Euthanasia Drama ‘Good Death’ Begins Taiwan Production (EXCLUSIVE)

Principal photography has commenced in Taiwan for “Good Death,” a tri-national co-production bringing together creative talent from Japan, Taiwan and Poland.

The near-future drama, which explores the legalization of euthanasia, has additional lensing planned for Japan and Poland later in the year.

Polish actor Eliza Rycembel, known for her role in “Corpus Christi,” stars alongside Taiwanese box office draw Yo Yang, whose 2025 horror film “Mudborn” broke records across Taiwan and Southeast Asia. Veteran actor Elaine Jin, celebrated for her collaborations with auteur Edward Yang on “Yi Yi” and “A Brighter Summer Day,” rounds out the principal cast.

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The ensemble also features Chen Shu-Fang (“Little Big Women”), Han Wu and Polish actors Magdalena Lamparska, Ewa Skibińska and Andrzej Chyra.

Berlin Film Festival veteran Atsushi Funahashi (“Nuclear Nation,” “Cold Bloom”) directs from a screenplay he co-wrote with Filip Kasperaszek and Jeff Chang.

Set in 2045, the speculative drama imagines Taiwan as a global destination for death with dignity. The narrative follows two women at Heaven’s Gate, a euthanasia resort in the Yilan mountains where 80% of filming takes place. Agata (Rycembel), a Polish woman with late-stage ALS, arrives with her conflicted family seeking to end her suffering. Ritsu, a Japanese musician concealing a secret diagnosis, arrives alone. As they prepare for their final departure, an unexpected bond forms, forcing them and their loved ones to confront the meaning of letting go.

The creative team includes Polish cinematographer Michal Modlinger and gaffer Jan Groblinski, working with Taiwanese production designer Liao Huei-Li, a Golden Horse Award winner for “The Soul” and Cannes selection “Moneyboys.” Sound is handled by Tu Duu-Chih, the Taiwanese sound designer with 13 Golden Horse Awards, and Polish composer Jan Duszynski.

Patrick Mao Huang of Flash Forward Entertainment produces alongside Japanese veterans Shozo Ichiyama (“Ash Is Purest White”), Hiroyuki Yoshihara and Funahashi through Big River Films, with Polish producers Izabela Igel and Marta Lewandowska of Harine Films. Huang is representing the project at Berlin’s European Film Market.

The project marks the second collaboration between Huang and Igel following “Pierce,” which won best director at the 2024 Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. Huang’s latest co-production, Malaysian director Amanda Nell Eu’s “Lotus Feet,” is selected for this year’s Berlinale Co-Production Market. The pair previously collaborated on “Tiger Stripes,” which won the Grand Prix at Cannes Critics’ Week 2023.

Flash Forward Entertainment saw multiple titles selected for major festivals in 2025, including “Blind Love” (IFFR Tiger competition), “The Wolf, the Fox & the Leopard” (Tribeca international competition), “L’Ombre” (“The Shadow”) (Venice immersive competition) and “Deep Quiet Room,” which won best film at Pingyao International Film Festival and earned seven Golden Horse Award nominations. The company’s previous Cannes successes include best immersive work for “Colored” (2024) and Un Certain Regard selection “Moneyboys” (2021).

“The story is about choice, dignity, and the right to define one’s ending,” Huang said. “This project represents a true cultural exchange, bringing together Taiwan, Poland and Japan to collaborate on creating a deeply personal and globally resonant film. Filming in Taiwan allows us to address the universal human experience of life and death through a distinctly Taiwanese lens.”

Huang noted the film’s timeliness, citing ongoing legislative debates in the U.K. and pointing to global resonance of similar films including Cannes winner “Plan 75” and Oscar winner “The Sea Inside.” “We hope ‘Good Death’ will spark similar widespread attention and discussion in the global market,” he said.

“‘Good Death’ is a film that portrays a future in which euthanasia has become an ordinary, everyday option within end-of-life care,” Funahashi added. “Over the past five years alone, euthanasia has been legalized in nine countries around the world. When death is no longer something that arrives unexpectedly, but something that can be freely chosen, what happens to human society? This film asks whether we are truly prepared for such a future.”

The production is backed by TAICCA’s Content Development Program funds, the Polish Film Institute, Japan’s VIPO and the Agency for Cultural Affairs. TWR Entertainment also provides support.

“Good Death” is targeting a festival premiere and market release in 2027.