Shu Qi Makes North American Directorial Debut with Girl at TIFF《女孩》

Directed and Written by Shu Qi 舒淇
Producer: Yeh Jufeng 葉如芬
Starring: Roy Chiu 邱澤, 9m88, Bai Xiao-Ying 白小櫻, Audrey Lin 林品彤

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Shu Qi and Yeh Jufeng at the Toronto International Film Festival 2025

Photography: Calvin Lee Exclusively for Fête Chinoise

Photography: Calvin Lee Exclusively for Fête Chinoise

Welcome to Toronto! Shu Qi made her North American directorial debut at the premiere of Girl on September 9th afternoon, greeted by an enthusiastic crowd of loyal fans. Producer Yeh Jufeng walked the red carpet with her. Shu Qi shared her wish for the film to empower every girl to boldly embrace who she truly is.

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Synopsis

Taiwan, 1988. Hsiao-lee, a quiet and withdrawn girl, grows up in silent gloom. Her encounter with Li-li, vibrant and carefree, reawakens long-buried dreams. But just as she begins to open up to the world, her mother Chuan’s past resurfaces, echoing her own pain. Caught between inherited sorrow and a longing for freedom, Hsiao-lee must navigate the shadows of a life she never chose.

1988年，基隆港煙塵蔽日，林小麗（白小櫻飾）在迷茫中長大，渴望逃離黑暗。直到遇見無懼眼光、自在生活的李莉莉（林品彤飾），她才第一次看見世界的色彩。

然而，這份嚮往卻觸動了母親阿娟的過往創傷。當年，她也曾憧憬未來，卻被現實困住。女孩與女人，在交錯的命運中互相映照，像一面鏡子照出彼此的傷卻無能為力。

Writer & Director: Shu Qi 舒淇
Producer: Yeh Jufeng 葉如芬
Starring: Roy Chiu 邱澤, 9m88, Bai Xiao-Ying 白小櫻, Audrey Lin 林品彤

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Snippet from Girl

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Director’s Statement

I still remember the summer of 2013, while we were waiting for the lighting setup on The Assassin, I was outside the studio with Director Hou Hsiao-Hsien, chatting and smoking. Out of the blue, he told me I should try directing myself. I hesitated and asked, “Can I?” And he said, “Of course. Write it yourself—start with something you know best, something you really want to say.”

“Out of the blue, he told me I should try directing myself. I hesitated and asked, ‘Can I?’ And he said, ‘Of course. Write it yourself—start with something you know best, something you really want to say.’”

— Shu Qi – Director & Writer, Girl

From that day onward began my nearly ten-year journey of screenwriting—on and off, rewriting, tearing it down, rebuilding it, and then tearing it down again. I once spent a whole year just thinking about the ending, only to dismantle and restructure it again. The process was endless and filled with doubt...

Photography: Steven Yu

Then in 2023, I was invited to serve as a jury member of Venice Film Festival. After watching one beautiful film after another, I suddenly felt a strong impulse—not to overthink anymore and to finish the script for Girl as soon as I could. So after the festival, I didn’t leave Italy. Instead, I stayed in a hotel in Milan and, over the course of more than two weeks, finally completed the screenplay that had been lingering in my mind for ten years.

With the help of many wonderful people in the film industry, I was fortunate to finish filming in the late summer of 2024. And just now, in summer 2025, after many challenges, the film has finally come to life. Of course, as a first-time director, there are inevitably some flaws, but this is a story I deeply wish to share—a story that opens up a conversation about the powerful impact of one’s family of origin, for better or worse.

In the film, whether it’s the mother, Hsiao-lee, Li-li, or even the classmates who briefly pass by, each of them may reflect the frightening realities and shadows that many modern women faced in childhood—traumas that make reconciliation with family or even with oneself impossible, that make starting a family terrifying, or worse, lead one to unconsciously pass on those traumas to their own daughters...

I sincerely hope you will like Girl, a film that has lived in my mind for eleven years.

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