Netflix has quietly added a new film that’s been hailed as one of the best of the year.
On Friday (28 November), the streaming service released Left-Handed Girl, a family comedy drama that made waves on its premiere at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival back in May.
The Taiwanese film is written and directed by Shih-Ching Tsou, who regularly collaborates with Sean Baker, the Oscar-winning indie filmmaker whose Anora won Best Picture earlier this year. Baker co-wrote Left-Handed Girl.
Left-Handed Girl has been in the works since Tsou co-directed Take Out with Baker in 2004. It follows a five-year-old girl (Nina Ye) who, along with her sister (Shih-Yuan Ma) and their mother (Janel Tsai), relocates from the serene countryside to bustling Taipei, where they open a noodle shop amid a night market.
The film follows the trio as they adapt to their new environment.
Collider hailed Left-Handed Girl as “one of the best solo directing debuts of the year”, with The Spectator adding that the film is “tender without ever being sentimental”.
Meanwhile, The Times said the film “has a rebellious spirit and sense of mischief”, and identified Ye’s performance as a standout.
Speaking to Netflix about the inspiration behind the film, Tsou said: “Growing up in Taiwan, I often felt confined by tradition and expectations, especially as a girl. I was taught to stay quiet, to follow the rules, to not take up space or draw attention.
“But looking back, I see how those limitations shaped me. They taught me to observe, to listen between the lines, and, most importantly, to give voice to those who couldn’t speak up.
She concluded that “returning to Taiwan to make Left-Handed Girl felt like reconnecting with that quiet version of myself, and finally telling her story out loud”.
To best capture the family’s dynamic, Tsou shunned “formal rehearsals” for something more unique.
“I asked each cast member to bring their most intense family experiences into the characters. I also chose not to overly bond the cast beforehand; sometimes a bit of distance helped preserve the natural tension and kept their interactions feeling more organic.”
Tsou said that “the emotional tension – the love, the frustration, the silence – was exactly what I wanted them to carry into every scene”, adding: “And they did, beautifully.”
Left-Handed Girl is available to stream on Netflix now.
