‘Left-Handed Girl’ Director on the Superstition at the Center of Her Oscar-Shortlisted Drama

Set amid the buzz of a Taipei night market, “Left-Handed Girl” marks the solo directorial debut of New York-based Taiwanese filmmaker Shih-Ching Tsou. The film, which was shortlisted this week for the Best International Feature Oscar, focuses on a mother (Janel Tsai) and her two daughters (Shih-Yuan Ma and Nina Ye) as they navigate work, life and family in the busy Taiwanese capital.

Tsou previously co-directed “Take Out” (2008) with Sean Baker, the reigning “Anora” Oscar champ, and produced four of his subsequent features, including “The Florida Project.” The two met more than 20 years ago in film school and Baker is credited as the co-writer and editor on “Left Handed Girl.”

Part of this film focuses on a five-year-old girl named I-Jing, who’s left-handed and told that the left hand “belongs to the devil.” That happened to you when you were younger?  

SHIN-CHING TSOU: Yes, it did. My grandfather always said to me, “Do not use your left hand. It’s the devil’s hand.” He told me that after I had already been “corrected” by my teachers in school to use my right hand. But that stayed in my mind for the longest time and that’s how the idea for this movie started. 

It’s pretty silly, the superstition about left-handedness, isn’t it? 

Yeah, but it is very universal. I mean, after screenings of the film, so many people have told me, “Oh, I was left-handed, I got corrected,” and it’s through all different cultures, different countries, all around the world. That’s been a big surprise for me.

One of the aspects that’s distinguished your producing career is the embrace of non-professional actors and “street casting.” Did you employ that here?

In terms of casting, we just love the fresh face. We love how much realism a non-actor can bring to the film. I wanted to do the same for this, but I live in New York now, so it wasn’t as easy to travel to Taiwan for street casting. So I just went on Instagram and I was typing “Taiwanese girl” or “Taiwanese model.” My husband was like, “Why are you always on Instagram?” And I was like, “Oh, I’m just casting.” That’s how we found Shih-Yuan Ma, who plays the family’s older daughter.

You shot the movie on specially-fitted iPhones but what was it like to film in the bustling night market in Taipei? Was there a small crew?

Yeah, we had a 20-person crew. But even that was too many, because people saw us filming and would stop to watch us. So on the second day, I asked the crew if they could wear regular clothes like they were night market shoppers. That way, the crew could do their work but the market-goers didn’t notice us too much.

You have an Oscar-winning editor on this film: Sean Baker, who was working on cutting it during the last awards season, when he won four Oscars for “Anora,” including the editing trophy. 

It was almost like he took “Left-Handed Girl” with him on his Oscar trip, which was like a blessing for us. As he’s also the co-writer of the script. It was Sean who first thought that this could be a really good idea for a film, back when we met in an editing class at The New School and bonded through a love of world cinema. He knows the story and the characters inside and out, so he was the perfect editor. 

Taiwan has not had an International Feature Oscar nominee since “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” won the award in 2001. How does it feel to be chosen as the submission?

I was surprised and really thankful. I didn’t think we stood a chance, because normally they’ll select an experienced Taiwanese director. I’m an experienced filmmaker but I’d never made a film in Taiwan. And I love that they chose a film that’s seen through a little girl’s point of view. That’s very special for us.

“Left-Handed Girl” is available now on Netflix

This story first ran in the Below-the-Line issue of TheWrap’s awards magazine. Read more from the issue here.

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