‘If I hadn’t met Hou Hsiao-hsien, I wouldn’t have chosen to be a director.’
 

POSTED ON 13.10.2025

Taiwanese actress-turned-director Shu Qi, who resides in Hong Kong, shares insight into her inspiration behind Girl, her first foray into filmmaking.

© DR

Girl

The idea emerged during the filming of Hou Hsiao-hsien's Three Times (2005); he was the first to suggest that I try my hand at directing. At first, I thought he was joking. But when he asked me how the script was shaping up during the filming of The Assassin (2015), I realised he was serious. With Girl, I wanted to tell a story that echoed my own and that would be popular. My goal was to question the role parents play and demonstrate the importance of education. I myself grew up in a very violent environment. I wanted to portray that violence and the scar it leaves on a child's heart, which, in my opinion, is even worse than visible wounds.

Hou Hsiao-hsien

If we had to sum up our collaboration in one word, it would be Freedom! This director always gave me minimal instructions about my acting, which was sometimes unnerving, but it also allowed me to feel free. During the filming of Three Times, he observed me a lot and was content to just put me in a situation and say: ‘Live’. I then had to enrich the character in my own way. One day, he said to me, ‘If an actor doesn't perform well, it's never their fault, it’s the director's fault’. That sentence gave me wings.

Love

Hou always asks his crew (the cinematographer, for example) to position themselves in the most discreet corners possible, so when we actors enter the set, we are completely free to immerse ourselves in the space he has created for us. I didn't feel the presence of the camera. 

Three Times

I embodied three very different characters, but they all experienced very painful romantic relationships. After this film, I reassessed my views on love.

Reported by Fanny Bellocq