Ann Hui

Lore & Background

Ann Hui was born on 23 May 1947 in Anshan, Liaoning Province, China, to a Japanese mother and Chinese father. She moved to Macau in 1952, then to Hong Kong at age five. She attended St. Paul's Convent School and earned a master's in English and comparative literature from the University of Hong Kong in 1972. She studied at the London Film School for two years, writing her thesis on French writer and filmmaker Alain Robbe-Grillet. After returning to Hong Kong, she became an assistant to director King Hu, then worked at Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB) as a scriptwriter-director, producing documentaries and dramas. In March 1977 she directed six dramas for the Independent Commission Against Corruption, two of which were banned. She directed episodes of the documentary series Below the Lion Rock, including Boy from Vietnam (1978), the first of her Vietnam Trilogy. Her first feature-length film, The Secret (1979), won a Golden Horse Award for Best Feature Film. Her Vietnam Trilogy also includes The Story of Woo Viet (1981) and Boat People (1982), the latter winning Hong Kong Film Awards for Best Film and Best Director. Hui's semi-autobiographical film Song of the Exile (1990) won both the Hong Kong Film Awards and Golden Horse Award for Best Director. She served as president of the Hong Kong Film Directors' Guild in 2004. In 2020, she contributed to the anthology film Septet: The Story of Hong Kong, directed alongside six other veteran Hong Kong filmmakers.

Reader's Guide

Ann Hui's significance lies in her role as a leading figure of the Hong Kong New Wave, using cinema to explore displacement, social issues, and women's experiences. Her Vietnam Trilogy—Boy from Vietnam, The Story of Woo Viet, and Boat People—collectively examine the tragic destinies of displaced individuals, particularly Vietnamese boat people, highlighting hardships, discrimination, and exploitation. Hui's films often feature characters forced to relocate and struggle to adapt, reflecting broader concerns about cultural displacement and political change. She has won Best Director at the Hong Kong Film Awards six times (1983, 1996, 2009, 2012, 2015, 2018) and at the Golden Horse Awards three times (1999, 2011, 2014). Only two films have achieved a Grand Slam at the Hong Kong Film Awards—Summer Snow and A Simple Life—both directed by Hui. She was honored for lifetime accomplishments at the 2012 Asian Film Awards and invited to become a member of the US-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 2017. Her work consistently balances commercial appeal with social commentary, making her a distinctive voice in Hong Kong cinema.

Did You Know?

• Ann Hui won Best Director at the Hong Kong Film Awards six times: 1983, 1996, 2009, 2012, 2015, and 2018.
• Only two films have won a Grand Slam (Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Actor, Best Actress) at the Hong Kong Film Awards: Summer Snow and A Simple Life, both directed by Ann Hui.
• Hui's mother was Japanese and her father was Chinese; she was born in Anshan, Liaoning Province, China.
• In 2017, the US-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences invited Hui to become a member.