- Name: Hsu Yu-ting (徐譽庭)
- Born: December 31, 1966
- Birthplace: Kaohsiung City
- Did You Know That …?
- Mag Hsu has formed a habit of running dialogues in her head for five minutes before going to bed every night. Her stories, which resonate deeply with audiences, were not written based on assumption or imagination. Instead, they're formed on the basis of her understanding of one's self as well as human life and nature as a whole.
Before becoming as a screenwriter, Mag Hsu used to work as a theater playwright, director, and manager. Having risen to prominence with TV dramas such as "In Time with You (我可能不會愛你)" and "Life Plan A and B (荼蘼)," which earned her a Golden Bell and an Asian Television Award, respectively, she was again nominated for Best Television Series for "An Innocent Mistake (罪美麗)," her debut program as a producer, at the Golden Bell Awards in 2013.
As an elementary student, Hsu was often praised for her story composition skills. However, she did not significantly enjoy writing nor was she a television drama fan. In fact, her aspirations were to become a director. "My passion for screenwriting is probably passed on from my past life," noted Hsu.
Upon graduating from Tungfang Vocational High School, predecessor of Tungfang Design University, Hsu tried working in different fields as a journalist, advertising account executive, and interior designer. In 1989, Hsu's friend signed her up for an acting class offered by Ping-Fong Acting Troupe (屏風表演班) in Kaohsiung. After learning the foundations of theater and performance, she took the opportunity offered by troupe founder Hugh Lee (李國修), and followed Ping-Fong to work in Taipei.
Hsu started developing an interest in scriptwriting after helping type up the scripts written by Lee. Although her drafts were sent back by Lee at the beginning, Hsu gradually learned from rewriting and improved her skills to the point that Lee only had to correct some words for her. The experience that she gained and efforts made paved the way for her ability in crafting scripts today.
Hsu left Ping-Fong Acting Troupe for personal reasons at the age of 30, and that became a turning point of her life. Hsu later met noted director Wang Shau-di (王小棣), who encouraged her to try writing screenplays for dramas. Hsu then started engaging in screenwriting and even turned down high-paying projects just to collaborate with director Wang.
Though she had to rely on her friends to make a living when she first kicked off her screenwriting career, she still enjoys the job with great passion after years of hard work. She believes that to work as a screenwriter, one has to give up a few things — a certain degree of freedom and perfection, for example.
In 2018, Hsu was nominated for her debut feature "Dear Ex (誰先愛上她的)" at Italy's Far East Film Festival and South Korea's Busan Film Festival, and won Best Narrative Feature and Press Award at the Taipei Film Festival, where the film also garnered the Best Actor and Best Actress accolades. Certainly, Hsu has stunned the film industry as well as the public with her talent in writing and telling stories.