Naman Shrestha
Directed by Shih-Ching Tsou, Netflix’s ‘Left-Handed Girl’ acquaints us with a single mother named Shu-Fen and her two young daughters. Having lived in the countryside for several years, the family of three relocates to the heart of the city of Taipei. In order to get by, they open a small food stall in the middle of a bustling night market. Besides making a profit with their new endeavor, all three of them must also adapt to the new environment and maintain unity amongst one another by facing all the challenges that come with living in the city together.
More tensions arise in the life of Shu-Fen’s daughters when their conventional grandfather forbids the youngest daughter, who is left-handed, from using her “devil hand.” The Mandarin drama film features stellar performances from a talented ensemble cast comprising Janel Tsai, Shih-Yuan Ma, Nina Ye, Brando Huang, Akio Chen, and Xin-Yan Chao. Through the contrasting settings of the countryside, where the family resided, and the hustle and bustle of the city, the trio’s resilience and unity are tested.
Left-Handed Girl Filming Locations
‘Left-Handed Girl’ was reportedly shot entirely on location in Taiwan, particularly in and around Taipei. As per reports, principal photography for the drama film took place in the summer of 2022, around the month of July. Interestingly, a majority of the movie was shot on an iPhone.
Taipei, Taiwan
All the pivotal sequences for ‘Left-Handed Girl’ were lensed in the capital of Taiwan — Taipei, officially known as Taipei City. The production team reportedly set up camp at the real-life Tonghua Night Market, also known as the Linjiang Street Night Market, to tape several scenes set at the buzzing night market where Shu-Fen sets up her shop. However, shooting on location at the market came with several challenges. During a conversation with Deadline, the filmmaker Shih-Ching Tsou explained, “We couldn’t block off anything. We’d have had to block off 10 stands to do that, but we didn’t have that kind of budget. We only rented one noodle stand on the corner, hoping we’d be able to get through the shoot without any problems.”
Tsou revealed that it took them about a month to obtain permission from the stand owner to use that stand for shooting purposes. “…and we had to talk to all the neighbors, because they were worried about how it might affect their business too,” she added. They kept the number of people taping those scenes to a minimum so as not to attract any unwanted attention. Tsou recounted, “At one point, our actress was on the noodle stand, and we were working on a scene, when a passerby came up to the stand and tried to order noodles from her.” Since the makers used the iPhone to shoot the film, they managed to capture the essence of the markets more accurately.
In an interview at the Middleburg Film Festival, the director explained, “We never, ever controlled anything. We let people walk around; we let people go through our frame because we wanted that authentic feeling of the vibe of the night market. And all the extras, they’re all real people in the night market.” She revealed that she had lengthy meetings with the cinematographers in order to be on the same page during the shooting process. She added, “We had to stay low angle, especially in the night market when she’s running around. We wanted the audience to see everything through her eyes and through her angle, to keep a very immersive kind of feeling. We also did a lot with the color in post.”
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