Ann Hui to Receive Busan Film Festival’s Camellia Award
Hong Kong director Ann Hui, a defining figure of the Hong Kong New Wave whose films have centred the experiences of ordinary and overlooked people, will receive the Camellia Award at the Busan International Film Festival's opening ceremony in October. Established in 2024 and presented in partnership with Chanel, the honour recognises filmmakers who have advanced women's standing within the industry. Hui, now 79, accepted the award after previously declining similar recognition while she remained actively making films.
With a directing career spanning nearly five decades since her 1979 debut, Hui has become one of cinema's most decorated figures. She has won the Hong Kong Film Awards' best director prize six times—more than any other filmmaker in the ceremony's history—and has received recognition at Taiwan's Golden Horse Awards and the Venice Film Festival. Her filmography of 27 features and two documentaries explores themes of everyday struggle and human dignity, from the experiences of Vietnamese refugees to working-class life and family relationships across generations.
- Ann Hui, 79-year-old Hong Kong New Wave pioneer, will receive the 2026 Camellia Award at Busan Film Festival in October
- The filmmaker is being honoured for her nearly 50-year career documenting ordinary lives and advancing women in cinema
- Hui is among the most decorated directors globally, with six best-director wins at the Hong Kong Film Awards—more than any peer in the award's history
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Ann Hui is one of Hong Kong's best-known film directors, known for making films about ordinary people's lives, including refugees, working-class families and people navigating difficult personal circumstances. She began directing in 1979 and has made 27 feature films and two documentaries over nearly five decades, becoming a leading figure in what is known as the Hong Kong New Wave, a generation of filmmakers who reshaped the territory's cinema from the late 1970s onwards.
The Camellia Award is a relatively new prize, launched in 2024 by the Busan International Film Festival in South Korea together with the fashion house Chanel, given to filmmakers who have helped improve the position of women in the film industry. Busan's festival is one of Asia's most prominent film events, and its opening ceremony each October draws significant international attention from the film world.
Hui, now 79, has previously been recognised many times, including a record six best director wins at the Hong Kong Film Awards, as well as honours at Taiwan's Golden Horse Awards and the Venice Film Festival. She has reportedly turned down similar honours in the past while still actively working on new films, which gives context to her decision to accept this one now.