Ann Hui Named Camellia Award Recipient at Busan
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- Ann Hui will receive the 2026 Camellia Award at the opening ceremony of the 31st Busan International Film Festival on Oct. 6 at Busan Cinema Center, an honor established by BIFF and Chanel for filmmakers who have advanced women's status in the industry.
- Hui's career spans 27 feature films and two feature-length documentaries since her 1979 debut "The Secret," and she is a defining figure of the Hong Kong New Wave.
- Hui has won best director at the Hong Kong Film Awards six times and the Golden Horse Awards three times, achieving a clean sweep of best film, director, actor and actress at the Hong Kong Film Awards with both "Summer Snow" (1995) and "A Simple Life" (2011).
- Hui's international honors include the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2012 Asian Film Awards, Asian Filmmaker of the Year at BIFF 2014, and the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at the 2020 Venice Film Festival.
- Hui, nearing 80, said she previously rejected career-retrospective prizes because she wanted to keep making films, but now finds the timing right given her difficulty finding new projects.
Why it matters: The Camellia Award pairs BIFF with Chanel to spotlight women directors, and giving it to Hui — who has won best director six times at Hong Kong's Film Awards — underlines how the festival is using one of Asian cinema's most decorated women filmmakers to frame its diversity mission. The 31st BIFF runs Oct. 6–15.
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