WME Signs ‘Left-Handed Girl’ Filmmaker Shih-Ching Tsou

EXCLUSIVE: WME has signed Shih-Ching Tsou , the Independent Spirit and Gotham Award-nominated filmmaker behind Netflix’s Left-Handed Girl . One of this season’s best-reviewed international features, Left-Handed Girl follows a single mother and her two daughters struggling to survive on the margins of Taipei. Running a night market food stall, the mother is working to keep her family afloat when a small act of defiance - sparked by the youngest girl’s left-handedness - leads to conflicts at school, pressure from relatives, and a decision that threatens their already unstable life. Left-Handed Girl marks the solo feature directorial debut of Tsou, who co-wrote and produced with Oscar winner Sean Baker. The film world premiered in competition at Cannes Critics’ Week and has since traveled to top-tier festivals including Toronto, Busan, BFI London, Zurich, Chicago, and Vancouver, with additional screenings across Melbourne, Warsaw, Film Fest Ghent, AFI Fest, Montclair, Savannah, Hawaii, Mill Valley, Middleburg, and Virginia. Watch on Deadline Selected as Taiwan’s official submission for Best International Feature for the 2026 Academy Awards, Left-Handed Girl won Best Film in the Progressive Cinema Competition at the Rome Film Festival and earned Tsou Breakthrough Director honors from both the Montclair Film Festival and the Critics Choice Association’s Celebration of AAPI Cinema & Television. The film has also received nine Golden Horse Award nominations, including Best Film, Best New Director, and Best Original Screenplay. Known for her humanism, emotional precision, and commitment to portraying underrepresented communities with honesty and empathy, Tsou aims to bridge cultures and challenges cinematic conventions with her work. She first drew international acclaim as the co-writer, co-director, and co-producer (with Baker) of Take Out , an award-winning 2004 debut that earned a rare 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and established the pair as vital voices in American independent film. She went on to produce Baker’s Starlet (2012), Tangerine (2015), The Florida Project (2017), and Red Rocket (2021) - all of which premiered at major festivals including SXSW, Sundance, Cannes, and Toronto, and earned numerous accolades including multiple Academy Award nominations. In recognition of her distinctive voice and contributions to cross-cultural storytelling, Tsou was named a finalist for the Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise in 2009.

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