TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Taiwanese actress Shu Qi (舒淇) unveiled her deeply personal directorial debut "Girl" (女孩) at the Venice International Film Festival on Thursday (Sept. 4), drawing from her traumatic childhood with an alcoholic father. The film explores domestic violence, alcoholism, and intergenerational trauma in late 1980s Taipei. Shu Qi spent a decade crafting the screenplay for this emotionally charged project.
Shu Qi told Agence France-Presse that her painful childhood experiences served as the primary motivation for creating the film. The 49-year-old actress acknowledged that while emotional scars from those times are healing, they still cause pain during reflection. Her experience as a juror at the 2023 Venice Film Festival provided the final inspiration to complete the decade-long screenplay project.
The actress initially based the protagonist entirely on herself, though only about a third of the final story mirrors her personal experiences. The film follows Lin Hsiao-li (林小麗), portrayed by Bai Xiao-Ying (白小櫻), a timid girl struggling with threatening, abusive parents. Roy Chiu (邱澤) plays the father, a frustrated mechanic who returns home intoxicated nightly, unleashing his rage on his family.
Upon completing the film, Shu Qi confronted her father, who continues battling alcoholism, saying: "I'm sorry, I put your story on the big screen." The deeply personal project competes among 21 films in the Venice International Film Festival's prestigious main competition. The festival concludes on Saturday. ◼