a soba stand at a night market. While the three of them seek to adapt to to the urban frenzy and make ends meet, ancient family secrets begin to unravel, especially after the grandfather forbids his left-handed granddaughter from using her "devil hand”.

COMMENTARY
Left-Handed Girl merges the lyrical realism of New Taiwanese Cinema with the emotional immediacy of the finest indie cinema. Through the disarming eyes of I-Jing, barely five years old, the film explores the fragility of family bonds in a society suspended between tradition and modernity, where being left-handed is still considered a mark of the devil.

DIRECTOR'S STATEMENT
This film arises from a personal story that I remember as if it were yesterday: my grandfather once told me never to use the devil’s hand, the left hand. As I was developing the story, I began to collect more stories from friends, relatives and even strangers. One particular twist in the film was inspired by something that happened to a friend, which resonated deeply with me because it was very similar to my own experience. Drawn to the tensions generated within traditional families – the fear of judgment or rejection by society can lead you to bury secrets for years – I decided to incorporate this theme into the film: a family may seem ordinary on the surface, but underneath, often conceals something profound. In Chinese culture, saving face is very important, very specific. You have to show people your best, anything negative must be hidden away. I tried to explain this in the film, while preserving everyone’s perspective.