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Shu Qi Debuts as Director With Autobiographical Film "Girl"

Drawing on her traumatic 1980s Taipei childhood, the film marks a personal turn for the star who shaped the story over a decade.

Overview

  • The film opened in French cinemas on 5 August 2026, giving audiences the first wide look at Shu Qi’s first feature as a director.
  • Shu Qi spent about ten years writing and revising the project and said seeing the Venice screening made her fully grasp how autobiographical the material was.
  • Set in 1980s Taipei, the drama follows an adolescent girl's escape from a violent, alcoholic household and uses her inner life and imagination as the main viewpoint.
  • Critics praise Shu Qi’s restrained, lyrical mise-en-scène and the film’s emotional clarity while some reviewers note certain characters and narrative elements feel overly heavy.
  • The film runs about two hours and four minutes, stars Bai Xiao-ying, Roy Chiu and Audrey Lin, and is distributed in France by Advitam.