Daughter's Daughter

Daughter's Daughter
Theatrical poster
Traditional Chinese	女兒的女兒
Directed by	Huang Xi
Screenplay by	Huang Xi
Produced by	Hou Hsiao-hsien Sylvia Chang
Starring	Sylvia Chang Karena Lam Eugenie Liu
Cinematography	Yao Hung-i
Edited by	Liao Ching-sung
Music by	Kay Huang Angu Liang Mukio Chang
Production company	Sun Lok Productions
Distributed by	Andrews Film
Release date	12 September 2024 (2024-09-12) (Toronto International Film Festival)
Running time	126 minutes
Country	Taiwan
Language	Mandarin

Daughter's Daughter (Chinese: 女兒的女兒) is a 2024 Taiwanese drama film directed and written by Huang Xi, marking her second feature after Missing Johnny (2017), and co-produced by Hou Hsiao-hsien and Sylvia Chang. Chang also stars in a lead role, alongside Karena Lam and Eugene Liu, with the film following a recently retired mother (Chang) who loses her daughter (Liu) in an accident and has to make decisions about a frozen embryo her daughter left behind.

The film had its world premiere in competition for the Platform Prize at the 49th Toronto International Film Festival on September 12, 2024, and is scheduled for theatrical release in Taiwan in 2025.

Premise

A 60-year-old mother loses her daughter in a car accident while the daughter is undergoing embryo cryopreservation in the United States, prompting her to travel there to take possession of the embryo and confront another daughter she gave birth to and abandoned as a teenager.

Cast

• Sylvia Chang as Jin "Ai" Aixia, a recently retired mother of two daughters
• Karena Lam as Emma, Ai's daughter whom she gave birth to and abandoned as a teenager
• Eugenie Liu as Fan Zuer, Ai's rebellious daughter she gave birth to in Taiwan years after Emma

Also appearing in the film are Alannah Ong as Shen Yan-hua, Ai's friend and Emma's foster mother; Winston Chao as Johnny, Ai's ex-boyfriend and Emma's biological father; and Tracy Chou as Zhou Jiayi, Zuer's girlfriend.

Production

Development

After producing the romance film Missing Johnny (2017), Huang Xi began developing her second feature film project, with pre-production starting in 2018 and Hou Hsiao-hsien attached as a producer during the early stages. Sylvia Chang, who had previously collaborated with Huang and Hou on the miniseries Twisted Strings (2022), joined the project five years prior to the start of filming. Chang was approached by Hou and immediately agreed to take on the role of lead actress and co-producer after reading the script. The screenplay took five years to develop, a duration Chang attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic, during which she was also involved in fine-tuning the script. During rewrites, Huang initially considered changing the film's setting to be entirely in Taiwan to reduce production costs, but Chang insisted on retaining the overseas scenes and filming in the United States. Huang also sought advice from filmmakers Wang Shaudi and Arthur Chu on the story. In August, Alannah Ong announced that she would be joining the cast. The project eventually won the Excellent Screenplay Award at the 45th Golden Harvest Awards in November 2023, which led to the project being greenlit on the National Development Fund of Taiwan Creative Content Agency. On 5 December, Karena Lam announced that she would be collaborating with Sylvia Chang on a Taiwanese film, which was scheduled to begin shooting at Christmas. Huang was announced as the director in the same month, with Liao Ching-sung, Yao Hung-i, and Hwarng Wern-ying joining as editor, cinematographer, and production designer, respectively.

Filming

Principal photography of the film commenced on 14 December 2023, in Taipei, Taiwan, with Chang and Karena Lam announced in lead roles, although Lam did not participate in the shoot in Taiwan. Filming then moved to New York City, United States, in early 2024, with location shooting took place at the New York City Subway. The shoot was scheduled to wrapped prior to lunar new year, and ultimately concluded in January.

Post-production

On 16 May 2024, the film was presented at the Golden Horse Goes to Cannes section of the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, a new program collaborated by the Golden Horse Awards and Marché du Film with the support of Taiwan's Ministry of Culture. It was in post-production stage at the time of its showcase. Taiwan's Andrews Film secured the international distribution rights against Hong Kong's Edko Films prior to the film's world premiere.

Release

Daughter's Daughter had its world premiere in the Platform Prize program at the 49th Toronto International Film Festival on 12 September 2024, where Chang received a special award and was given an honorable mention from the jury for her performance, marking the first time an individual has been awarded this distinction since the Platform Prize was introduced in 2015. In the awards announcement statement, the jury described the film as "emotionally nuanced and masterfully assembled", and Chang's performance as "exceptional artistry" and an "extremely multilayered portrayal of a conflicted mother". The film is set to be released theatrically in Taiwan in 2025.

Reception

Josh Slater-Williams of IndieWire gave the film a B+ and described Daughter's Daughter as a deeply moving exploration of modern motherhood and complex themes of responsibility, highlighting Huang Xi's "patient storytelling" and Sylvia Chang and Eugenie Liu's "incredibly compelling" performances, which together navigate the blurred lines between selflessness and selfishness in the face of loss and regret. Matthew Joseph Jenner of the International Cinephile Society gave the film 4/5 stars and acknowledged the film as "complex and harrowing, but poetically beautiful", which deftly explores the challenges of motherhood and intergenerational relationships through Sylvia Chang's powerful performance, which together create a poignant portrayal of a woman's journey through grief and healing without resorting to melodrama.

Ulkar Alakbarova of the Alliance of Women Film Journalists praised the film for its profoundly moving exploration of motherhood, grief, and the complexities of legacy, emphasizing Sylvia Chang's character's struggle to navigate the responsibilities of being a guardian to her deceased daughter's embryo while reflecting on the themes of love and sacrifice. Drew Burnett Gregory of queer magazine Autostraddle, however, offered a rather negative review, criticizing the film for using tropes about queer death without appropriate exploration. While it features strong performances from Sylvia Chang and Karena Lam, its overlong runtime, unremarkable craft, and blunt writing make it a mostly unengaging experience, with missed opportunities to portray the life of the missing queer character and her community.

Related work

While producing and starring as a mother in the film, Sylvia Chang collected various thoughts and reflections on parental relationships, which she plans to publish in a book. The book is currently scheduled for release, tentatively titled Daughter.

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Nominee	Result	Ref.
2023	45th Golden Harvest Awards	Excellent Screenplay Award	—	Won

External links

• Daughter's Daughter at IMDb