A Filipino is on top of the upcoming Taiwanese horror anthology miniseries “Ghost Doors.”
Actor, writer, director Vincent Soberano, known for his action-packed films including “The Trigonal: Fight for Justice,” and “Blood Hunters: Rise of the Hybrids,” among many others, is series show runner and lead writer.
This is the first time that a Filipino is to helm a Chinese-language narrative film in Taiwan.
“Ghost Doors” consists of eight ghost stories based on popular Taiwanese and Filipino urban legends, linked together by a common character – a disgraced priest and spiritual gatekeeper.
Each of the episodes will be starring top-ranked Taiwanese and Filipino stars and filmed primarily in Taiwan.
Prior, Vincent has worked on various international film projects in multiple languages, including Jackie Chan’s “Police Story,” filmed in Beijing, China.
However, this will be the first time he is going to steer a Chinese-language series.
Vincent says, “I have to admit, this is the craziest, hardest project I’ve ever done. Overcoming the language barrier in a production like this is definitely a nightmare.”
He does not read or write Chinese, and barely speaks or understands the language but Vince is confident of the project’s success given the concept, the compelling visuals, and the creative team behind the series.
These include co-director Hengyou Jen who is an NYU film student, and assistant director Vincent Teng who has directed several international commercials.
Then there’s director of photography Luke Cameron who is Canadian but lives and works in Taiwan and speaks fluent Mandarin.
The series is financed by a group in Taipei.
The first offering in the series, “Run Over” boasts of a stellar cast led by superstar Harry Lu, who recently starred in the Taiwanese drama film “Reborn” (2022) and the Netflix series “2049” (2021).
He has a large following in Taiwan and Vietnam with 1.4 million fans on Facebook and 644K on Instagram.
Starring opposite him is Sarah Chang, a Taiwanese-American actress best known for her roles in Sony Pictures’ “Accident Man 2” (2022) and Vertical Entertainment’s “Circle of Bones” (2021).
Another cast member is Sean Ben, a 40-year acting veteran who has won several acting, writing and directing awards, and is the acting coach of several A-list actors in Taiwan including Chris Wu (Wu Kang-ren).
Also appearing in the film are: Chen Jun-cheng, well-known for his role as the water ghost in the ongoing PX Mart commercial and in the film “Classmates Minus” (2020); and Paulina Hu, an actress and model who frequently appears on Taiwan’s popular variety shows like “Kangsi Coming” (since 2004).
Principal photography for “Run Over” starts this month.
