The Laundryman（青田街一號）
Country Taiwan
Year 2015
Genre Black Comedy
Format Color / DCP
Runtime 112 min
Status Completed
Release Date Aug. 20, 2015 (Taiwan)
Director LEE Chung
Cast CHANG Hsiao-Chuan, WAN Qian,
SUI Tang, YEO Yann Yann
Festival & Awards
68th Festival del film Locarno – Piazza Grande section
52nd Golden Horse Award – Best New Director, Best Supporting Actor, Best Original Film Song, and Best Sound Effects Nominations
51st Karlovy Vary International Film Festival – Midnight Screenings
31st Warsaw Film Festival – Free Spirit Competition
51st Chicago International Film Festival – After Dark section
28th Helsinki International Film Festival – Genre Benders section
19th Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival – Bucheon Choice: Feature Competition
17th Taipei Film Festival – Official Selection
15th New York Asian Film Festival – Taiwan Cinema Now!
36th Hawaii International Film Festival – Fantastic Asia
10th Vancouver Taiwanese Film Festival – Official Selection
18th Buenos Aires Festival Internacional de Cine Independiente (BAFICI) – Avant-Garde & Genre Competition
34th Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival – Official Selection
26th Singapore International Film Festival – Special Presentation
12th Eurasia International Film Festival – Panorama
12th Atlanta Asian Film Festival – Official Selection
1st London East Asia Film Festival – Competition
The Wave Film Festival (Santa Barbara International Film Festival) – Official Selection
Official Trailer
Synopsis
A laundry shop secretly provides the service other than doing laundry. The beautiful shop owner A-Gu enlists a group of contract killers for hire in the disguise of laundry service. One of these professionals, “No.1, Chingtian Street”, is haunted by the ghosts of his victims. He seeks the help from Lin Hsiang, a psychic introduced by A-Gu. It turns out Lin Hsiang is the only one that can also see the ghosts troubling “No.1, Chingtian Street.” She tries to help him get rid of the ghosts, but the laundry shop hides secrets more than she bargains for. And what “No.1, Chingtian Street” runs from is not the ghosts of others but the ghosts from his past.
Director’s Statement
Always inspired by the dark humor of all the killer films, I find it interesting to tell a story from a killer’s perspective. So the story begins with its protagonist— a killer haunted by his victims’ spirits. Through his journey to get rid of ghost, we see he finds back his humanity piece by piece. Can a monster like him have his peace? That’s the question I like to ask in this film.
Director/ Writer
LEE Chung
One of the most promising novelists and filmmakers in Taiwan, Lee was born in Taipei and did not leave until 2004 when he decided to pursue his passion for filmmaking in Columbia University MFA program where he focused on the skills of storytelling. In 2009 his MFA thesis short “Mochi” was screened in several film festivals, including Slamdance Film Festival, Student Academy award, and Taipei Film Festival. In the following year, “Mochi” won the best short film award along with the best director award in Taiwan’s Golden Harvest Short Film Awards.
FILMOGRAPHY
2009 “Mochi” (short)
Cast
CHANG Hsiao-Chuan as No.1, Chingtian Street
Starting as a model before entering into film and TV industry, Joseph Chang began to gain recognition with his laudable performance in Eternal Summer (2006), which earned him two Golden Horse Awards nominations for the best supporting actor and best new performer.Over the past few years, Chang has worked with renowned filmmakers and has starred in a number of blockbusters movies and TV dramas. Enjoying the mega popularity, he has become one of the heartthrobs in Asian cinema. In 2012, Chang won the best actor award of the 14th Taipei Film Awards with GF*BF. The versatility and emotional fragility he displayed in the film also won him the nomination for the best actor in the 49th Golden Horse Awards.
FILMOGRAPHY
2014 Five Minutes to Tomorrow
2013 Soul
2013 The Stolen Years
2012 GF*BF
2011 10+10
2010 Au Revoir Taipei
2009 Prince of Tear, Pinoy Sunday
2006 Eternal Summer
WAN Qian as Lin Hsiang
Graduated from the renowned Shanghai Theatre Academy, specializing in performance, WAN made her debut in Mi Ling 1949, playing the notable girlfriend “Yang Liu” in 2006. After that, she started to star in many TV series and received acclaim for her performance in the film Threads of Time and Christmas Rose. Her performance in TV series “Raising Children is Hard” won her the Most Popular Stars nomination in Shanghai TV Festival. In 2014, she won the best supporting actress award of the 51st Golden Horse Awards with her memorable performance in Paradise in Service.
FILMOGRAPHY
2014 Paradise in Service
2013 Christmas Rose
2012 Threads of Time
2008 Butterfly Lovers
SUI Tang as A-Gu
Famous model-turned-actress, SUI enjoys high popularity throughout Asia after having starred in a number of widely viewed TV dramas, among which “The Fierce Wife” is the most prominent example. The 2011 TV series helped Sui reach a peak of her career when she got nominated for the best actress award of the 46th Golden Bell Awards. She made her film debut with Make Up (2011) and took part in several blockbuster movies, such as The Fierce Wife and Twa-Tiu-Tiann. She is currently one of the most sought after actresses in Taiwan.
FILMOGRAPHY
2014 Woman Who Flirts
2014 Twa-Tiu-Tiann
2012 Together
2012 The Fierce Wife
2012 When Yesterday Comes
2011 Make Up
YEO Yann Yann as Captain Yang
Active in theater, television and film in both Malaysia and Singapore, Yeo rose to fame when she was crowned Best Supporting Actress at both the 50th Golden Horse Awards in Taiwan and the 56th Asia Pacific Film Festival for Ilo Ilo, winner of Camera d’Or at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival and Best Feature Film at the Golden Horse Awards. Yeo is also a famous bilingual host and has performed in various events and projects.
FILMOGRAPHY
2014 The Bat Night
2013 Ilo Ilo
2011 Petaling Street Warriors
2009 Love Matters
ABLAZE IMAGE / 光在影像 