Interview with Shih-Ching Tsou, Left-Handed Girl director
by Ava Cahen
A melodrama full of twists and turns, Left-Handed Girl retraces the daily life of a single mother and her two daughters in Taipei, combining the irresistible charm of independent productions and the energy of blockbusters.
Interview with Shih-Ching Tsou
Left-Handed Girl came from a very personal place. I've spent much of my career producing Sean Baker's films, but I always knew I would eventually tell a story that was mine alone. This film is rooted in memories of growing up in Taiwan—specifically the unspoken tensions within a traditional family and the quiet rebellions that often go unnoticed. It took years of observing, feeling, and maturing to shape that into a film. Making it was both an act of remembering and of healing.
The shoot was incredibly intense—but also exhilarating. We shot on location in Taipei's night markets, which meant little control over the environment. That chaos is part of the energy you see in the film. It mirrors the emotional urgency of the characters. I was working with a tight schedule, limited resources, and a small but fiercely dedicated team. Every day felt like a miracle. The tension in the story lived in our process, and that tension brought a rawness that I didn't want to polish away.
Casting the three leads was about finding truth, not just performance. I searched long and hard in Taiwan and on Instagram—not only among professional actors, but also in unconventional spaces. Each actress brought her own lived experience to the role. I was drawn to their emotional depth, their silences, and their eyes. I needed performers who could express generational pain without always saying it out loud, and I'm so proud of what they gave. It's their dedication that made these characters real.
