After nearly three decades as one of Asia’s most recognizable screen performers, Shu Qi has stepped behind the camera for “Girl,” her directorial debut that world premieres in competition at the 82nd Venice Film Festival, followed by a Centrepiece slot at the Toronto Intl. Film Festival. Set in Taiwan in 1988, the deeply personal drama follows Hsiao-lee, a withdrawn girl who finds hope through friendship with the spirited Li-li, even as her mother’s past echoes her own pain. The film stars Roy Chiu, jazz singer 9m88 and newcomer Bai Xiao-Ying.
The project began over a decade ago when director Hou Hsiao-hsien suggested Qi try directing. What followed was an intensive screenwriting process that saw multiple rewrites and complete restructuring before Qi finally completed the script in a Milan hotel after serving on the Venice jury in 2023.
You’ve spoken about Hou Hsiao-hsien encouraging you to direct back in 2013. What finally convinced you — more than a decade later — that it was time to make “Girl”?
Shu Qi: The idea of making “Girl” came around some day in 2011 when I was chatting with director Hou about some doubts about acting. He suddenly said to me, “Do you want to be a director?” I was shocked. I thought, how could this be possible? He said, “How would you know if you don’t try?” So this idea took root in my mind.
In the summer of 2013, during the filming of “The Assassin,” director Hou and I were smoking and chatting while waiting for the lighting. All of a sudden he asked me if I was ready to be a director. I didn’t expect that he would still remember this matter. With a great doubt in my mind I asked seriously, “Do you really think I can do it?” He said, “Yes! What’s wrong with that? You can write it yourself. Start with what you want to say most.”
After that day, I began the script writing journey for more than 10 years; intermittently, overturned, restructured, overturned, pondering for an ending for a whole year and then overturned and reorganized over and over. Every time director Hou saw me, he would ask about how my writing was going. Many of his ideas have always influenced me. He would talk about Hemingway’s iceberg theory, that the story of a film is often the tip of the iceberg above water, so you have to explore the exposed part of the iceberg. When the bottom layer under the iceberg is accurate enough, the part above water can cause shock, with refraction of different scenery on different sides.
In 2023, I attended the Venice Film Festival as a jury. Seeing one masterpiece after another, I suddenly felt an urge to stop wavering and finish writing the script as soon as possible. So, after my jury duty, I decided to stay in Italy. I spent over two weeks in a hotel in Milan and finally completed the script that I had been intermittently working on for 10 years.
How did that long gestation shape the emotional core of the story?
I think it was back in 2009 when I was standing in the streets of New York and suddenly had an idea. I didn’t want to leave where I was, so I asked my friend to fetch my laptop for me. I then sat in a coffee shop, fearing that the idea would vanish, and finally finished writing the ending that had bothered me for a really long time. When I was back in Hong Kong, I immediately showed it to William Chang Suk-Ping (film editor), hoping that he would provide some feedback. Afterwards, I started struggling again, but not for long. I sorted it out and found my own logic. I turned it into an event that took place in 24 hours. I was thinking and writing, typing faster and faster. Then again, I realized that the underlying story couldn’t break above the water surface. So, I overthrew everything and returned to zero. I put the story on hold for a few years until one day, I felt that I didn’t want to mislead and obscure the facts. Although this story took place when I was little, I didn’t want it to be taken for granted. So, I figured it out, pointing the story to the fate between a mother and a daughter. Then, it all worked out.
How did being immersed in world cinema as a Venice juror influence your final draft?
Serving on the Venice jury was indeed a great push for me to decide on becoming a director. The atmosphere of the jury that year was great, and the discussion was also very intense; but I suddenly found that if I didn’t start working on my film, maybe it would not be happening anymore. After the Venice Film Festival, I had a job in Milan that would take place in 15 days. I decided not to go back to Hong Kong and drove directly to Milan. In a hotel room with a balcony, I arranged my own time every day. I committed to working on my computer on the balcony right after breakfast until 4 p.m. Whether I was inspired or not, I had to sit there after breakfast until four or five p.m. before I could leave that chair on the balcony. During those 13 days, I finished fixing the final script in one vigorous effort, two days early. I finally made it!
What drew you to this particular story, and why did you feel it was the right one to mark your directorial debut?
Like I mentioned earlier, without director Hou’s encouraging words, I would never had the slightest idea and drive to become a director myself. When I felt confused, he guided me, helping me write about what I was familiar with. Whether it was the places, the stories, or my life, I began with what I knew best: my experiences of growth.
“Girl” explores how family trauma can echo across generations. How much of that theme comes from personal observation versus artistic interpretation?
This story is based on my personal experiences, set against the backdrop of my family life. When I was a child, the economy was booming, and construction was everywhere. Cities were gray and dusty. Most parents worked hard for a living, and everything was new and not as advanced as it is now. We all started anew, ready to move towards a better future.
Because it was my first time as a director, I just wanted to interpret my film in the simplest, most honest and pure way. The audience can immerse themselves in the same space of “Girl” and the plain expression of life that leads to the conflicts and the tensions between the man and the woman, and between the mother and the daughter.
The film includes several scenes of domestic abuse. How did you approach depicting that reality in a way that felt both truthful and respectful to the subject matter?
