When Variety spoke with Taiwanese director Lu Po-Shun in March, he was seeking final financing for his debut feature, “Will You Still Be My Friend,” a coming-of-age drama weaving adolescent friendship with local politics and solar energy development. Now, following its San Sebastián premiere and two Golden Horse nominations, Lu is bringing the film to the Busan International Film Festival – where it is playing in the A Window on Asian Cinema strand – with renewed confidence in its ability to connect with international audiences. Set in Yunlin County on Taiwan’s southwest coast, the film follows two boys whose friendship comes under pressure as adult conflicts divide their community.
It expands on Lu’s short “When Henge Meets Crescent,” part of the public broadcaster PTS’ pandemic anthology “Quarantini.” Developing the short into a feature drew on Lu’s extensive field research in the area where he grew up, allowing him to develop a fuller portrait of local politics. The film has since earned Golden Horse nominations for adapted screenplay and new performer for Jaden Wang. So we chose to make those storylines less explicit, allowing them to emerge more through the changes in the children’s relationship.” Finding the right young actors was another crucial part of that process.
Lu began searching about a year before filming, eventually discovering Wang, a boy of Taiwanese and Italian heritage, through a social media account run by his mother. He contacted her directly. He also lived in Kaohsiung, the south of Taiwan, where we shot half the film.
Everything lined up.” For Lu, directing the young cast meant working with their personalities while helping them understand how their characters differed from themselves. We arranged acting classes, mainly to read the script together and discuss the characters’ motivations – why they say a particular line or make a particular gesture. After that, we let them react to one another and allow the performances to happen naturally.” According to Lu, all four San Sebastián screenings sold out on the first day of ticket sales, and the film remained among the top three during voting for the festival’s youth award.
Its general-audience classification in Taiwan, where it is scheduled to open theatrically on Dec. 4, has given him further encouragement. If that happens, then the cross-cultural connection I hoped the film could make will have been achieved.” Lu was also flattered by a festival website’s introduction linking the film to Taiwan’s New Wave. Hou Hsiao-hsien’s “The Boys From Fengkuei” and François Truffaut’s “The 400 Blows” left a particularly strong impression on Lu during his film-school years.
But I also think filmmakers need to consider these questions: Why am I doing it this way? In what context should the work be read? Does what I’m making have a relationship with Taiwanese films of the past?” On his fourth visit to Busan, Lu is approaching the festival as both director and executive producer.
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