Experiencing Interruptions?

Growing Pains

Growing Pains is a film based on a true story from the director’s past.

Fourteen-year-old Yao is sick of his worn-out shoes, which his father never replace for being too deep in debt. One day, after a confrontation with debt collectors, his father suddenly buys him a pair of expensive sneakers. Little did Yao know, this is the start of a painful tragedy.

  • LIN, Po-Yu
    Director
  • LIN, Po-Yu
    Writer
  • LEE Hsin
    Producer
  • LIU,Shih-Wen
    Key Cast
    "Director of Photography"
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Genres:
    Childhood, Family, Teenager
  • Runtime:
    25 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    January 20, 2020
  • Production Budget:
    50,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    Taiwan
  • Country of Filming:
    Taiwan
  • Language:
    Chinese
  • Shooting Format:
    RED
  • Aspect Ratio:
    2.35
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    Yes - National Taiwan University of Art
  • FIRST International Film Festival
    XINING
    China
    July 26, 2020
    World Premiere
    Official Selection
  • KFF International Short Film Competition
    Kaohsiung
    Taiwan
    October 16, 2020
    Asia
    Official Selection
  • HAWAII International Film Festival

    United States
    November 5, 2020
    North American Premiere
    Official Selection
Director Biography - LIN, Po-Yu

Lin Po-Yu is a freelance filmmaker born in 1990, Taipei, Taiwan, with a master’s degree from the Department of Motion Picture of National Taiwan University of Arts. He has written and directed a number of shorts and commercials. He is especially good at capturing realism in his works, with most of them inspired by everyday life, his films are described as natural, pure, restrained and gentle.

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Director Statement

Growing Pains is a film based on a true story from the director’s past, of which he witnessed his father’s death when he was fourteen. Death has become a lingering shadow as part of his life ever since.
Growing Pains seeks to become a means of support for those who are trapped in a survivor’s guilt after experiencing their loved ones commit suicide.