Experiencing Interruptions?

The Child of Light

Yu-lan came to Taipei from southern Taiwan. She has got a successful career as a dancer. When her foster mother gets dementia, she has no choice but to retire and go back home. However, the trial and tribulation of her new life have reminded her of her childhood memories. During an argument with her mother’s foreign caretaker, the cause of her foster brother’s death and the secrets about her biological mother are gradually being revealed...
As a woman of the advanced maternal age, Yu-lan has found herself unexpectedly pregnant with a baby. Following her heart, she has entered the circle of destiny. Departure means coming back, and her starting point is also her finish line. Is birth adjacent to or far away from death? Maybe at last, you’ll see that the shadow you met will be also the light to guide your life.

  • Herb Hsu
    Director
  • Herb Hsu
    Writer
  • Chang Che-lung
    Producer
  • Project Type:
    Feature
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 49 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    April 17, 2021
  • Production Budget:
    100,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    Taiwan
  • Country of Filming:
    Taiwan
  • Language:
    Chinese
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital HD
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Herb Hsu

The director was born in southern Taiwan. She is talented with her own unique qualities as an actress, a director, a playwright and a writer at the same time. She wrote and directed the feature film “Hotel Blackcat”, which was nominated for the FIPRESCI Prize by Hong Kong International Film Festival. In 2014, she was nominated by Golden Bell Awards with another feature film of hers “Approaching”. Other credits include the documentary “Wind Runner”, and the short films “Summer Skirts” and “The Big Day”.
“Wind Runner”, documentary, 2008, subsidized by Government Information Office
Writer and director of “Hotel Blackcat”, feature film, 2010
Writer and director of “Summer Skirts”, short film, 2010
Writer and director of “Approaching”, feature film, 2013
Writer and director of music video of “I Know” sung by Red Wu, 2014
Writer and director of the campaign film for Taipei Arts Festival, 2014
Writer and director of “The Big Day”, short film, 2018

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Director Statement

“Shadows themselves are born of light.”
Excerpted from “The World of Yesterday” by Stefan Zweig

In this aging society, the birth rate is getting lower and the structure of the intellectuals in Taiwan is changing, which make long-term care for old people a challenge for all of us. When we inevitably stagger toward the end of our lives, the mist of our consciousness expands into a larger shadow to cover the dim light of humanity. Can art work as a magnifying glass to make clear the humanity and turn it into the warmest sun to heat up the cold, old souls? Besides giving birth to and raising a child, does the continuation of life in other ways exist in our complex emotional world?