Sean Baker appears at Taiwan Cinema Night at Cannes Film Festival

Cannes, France, May 16 (CNA) Oscar-winning director Sean Baker attended Taiwan Cinema Night at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival on Thursday to support a Taiwanese film he contributed to.

Baker, who won four Academy Awards for "Anora" in 2024, was part of a packed house at the premiere of "Left-Handed Girl" (左撇子女孩), which he co-wrote with the film's Taiwanese director, Tsou Shih-ching (鄒時擎).

He has collaborated with Tsou several times since her first film, "Take Out," a 2004 production that she co-directed with Baker.

Although he did not take part in the filming of "Left-Handed Girl," Baker said he was amazed by what Taiwanese filmmakers had achieved and called it an honor to work with the team.

"Left-Handed Girl," Tsou's first solo-directed feature, centers on a family of three women living in a Taipei night market, led by a single mother, and explores their struggles and conflicts.

In an official interview released by the festival, Tsou said each of the three characters represents "a fragment of myself," revealing that the idea for "Left-Handed Girl" predated her 2004 debut.

The inspiration for the title came from a remark by her grandfather: "Left hand is the devil's hand and you're not supposed to use it." Tsou and Baker decided to develop a script in Taiwan based on that idea, but due to a lack of funding, the project was shelved.

Tsou described the film's eventual release as "a long-time coming."

The film was selected for the festival's Critics' Week section, standing out among 1,000 submissions from 102 countries. It will be screened five times during the event.

Over 100 guests attended Taiwan Cinema Night, including Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda, actor Lily Franky, and Taiwanese model-turned-actress Lin Chi-ling (林志玲).

In addition to Tsou's film, Taiwanese titles including "Yi Yi" (一一) by the late Edward Yang (楊德昌), "96 Minutes" (96分鐘), and "Gravity, Movement" (重_力) are also being screened at the French film festival, which runs until May 24.