Golden Horse Award-winning director Wei Te-sheng’s latest film BIG tells the story of six families from different backgrounds, as they navigate the joys and sorrows of life together in a pediatric cancer ward. After initially low box-office receipts, the movie received rave reviews and worldwide praise, breaking the all-time record for private screenings in film history.

Wei Te-sheng finds inspiration amid the pandemic

When the COVID pandemic struck in 2020, Wei Te-sheng, a talented, award-winning director, recalled a documentary he had produced when he was younger. In it, he interviewed a female college student who had undergone an amputation due to bone cancer. The girl’s optimism, as she described the children in the hospital ward, surprised Wei Te-sheng. He asked her if those children ever felt that they wanted to give up on life due to the severe pain.

After a short reflection, the girl said: “I’ve been in and out of the pediatric cancer ward so many times, and I’ve never seen a single child who didn’t want to live.” This answer left him stunned as he realized that the pediatric oncology ward was brimming with vitality. This sparked Wei Te-sheng’s desire to produce a film about pediatric cancer.

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