DistantNews
Support us
🇹🇼 Taiwan /Culture & Society

Taiwanese film blending spirits and comedy opens Taipei Film Festival

From Liberty Times · () Chinese

Translated from Chinese, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

In-depth Named sources Context piece
  • The supernatural comedy "How Could My Ancestor Be Your Ghost?" opened the 28th Taipei Film Festival.
  • The film blends indigenous culture, supernatural elements, and comedy, following a Japanese pop star's journey in Taiwan.
  • Actors Vivian Hsu and Jasper Liu shared their experiences filming the movie, including Hsu's portrayal of a grandmother and Liu's challenging scenes.

The 28th Taipei Film Festival kicked off with the premiere of the supernatural comedy "How Could My Ancestor Be Your Ghost?" Director Su Ta, along with cast members Mini Kung, Jasper Liu, Sakinu, and special guest Vivian Hsu, attended the opening ceremony, which buzzed with a mix of excitement and absurd humor.

How could my ancestor be your ghost?

— TitleThe title of the film premiering at the Taipei Film Festival.

Director Su Ta, who also wrote and starred in the film, has woven together indigenous culture, supernatural themes, and comedy. The story centers on a Japanese pop star, played by Naomi Watanabe, who comes to Taiwan seeking her roots but becomes entangled in a chaotic world of ancestral spirits and ghosts. The plot escalates into a "supernatural rampage," exploring cross-cultural collisions and familial bloodlines in a bizarre fashion.

Jasper Liu described his collaboration with the indigenous actors as having "strong energy," initially feeling apprehensive about keeping up. He expressed his affinity for nature and indigenous culture, noting how the music and atmosphere on set often moved him. Liu also humorously recounted his first scene with Naomi Watanabe, which involved a "bed scene" that turned out to be about repeatedly helping a drunken Watanabe, with the added challenge of being poked by the antennae in her hairstyle.

energy is very strong

— Jasper LiuLiu described his experience working with the indigenous actors in the film.

Vivian Hsu, who shares Atayal heritage with Mini Kung, plays a grandmother in the film, a role she described as a "terrifying, lighthearted, and humorous journey of finding roots." She embraced the character, undergoing extensive makeup and styling, including freckles and bleached hair, and even went four days without washing her hair to maintain the look. Hsu also shared an amusing anecdote about a child actor who became so immersed in a scene that they threw stones at her.

bed scene

— Jasper LiuLiu humorously described his first scene with co-star Naomi Watanabe.

Hsu also took on the challenge of performing entirely in the Atayal language, calling it extremely difficult. She likened learning the language to "one minute on stage, ten years of practice." She recalled an incident during language class where her mother and her teacher's mother argued over dialect differences. Her final scene, filmed at a waterfall, involved a fall on the rocks, which she noted was "quite dangerous at this age," but she completed all her action sequences. The film, which explores themes of ancestral spirits, culture, and family memory through absurd comedy, is set to be released in September.

I am that 'root'.

— Vivian HsuHsu described her role in the film as embodying the search for roots.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Liberty Times in Chinese. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

More Stories

From Our Blog