The Extra's Journey
臨演人生
Taiwan｜2025｜DOCUMENTARY
Length | 90 minutes
Present by La Su-Shi Film Studio
DIRECTOR: Hsin Yu WU (伍心瑜)
PRODUCER: Jerome Yichieh WANG (王奕傑 )
2023 Festival International du Film Indépendant de Bruxelles
2023 Kingston International Film Festival
Synopsis
Unseen on screen, unforgettable in life — the moving story of three background actors pursuing their dreams under the spotlight of an unforgiving industry.
Would you still chase a dream if no one believed in it—even you?
In the flickering shadow of the spotlight, a group of background actors struggle between reality and ideals, their stories echoing the quiet resilience of those who dream without applause.
Ke-Han, nearing thirty, doesn’t look the part of a leading man, but he trains relentlessly, dreaming of one day sharing the screen with martial arts icon Donnie Yen. His journey is marked by persistence, humility, and the unshakable desire to be seen.
Queenie, a young woman from a small town, juggles life as a beauty clinic nurse and a background actress. Though the path is harsh and often demands uncomfortable compromises, she clings to her hope of becoming a professional performer.
This poetic documentary gently follows Taiwanese extras from different generations and backgrounds—those whose names don’t appear in credits, yet whose lives are rich with unspoken struggle and quiet ambition. For them, family is both sanctuary and burden; love often arrives wrapped in worry.
Through six years of intimate observation, director Wu Hsin-Yu captures their world with humor, tenderness, and remarkable authenticity. The result is a moving portrait of those living on the margins of cinema, chasing dreams that flicker like film—fragile, fleeting, but fiercely alive.
如果你有一個遙不可及的夢想，你會願意付出多少努力去實踐？
張可韓是為立志當演員的青年，雖然他並沒有一般既定印象中的明星外貌，但仍夢想有天能與甄子丹一起同框拍戲。為了生計他會接下各類關於表演的工作，也開始做起臨時演員。對演員懷抱夢想的他，決定前往中國影視產業工作，希望未來能有更多發展機會，同時進劇組的日子也成為了他不被禁錮在家中的最佳理由，但面對工作中的文化差異，則成為了另一個難題。而從高雄北上打拼的孟婕與19歲時即身為人父的龍哥，他們不同的背景與經歷亦反映了性別與年齡在影視業界中的限制，他們同時除了在尋求翻身的機會外，還得在經濟與家庭、現實與理想之間掙扎與平衡。
影視產業是一個神秘的職業，若是剛入行，低薪、工時長、未知的工作機會，這些不確定性都是必然要面臨的問題，對於最基層的表演者「臨時演員」們來說更是艱難，但總有一群人堅持著守著這個職業。
本片記錄當代三位不同故事背景的臨時演員，他們背景不同、年齡不同，但共同的在追逐一個未知的夢想。
