Creator of Innocent

I’ve been following LGBTQ film and television for years, and I’ve always dreamed of creating a distinctly Taiwanese BL drama. I hoped to combine the story I wanted to tell with some elements so that the Taiwanese audience would find it familiar and immersive. I also hoped that it would help internationally promote my homeland’s culture and allow foreign viewers an experience of Taiwanese “alley BL”.  

Life is full of stereotypes. “Sit like a lady.” “Boys don’t cry.” “Learning this won’t get you anywhere.” We’ve all heard it before. In our adolescence, a lot of us get labelled “bad kid” or “troublemakers” for not complying with the “established norms”. How many of us forfeited who we truly are, just so we can become the conventional ideology? We should never forget that true evolution begins with confronting our imperfections. Only when we face it and get over it can we discover our best selves. 

“I love you not for who you are, but for who I am with you.” ––– lesson from Edward Scissorhands 

Trekking through the mighty current of life, we often find ourselves taking the forms of which we may disapprove. But it is also possible for us to meet a special soul who brings back who we are. The transience of things makes it difficult to savour everything that we come across, and we often realise how much we have missed only when it’s too late. With the unpredictability of life, a lot of our edges get rubbed out by time. But we must never allow our passions to be rubbed out. Persistence is difficult, so we should always remember to dock at the many harbours we pass by and take a long look at the sceneries that belong only to ourselves.

Drama isn’t good because it is “acted” well. It is good because it is relatable. Seeing fictional characters overcoming the challenges that we face in real life is what moves us, especially when they do it out of love. What I most distinctly remember is the scene in which Wu Zheng comes out to his grandfather. If only everyone can be so honest and forthcoming, then sexual orientations won’t have to be kept secret. What matters to the elder generation should be their children as “people”, instead of their own reputations. This is the energy of the message that I hope to deliver through “Innocent”. 

The first time I heard the theme song, with its conspicuous beats and lyrics, it reminded me of my character Noah’s stubbornness and his unbending look. The drawling style of singing seems to make the two protagonists’ states of mind even more tangible. At the end of the story, they have both found a comfortable balance, much like how the song goes–––“Without you, I’d be even more lonely.” 

I hope that “Innocent” the series would bring a refreshing breeze to the world of BL. Before you learn to love someone, you should first understand yourself. I also hope that the audience would be able to relate to the scenes in the film as if the protagonist would show up the next moment at the entrance of your home’s alley.