TCCF 2025: Nine buzz titles from Taiwan

A string of Taiwanese films have been released in recent months that have made an impression both commercially and critically.

Gangster film Gatao: Big Brothers and high-speed train thriller 96 Minutes were neck-and-neck at the box office, each taking more than $6m to become the biggest local films this year to date.

Two acclaimed titles were released on October 31: top actress Shu Qi’s directorial debut Girl, which won the best director prize in Busan’s main competition, and Shih-Ching Tsou’s Left‑Handed Girl, which premiered in Cannes and now represents Taiwan at the Oscars.

While local fare was absent from Lunar New Year, drama Double Happiness is already scheduled for the festive slot in 2026. Here, Screen profiles the latest Taiwanese hot titles, including three works-in-progress — Grandma And Her Ghosts 2: Baby Power, Dangling and Will You Still Be My Friend — from Golden Horse Film Project Promotion.

Before The Bright Days

Dir. Tsao Shih-Han
This feature debut premiered in San Sebastian’s New Directors competition in September and is up for best director at the Golden Horse Awards. Set in 1996, the story follows a teenager who befriends a gang leader while working secretly in a billiard hall, and struggling in school and at home. The cast includes Chen Hsuan-Li, Wu Kang-Ren (Abang Adik) and Hokkien singer/actress Sun Shu-Mei, with Lin Shih-Ken as producer. The film also plays in competition at Marrakech and Sao Paulo and as the closing film of Kaohsiung. Tsao’s shorts A Dream Of Spring and Neko And Flies played at Clermont-Ferrand.
Contact: Maboroshi 

Crown Shyness

Dir. Chang Chun-Yu
This female-focused drama revolves around a woman and her same-sex partner from Thailand. Tensions rise and secrets unravel when the former’s grandmother moves in with the couple. The film had its international premiere at Tokyo and received eight Golden Bell nominations, including best director and best actress (for Han Ning) in the miniseries or television film category. It is backed by Taiwan’s public broadcaster Public Television Service (PTS) and marks the first feature of director Chang, whose 2019 graduation title Unnamed won best short at Taiwan Film Festival in Australia.
Contact: Siera Lai, Public Television Service Foundation 

A Dance With Rainbows

Dir. Lee Yi-Shan
Lee’s directorial feature debut is a motivational drama about a struggling young boxer who uses her inner strength to overcome challenges and redefine her identity. The cast is led by newcomer Lin Yi-Ting, who has secured a best new performer nomination at the upcoming Golden Horse Awards. Further cast includes Tsai Chen-Nan (Gatao: Big Brothers), Yu An-Shun (Coo-Coo 043) and Lotus Wang (Classmates Minus), with veteran filmmaker Ho Ping as producer. Director Lee previously won the Golden Horse best live-action short award for Babes’ Not Alone in 2017. She has also won best editing for a documentary short at the Golden Bell Awards and has produced award-winning short films.
Contact: Flash Forward Entertainment

Dangling

Dir. Chang Jung-Chi
Chang’s latest feature is an action thriller about two window washers and a thrill-seeking influencer who become trapped on a window-­cleaning platform outside a towering skyscraper. The trio are left fighting for their lives after an earthquake causes a power cut. Austin Lin and Wu Kang-ren topline the cast, along with singer/songwriter ØZI (in his film debut), Angela Yuen and Eugenie Liu. Producer Rachel Chen reunites with director Chang after Touch Of The Light, winner of Golden Horse best new director in 2012, and We Are Champions, winner of Taipei Film Awards’ best director in 2020. Chang also co-­directed Netflix series Copycat Killer, which became a global hit.
Contact: Yu Shun-wen, We Are Champions Films 

Double Happiness

Dir. Joseph Chen-Chieh Hsu
Liu Kuan-Ting and Hong Kong’s Jennifer Yu star in this heartfelt and humorous drama about a bride and groom who are forced to orchestrate two weddings on the same day when the latter’s divorced parents insist on hosting their own ceremony separately. Double Happiness has its world premiere at Tokyo ahead of its 2026 Lunar New Year release in Taiwan. The film is produced by Clifford Miu, who is behind acclaimed features American Girl and Yen And Ai-Lee. Director Hsu’s 2020 feature debut Little Big Women played at Busan and Tokyo and was a box-­office hit in Taiwan.
Contact: Splash Pictures 

Grandma And Her Ghosts 2: Baby Power

Dir. Wang Shau-Di
Director Wang, whose 1998 original animated film has become a beloved classic, brings back the grandma character — a medium who can placate ghosts — after a gap of 27 years. This time, a woman and her two-year-old grandson are transported through time into grandma’s childhood during the Japanese occupation of Taiwan. They must find a way to save their loved ones when a vengeful spirit resurfaces. Wang is an industry veteran, with works ranging from film and TV productions to documentaries and stage plays. She founded Farmers’ Joy International in 2021 to spearhead international co-productions.
Contact: Katie Yang, Farmers’ Joy International 

Hold To Death: Hand In Hand

Dir. Alex Wang
First-time feature director Wang blends a cursed-game premise — about a high-school teacher who plays a hand-in-hand game with friends at an engagement party — with inventive Final Destination-style death sequences, creating a story­telling approach rarely attempted in Taiwanese horror films. Two large-scale 3D-modelled setpieces are featured to add a distinctive visual edge, and the soundtrack is composed by Golden Horse winner Lee Ying-Hung. The cast is led by Vera Yen, Charles Tu, Phoebe Lin and Chu Meng-Hsuan. Director Wang has worked his way from the art department to the directing team through years of hands-on filmmaking experience.
Contact: Sula Ku, Wanin International Visual Enterprise 

Sunshine Women’s Choir

Dir. Gavin Lin
Director Lin reunites with his More Than Blue star Ivy Chen and scriptwriter Hermes Lu on this motivational drama that revolves around a group of female inmates who find warmth, hope and redemption through music and singing. The female-led cast is also headed by Taiwan-Japan superstar Judy Ongg in her first Taiwanese film in 47 years, alongside Amber An, May Sun and Chung Hsin-Ling. It marks the first project produced by Lin’s new production company, Star Generation Culture & Entertainment, and will world premiere at Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival. Romantic drama More Than Blue was a pan-Asian breakout hit in 2018, including mainland China.
Contact: Star Generation Culture & Entertainment 

Will You Still Be My Friend

Dir. Lu Po-Shun
Set in rural Yunlin on the west coast of Taiwan, this first feature is a coming-­of-age drama about two 13-year-old boys — one local and one from Singapore. They try to maintain their friendship in secret after their families fall out over investments in a solar farm. Produced by Eric Chou and Su Yu-hao, the project has received an excellent screenplay award and support from Taiwan’s Ministry of Culture and Kaohsiung Film Fund. Director Lu was named best director at the 2017 Taipei Film Awards for debut short Wild Tides. Will You Still Be My Friend is based on his 2021 short When Henge Meets Crescent.
Contact: Eric Chou, InLight Film Studio 

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