A Collaborative โขVision: Shih-Ching Tsou and Sean Baker on “Left-handed Girl”
Filmmakers Shih-Chingโ tsou โคand Sean Baker, โknown for theirโฃ community-focusedโข and frequentlyโค enough unconventional approach โขto filmmaking, brought their established methods to their latest project, Left-Handed Girl. the film features a blend of experienced actors and newcomers, a casting strategy the duo has frequently employed.
A key element that โขsparked Tsou’s โinterest in the story was a seemingly simple detail: the protagonist’s left-handedness. “For being โleft-handed, I found that intriguing,”โข Tsou explained.”We saw potential in that, to say howโ would a little six-year-old interpret that in a literal way, and howโค wouldโค that play out? it’s very Little Rascals in a way. There’s a lot of humor that can come from โthat.”
To portray the mother, โคShu-Fen, Tsou โcast Tsai, a celebrated โTaiwanese actress โand model who has twice received โthe โขGolden Bell Award, Taiwan’s equivalent of an emmy. Tsou wasโข initially drawn to Tsai after โhearing her express a desire toโค take on new challenges in a post-acceptance speech interview. “When I heard that, I reached out to her to say we have this script, and it’s something you’ve never โฃacted before: a mother role.โ So she took theโฃ challenge right away.”
The role of I-Jing was filled by Ye, who, despiteโ her young age, alreadyโข possessed three years of commercial actingโ experience. โขTsou noted Ye’s professionalism โขand naturalโ presence, praising her “very natural performance.”โ
The casting of I-Ann proved particularly serendipitous. Tsou discovered Ma, a college student with no prior โacting experience, on Instagram.While acknowledging the risk inherent in casting a first-timer, Baker emphasized Ma’s immediate talent. “As an editor, seeing this footage of Shih-Yuan Ma, youโ would never know she was a first-time actor. Sometimes as an editor with first time actors, you have to manipulate the performance through cutting; not โwith her.โ You could hold on โคa shot forever โwith her. I am so excited to see where herโ career goes, asโ if this is โฃher first film, she’s going to shine.”
Baker lauded Shih-Ching’s casting choices, stating, “Shih-Ching did an amazing job casting this film. We love ensembleโค casts, but we’ve learned over the years that an ensemble cast will only work โif there is not a weak link, and โthere is not a weak link in this โcast.”
To foster a cohesiveโข performance across varying experience levels,Tsouโค adopted aโ hands-off directorial approach,eschewing extensive rehearsals. Rather, she provided the script and encouraged the actors to draw upon their personal experiences. โฃ”I don’t like to over-rehearse actors,” she said, “so in this film I didn’t have any โขrehearsal with them.” She asked the cast “to put in their own life โexperience. They’re allโฃ native taiwanese people from Taiwan, so they all โขhaveโ very similar family dynamics.” The โฃresult, she explained, was a collaborative creation where “they worked together to create โthe film.”
This approach reflectsโข a filmmakingโค method developed over two decades, beginning with their 2000 micro-budget film Take Out, which they largelyโ created โขthemselves for a budget of $3,000.”Take Out was so autonomous,” Baker recalled. “We made the film just the two โof usโฆ So we had to โwear soโ many hats and โคwe โhad to learn so many things.I think that those lessonsโค that โขwe learned have been applied to every film since, and you can โขsee a lot of it play out in Left-Handed Girl.The very fact that we wereโข using iPhones, and Shih-Ching did herโ own casting.Everything has been applied to Left-Handed in such โa wonderful way.”
Tsouโ added that their consistent approach โคinvolves “goingโ to the community and working in โa real location, and also street casting.” This dedication to authenticity and collaboration continues to define their filmmaking style.