Director
Ann Hui
Ann Hui On-wah, BBS MBE (Chinese: 許鞍華; born 23 May 1947) is a film director, producer, screenwriter and actress from Hong Kong who is one of the most critically acclaimed filmmakers of the Hong Kong New Wave. She is known for her films about social issues in Hong Kong which include literary adaptations, martial arts, semi-autobiographical works, women's issues, social phenomena, political changes, and thrillers. She served as the president of the Hong Kong Film Directors' Guild from 2004 to 2006.
Hui has won numerous awards. She won Best Director at the Golden Horse Awards three times (1999, 2011, 2014); Best Film at the Asia Pacific Film Festival; and Best Director at the Hong Kong Film Awards six times (1983, 1996, 2009, 2012, 2015, 2018).
Only two films have won a Grand Slam (Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Actor, and Best Actress) at the Hong Kong Film Awards; they are Summer Snow and A Simple Life, both directed by Ann Hui. She was honoured for her lifetime accomplishments at the 2012 Asian Film Awards. In 2017, the US based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences invited Hui to become a member. In 2020, Hui was awarded an Honorary Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at the 77th Venice International Film Festival.
About the Documentary
Runtime: 101min
From Boat People to Our Time Will Come, from family struggles to anti-Japanese history, Venice Career Golden Lion-winning auteur Ann Hui finally films a topic she holds most dear – poetry.
Through her personal encounters with some of Hong Kong’s most notable poets, including Yam Gong, Wai Yuen, Deng Ah Lam, York Ma, Xi Xi and Leung Ping Kwan. Hui shows the topography of contemporary poetry on and of the city.
Two poles of reality, the unrestrained Huang Can-ran and the cosmopolitan Liu Wai-tong, are juxtaposed to reveal two distinctively different personalities, ideals, and ways of life. Seeing the late Xi Xi recite her own poem about the old Kai Tak Airport is a deeply heart-warming moment.