Following the evening screening on 4/9, the audience applauded for over 8 minutes, encouraging the film crew. Shu Qi stood to thank them, unable to hold back tears. The actress shared that the pressure of directing was far greater than acting. Before the premiere, she was tense, worried someone might directly tell her they disliked the film. She cried because she felt a release of that pressure.
Set in Taiwan in 1988, *Girl* portrays the hardships and losses of East Asian families through the main character Lin Xiao Le (played by Bai Xiao Ying) and her mother. Shu Qi incorporated her own childhood experiences into the film, including domestic violence and the suffocating atmosphere of a poor family.
The film is competing for the Golden Lion, the most prestigious award at the 2025 Venice Film Festival. Shu Qi is the first female Chinese director nominated for this award with her debut film.
Born Lin Li Hui in 1976 into poverty, Shu Qi's family never enjoyed a lavish meal. She recalls her parents' disciplinary methods involving physical punishment. This led to her rebellious nature and frequent running away from home.
At 16, after running away, Shu Qi noticed the significant increase in her mother's gray hair due to worry. She realized her parents genuinely loved her. Compared to the outside world, Shu Qi understood her family cared for her the most. From then on, she stopped running away.
Shu Qi dropped out of high school to earn money for her family and was later discovered by an entertainment company. She began her showbiz career as an amateur model. When a publisher asked her stage name for her first photo shoot, she carefully chose one more "sophisticated" than her birth name and with literary connotations. "Shu Qi" was inspired by the phrase "cam ky thu hoa" (music, chess, calligraphy, and painting). In the early 1990s, she posed for suggestive photos and acted in Category III films (adult films in Hong Kong).
1996 marked a turning point in Shu Qi's career when she played a pornographic actress in *Viva Erotica*, directed by Derek Yee Tung Sing (co-starring Leslie Cheung and Karen Mok). She won Best New Performer and Best Supporting Actress at the Hong Kong Film Awards for this role.
The actress then rose to prominence with films like *City of Glass*, *The Transporter*, *Three Times*, and *The Assassin*.
Nhu Anh (via Sina, Mtime)
