Taiwan's 'Left-Handed Girl' shot on iPhones and inspired by real stories

LONDON: Filmmaker Shih-Ching Tsou takes audiences to a bustling Taipei night market in family drama “Left-Handed Girl”, weaving in personal and “collected” experiences.

Chosen to represent Taiwan at the 2026 Oscars, the movie marks Tsou’s solo directorial debut.

She co-directed 2004’s “Take Out” with Oscar winner Sean Baker and the two became frequent collaborators. The “Anora” filmmaker co-wrote, edited and produced “Left-handed Girl”.

Around two decades in the making, “Left-Handed Girl” stemmed from her grandfather telling Tsou off for using her left hand, traditionally believed to be the devil’s hand.

Tsou 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, but the project proved difficult to finance.

Tsou kept in touch with the night market vendors over the years and found new inspiration when she became a mother.

“I’d always go back to visit them, getting to know their stories and the life in the night market… it’s like collecting stories and also maturing this whole idea,” she said.

TAIPEI NOODLE STAND

In “Left-Handed Girl”, a single mother and her two daughters 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 youngest child is scolded for using her left hand by her conservative grandfather.

The movie is shot on iPhones, the only option for filming in a busy market, said Tsou.

“I 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 is the star. If you’re using an iPhone…they wouldn’t think that’s a movie,” said Tsou.

The approach also helped show the young protagonist’s perspective on the world around her.

“We want the audience to see it through this little girl’s eyes. It’s like a sense of wonder,” said Tsou, who juxtapositioned the vibrant scenes with an intergenerational family story.

I wanted to keep the whole family dynamic really strong. You can see how women survive in this society that’s male-dominated,” said Tsou. “It’s really important to show that dynamic and to have the audience think about their own family.”

“Left-Handed Girl” premieres on Netflix on Friday.