That Burning House

Local title
Leekiv maja
Original title
Shi Le Yuan
Director
Yin-chuan Tsai
Country
Year
2025
Festival
29th Black Nights Film Festival
Programme
Genre

Hurt kids in a Taiwanese children’s home with broken trust. A chance to break the cycle before it destroys them all.

In the Home of Happiness, which cares for abandoned children and orphans, a dedicated social worker tries to save a broken system. A bullied boy clings on to a teddy bear – and to hope. A former resident is caught up in a dangerous scam. As these stories converge, each character must confront past trauma and decide whether to succumb to darkness or fight for a better future.

Award-winning Taiwanese director and scriptwriter Yin-Chuan Tsai creates a raw, emotional journey about survival, connection, and finding light in the darkest of places. She is supported by an amazing cast of incredibly convincing young talents playing the children at the home, as well as superb performances by the adult actors. The film is based on Tsai’s own experiences as a social worker. She explains: “To reflect this vicious cycle, the film intertwines three interlinked stories that echo one another, creating a narrative that is both cohesive and compelling. Through this form, I hope to invite viewers to reflect on the structural problems within our society and on the delicate, often indescribable complexities of human nature.”

Nikolaj Nikitin

Director
Yin-chuan Tsai
Screenwriter
Yin-chuan Tsai
Cast
Jing Hua Tseng, Chun Hao Hung, Ning Ding, Fandy Fan
Producer
Isaac Li, Yifang Lee
Cinematographer
Chen-chih Chan
Production Design
Eitzel Chang
Editing
Hsiang-Dong Chen, Chung-hua Chin
Production
The Movie Bird Films Limited Company
Runtime
Language
Subtitles
Director
Yin-chuan Tsai

Yin-chuan Tsai (1971) is a Taiwanese filmmaker. She studied social work at National Taiwan University. She then moved to studying illustration at the Pratt Institute in New York and got her graduate degree at Kent Institute of Art and Design (now University for the Creative Arts) in the UK. After returning to Taiwan, she worked as an illustrator for books, magazines and newspapers, high school teacher and social worker before starting to write screenplays. Her notable works include "My Dear Stilt" (2012) and "Packages from Daddy" (2016), both of which she wrote, directed, and produced. Her films have been showcased at various international film festivals, including the Hong Kong Asian Film Festival and the LA Femme International Film Festival. Tsai is also the founder of Movie Bird Films, a production company based in New Taipei City, established in 2011.
Filmography:
Where are you? (2011), Hou niao lai de ji jie (Stilt, 2012), Packages from Daddy (2016), That Burning House (2025)

Screenings

Screening110618 / Leekiv maja
SubtitlesEnglish
Q&A duration
Screening duration
Trailer