Hong Kong director Ann Hui will receive the 2026 Camellia Award at the Busan International Film Festival's opening ceremony on 6 October, honouring her decades-long contribution to advancing women in cinema. The award, created by BIFF with Chanel, recognises Hui as a defining figure of the Hong Kong New Wave whose career spans 27 feature films and two documentaries since her 1979 debut "The Secret."

Hui has won best director six times at the Hong Kong Film Awards and three times at the Golden Horse Awards, and swept best film, director, actor and actress categories with both "Summer Snow" (1995) and "A Simple Life" (2011). Her wider honours include a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2012 Asian Film Awards, BIFF's Asian Filmmaker of the Year in 2014, and the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at Venice in 2020; now nearly 80, she said the prize comes "just in time" as she finds it harder to make films. The 31st BIFF runs from 6 to 15 October.