7 Jun, 2025
Navigating Grief & Loss with Hsia Jui-Chien in Unexpected Passenger (Jury Award)
By Wei Li Heng
Taiwanese short film Unexpected Passenger, directed by Hsia Jui-Chien (who also goes by Rex), begins at the dark of midnight. A middle-aged taxi driver is visited by a ghostly young passenger, and what starts off as a standard set up to a horror piece evolves into a strikingly powerful exploration of grief and mourning within a Chinese diasporic context.
Spinning a Story from a Single Word
With a runtime of only 11 minutes, Jui-Chien shows his skill as a director in establishing a firm sense of atmosphere and character work, and I was fortunate enough to be able to have a conversation with him in regards to this particular work. The project began as part of a workshop, where he was given a single word: courage.
“So when I think of this theme, I think about what kind of courage can be in my film.” he described, “So I think of maybe the courage to face [a] ghost is one kind, and also to show your love [and say goodbye] to someone you love is also a kind of like courage, for Asian or Chinese culture, especially for father characters.”
Tackling Cultural Taboos on Screen
And Unexpected Passenger is certainly steeped in Asian culture, particularly the myths, rituals, and taboos surrounding death that persist within the Chinese diaspora. Superstition holds that portraying such things on screen “invites” them into your own life, a sentiment that Rex recollects with a smile.
“I think it’s kind of taboo for me to show this kind of thing [in] my films, especially my very first short film.” he explained, “I think this is kind of like our culture. So I want to share it with other audiences, especially from overseas.”
Taking Flight: Going Beyond Film Festivals
And Unexpected Passenger has indeed reached overseas. Having made the local rounds in the 2023 Sundance Asia and Taipei International Golden Short Film Awards, the short has picked up momentum within the Southeast-Asian region, being selected for the 2024 Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival and achieving the esteemed Jury Award from our own CinemaSHORT Asian Short Film Competition 2023. However, a more unorthodox development prompted Rex’s greatest excitement.
“Recently I just [found out] that Unexpected Passenger was screening on aircrafts (the short had been picked up by Cathay Pacific as part of their in-flight entertainment selection), which is like [a] whole new experience for me.” Rex exclaimed with a smile, “I think it’s really cool…I think it’s even cooler than [being put] on Netflix, you know?”
Rex himself has continued to grow in his career as a filmmaker; after Unexpected Passenger, he has since released his first feature film, Killers Never Old (2023), and he disclosed that he is currently in the midst of writing his next project. Still, the experience and reception to Unexpected Passenger continue to affect him to this day, even if he considers the short film itself to have been fully wrapped up.
“I think the most important thing for short films is to..."
“… let [them meet as large an audience as possible],” he reflected as we discussed on how CinemaSHORT has helped in his filmmaking journey, “…you [get] an opportunity to see other creators…and yeah, CinemaSHORT provides this platform for me.”
Watch the trailer of Unexpected Passenger here. If you’d like to enjoy our wide range of Asian short films for free, check out
CinemaWorld on mewatch (available in Singapore).
The CinemaSHORT Competition 2025 is currently open for submissions till 31st July 2025.
Submit your short film now.