Because it is true. When I was little, I was beaten inexplicably, and I did not know what I had done wrong. My father was roaring drunk as he came home. So I used the simplest and most direct way to depict the scenes where the man beats the woman.
But for the girl Hsiao-lee, I don’t want that her father would beat her up, and I don’t want the actors to have a trauma, so I adapted by creating surroundings, the sound of dogs barking in the dark alleys, the sound of motorcycles returning home and parking, the loud sound of the key on her father’s waist when going up the stairs, and dragging into the house, with a drunken pace and a muttering voice, the girl hiding in the closet while feeling all of it, listening to the danger slowly approaching her step by step. This fear in the darkness slowly caused the girl’s heart to beat faster, and the shadow that covered her could not be erased. Just like the girl, the audience would sink in the fear of the sounds, unable to breathe.
As one of Asia’s most recognizable screen performers, what was the biggest adjustment stepping behind the camera for the first time?
The biggest challenge is that I don’t have enough time! Because the scenes spread all over Keelung in the north [of Taiwan] and Taichung in the central [region of Taiwan], we spent almost half of the time in traffic. So we didn’t really have a long time for filming, which made me really anxious. After I wrapped “Girl,” I went to film for Bi Gan’s “Resurrection.” I had to wait hours and hours for my turn everyday, and the producer would come to me and say, “Excuse me, miss, but we will probably run overtime today.” My first reaction was, “Sure!” Because when I become a director, I can relate even more to the creative difficulties directors face.
You’ve worked with several master directors. Were there specific lessons from those collaborations that informed your directorial style?
I consider myself extremely lucky to have worked with many brilliant directors on nearly 90 films since I was in the film industry. Regardless of the directors’ different styles, I have learned a lot from them and nurtured myself. So when I encountered difficulties and obstacles in filming “Girl,” I could solve them and adapt very quickly. Adaptability is what I have learned from those directors. As for style, I chose a more immersive method for this film. But I’m not sure if I will use the same way in the next film. It depends on what kind of story I want to tell and how to tell it.
Casting 9m88, Roy Chiu and Bai Xiao-Ying brings together very different artistic backgrounds. What was your approach to guiding them into the world of “Girl?”
9m88 [Tang Yu-Chi] is a jazz singer and a very free-spirited, very talented woman. I think making this film put a lot more pressure on her, because the times she lives now are entirely different than what I filmed. So it was particularly a great challenge for her to be in the atmosphere of the 1980s. I often had to pull her back and reminded her that she was not a woman in the 21st century and therefore could not be free as a bird and choose her life direction. [Her character] did not finish school, and she was abandoned by her mother and despised by her father. So she was forced to leave home when she was just a kid. She had to find a shelter and had to stay with man so she could survive. I had to remind her all the time for her to embrace the essence of that world.
Roy Chiu is a very charismatic veteran actor and I felt at ease about him. After reading the script, he had his own ideas of immersing himself into the role. He knew how to express the man’s attitude and his way of life. And his mindset were very much attuned to mine. So it was very easy working with him.
Bai Xiao-Ying is a young actress of a new generation with a lot of potential. She had a particularly strong empathy. In the middle of filming, I rarely needed to direct her. She had entirely immersed herself into the role. So the production was extremely lucky to have her play Hsiao-lee.
The fact that the times of the film are totally different did not affect the actors’ performances at all.
The film is set in Taiwan in 1988, a period of economic optimism but also lingering social shadows. Why was that moment in time important for the story you wanted to tell?
Because this is my childhood trauma. That kind of childhood has created all kinds of problems and obstacles at the psychological level. But I am lucky, because I know how to fight back. Although my life after leaving home at the age of 15 was very difficult, fortunately, I am basically outgoing and unwilling to give up, and I am able to overcome difficulties. Now I am happy and grateful for what I have, but that doesn’t mean that the scars since my childhood will vanish. Those dark days have almost become invisible scars. Whenever they emerge, the creepy physical reactions through my whole body are so uncomfortable. If it gets serious, I would spiral into darkness. The background of the times is just an expression of the story. When the film was finished, I found that a story like this would take place in any era and in any family. So I hope that whoever comes to see the film would reconcile with themselves and their parents. For the audiences who are parents, if they are like the characters in the film, perhaps they would change the way they get along with their children, or they would wake up and reflect, so that the children in such an environment would get the love from their parents. I believe it is not that parents do not love their children; they just don’t know how to educate them. Perhaps they have their own difficulties or traumas. So I hope this film can save and relieve people in dire straits.
After this debut, do you see yourself balancing acting and directing, or has filmmaking opened up a new primary focus for you?
This is just my first feature film as a director. I always joke that I am a new veteran director, so I can’t say if I will have a new focus in the future. First and foremost, I hope this movie is a success and well-received by the public. Once I have a second film to shoot, I will consider a new focus.
For me, acting and directing don’t need to be balanced; they are two different professions, after all. I can only say that I am fortunate to have been an actor before, so as a new director making my first feature film, I hope I have taken less detours.
What are you working on next — both behind the camera and in front of it?
I don’t have any plans. I’ll just figure things out as usual. Right now, I just want to finish the busy work on hand as soon as possible and then relax and do nothing for a month. I’ll play hard and have a great vacation!
