Girl (2025 film)

Girl
Festival poster
Chinese name
Simplified Chinese女孩
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinNǚhái
Directed byShu Qi
Written byShu Qi
Produced byYeh Jufeng
Starring
CinematographyYu Jing-pin
Edited byWilliam Chang
Music byLim Giong
Production
companies
  • Aranya Pictures
  • CMC Entertainment
  • J.Q. Pictures
  • Mandarin Vision
Release dates
  • 4 September 2025 (2025-09-04) (Venice)
  • 31 October 2025 (2025-10-31) (Taiwan)
Running time
125 minutes
Countries
  • Taiwan
  • China

Girl (Chinese: 女孩, romanized: Nǚhái) is a 2025 coming-of-age drama film written and directed by Shu Qi, in her feature directorial debut. Set in the late 1980s, it follows an introverted girl trying to escape her painful past, and is partly based on Shu's childhood.[1]

The film had its world premiere in the main competition of the 82nd Venice International Film Festival on 4 September 2025, where it was nominated for the Golden Lion.[2]

Plot

1988, in Taiwan, Hsiao-lee grows up in a joyless environment. She leads a quiet and withdrawn life. This changes one day when she meets Li-li. The child, who is around the same age as Hsiao-lee, inspires her with her lively and carefree nature.[3]

As Hsiao-lee's world begins to open up, her mother Chuan's past reappears and she tries to find her way between her family legacy and her desire for a free life.[3]

Cast

Production

Girl is the feature film debut of Taiwanese actress Shu Qi, who is considered one of the country's biggest stars. After 30 years in the film industry, she was encouraged to undertake film-making after she served on the jury of the 80th Venice International Film Festival in 2023, where she enjoyed films made by new directors. She also cited Taiwanese filmmaker Hou Hsiao-hsien as a major influence on Girl; Hou cast Shu Qi in leading roles in his films Millennium Mambo (2001), Three Times (2005) and The Assassin (2015). She has said that Girl would never have been made if not for Hou.[4]

In addition to the two child actresses, Taiwanese actors Roy Chiu and Bai Xiao-Ying as well as singer 9m88 joined the cast of Girl.[5][4] Filming ended in autumn of 2024.[6]

The film was produced by Yeh Jufeng.[3] The companies CMC Entertainment, Wow Momentum, J.Q. Pictures and Aranya Pictures contributed financially to the project.[7] Mandarin Vision holds the sales rights for Asia. Paris-based Goodfellas is handling international sales outside of Asia.[3]

Release

Girl was selected to compete for the Golden Lion at the 82nd Venice International Film Festival,[8] where it had its world premiere on 4 September 2025.[5] It is the first time a Taiwanese production competed for the top prize in Venice since Tsai Ming-liang's Stray Dogs in 2013.

It was presented at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival on 9 September 2025 in Centrepiece section.[9][10] It also competed in the Competition section of the 30th Busan International Film Festival on September 21, 2025, for 'Busan Awards'.[11] It was screened at the Grand Lyon Film Festival on 13 October 2025 as part of screenings of Shu Qi films, an invitee to the festival.[12] The film will serve as the opening film at the 36th Singapore International Film Festival on 26 November 2025.[13]

The film will be released on 31 October 2025 in Taiwan.[14]

Reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 70% of 10 critics' reviews are positive.[15]

Accolades

Award Date of ceremony Category Recipient(s) Result Ref.
Venice Film Festival 6 September 2025 Golden Lion Shu Qi Nominated [5]
Busan International Film Festival 26 September 2025 Busan Award - Best Film Girl Nominated [11]
Busan Award - Best Director Shu Qi Won [16]
Valladolid International Film Festival 1 November 2025 Golden Spike Girl Nominated [17]
Camerimage Film Festival 22 November 2025 Director's Debuts Competition Shu Qi Won
Asia Pacific Screen Awards 27 November 2025 Best Screenplay Shu Qi Nominated [18]

References

  1. ^ Brzeski, Patrick (18 September 2025). "Shu Qi on 'Girl,' Her Darkly Personal Directorial Debut: "Facing Your Pain Is the Best Way to Let It Go"". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 18 October 2025.
  2. ^ "Biennale Cinema 2025 | Nühai (Girl)". La Biennale di Venezia. 15 July 2025. Retrieved 24 August 2025.
  3. ^ a b c d Goodfellow, Melanie (23 July 2025). "Goodfellas Boards Shu Qi's Venice-Selected Directorial Debut 'Girl' As Taiwanese Star Thanks Hou Hsiao-hsien For Support". Deadline. Retrieved 29 July 2025.
  4. ^ a b Hiciano, Lery (24 July 2025). "Shu Qi's 'Girl' shortlisted at Venice Film Festival". Taipei Times. Retrieved 29 July 2025.
  5. ^ a b c "Nühai (Girl)". La Biennale di Venezia. Retrieved 7 August 2025.
  6. ^ Hsieh, Allie (23 July 2025). "舒淇解鎖人生新紀錄！自編自導電影《女孩》入圍威尼斯影展，角逐最高榮譽金獅獎". Elle Taiwan. Retrieved 29 July 2025.
  7. ^ Frater, Patrick (16 September 2024). "Taiwan Acting Superstar Shu Qi Wraps Directorial Debut 'Girl'". Variety. Retrieved 29 July 2025.
  8. ^ Ntim, Zac (22 July 2025). "Venice Film Festival Lineup: Kathryn Bigelow, Guillermo Del Toro, Noah Baumbach & Benny Safdie In Competition". Deadline. Retrieved 7 August 2025.
  9. ^ "Girl". Toronto International Film Festival. 9 September 2025. Retrieved 19 October 2025.
  10. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (5 August 2025). "TIFF Centrepiece Section Counts 55 Titles Including Pics Starring Shailene Woodley, Ethan Hawke, Margaret Qualley, Samara Weaving, Stephen Graham & More". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 19 October 2025.
  11. ^ a b Shackleton, Liz (26 August 2025). "Busan Film Festival Unveils Inaugural Competition Line-Up, Including Ten World Premieres". Deadline. Retrieved 26 August 2025.
  12. ^ "Invitation to Shu Qi: Screenings". Lumière Festival. 13 October 2025. Retrieved 19 October 2025.
  13. ^ Ramachandran, Naman (23 October 2025). "Shu Qi's 'Girl' to Open Singapore Film Festival, Deepa Mehta and Youn Yuh-jung Receive Honors". Variety. Retrieved 27 October 2025.
  14. ^ "Girl". Douban (in Chinese). 22 July 2025. Retrieved 19 October 2025.
  15. ^ "Girl". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 19 October 2025.
  16. ^ Patrick Brzeski (26 September 2025). "Busan Film Festival Winners: Zhang Lu's 'Gloaming in Luomu' Wins Top Prize, Shu Qi Takes Best Director". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 27 September 2025.
  17. ^ "Avance de Seminci: estos son los nombres que competirán por la Espiga de Oro". Cadena SER. 24 July 2025.
  18. ^ Naman Ramachandran (14 October 2025). "'Samsara,' 'It Was Just an Accident,' 'Magellan' Lead Asia Pacific Screen Awards Nominations". Variety. Retrieved 15 October 2025.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.