Taiwanese Thriller "The Sleepless Girl" Seeks Global Partners for Dreamlike Journey

Taiwanese producer Patrick Mao Huang is presenting the psychological thriller "The Sleepless Girl" at the current Tokyo Gap-Financing Market, seeking international partners to co-produce the film that blurs the boundaries between dreams and reality.

The story follows Fan, a Taiwanese man who awakens with no memory except for a compelling urge to find a Japanese girl named Hitomi. When he finally meets her, he is drawn into a chain of surreal events that force them to live on the run. The twist is that Fan discovers he exists only as a figure created inside Hitomi's dream - in her real life, he was her favorite singer who took his own life after being replaced by an AI-generated virtual idol. Now Hitomi lies in a deep coma, refusing to wake up in a world where he no longer exists.

Director François Chang, who is adapting the feature from his own 2017 short film, aims to explore the emotional space where the invisible pain becomes visible. He says the story is about how memory, guilt, and projection shape relationships with those who can no longer be reached. The project has gained momentum over the past two years through participation in major development platforms, including Frontières at Fantasia International Film Festival and the Sundance Asia Pitching Forum.

At the Tokyo Gap-Financing Market, producer Huang hopes to connect with international partners who share the vision for the project and help complete its financing. The team plans to begin principal photography in Japan by late 2026, with a target of a late-2027 world premiere at a major international festival.