Ann Hui - Movie director

Ann Hui On-wah has spent her career portraying the realities of society on film, and she has learned lessons about life along the way.

The filmmaker has had a rollercoaster journey that saw her sink to the depths of being shunned by investors and critics to rise to new heights as she received critical acclaim and a dazzling array of local and international awards for her socially conscious films.

As she develops her career, she learns more about herself, and where she wants to be.

'I am quite repelled by most people's definition of success. I wasn't aware of that before, but I have always felt uncomfortable hanging out with the wealthy. I find myself gravitating towards the marginalised and empathising with them more,' she says.

Gradually, she is getting to grips with what she wants to do and what she can do, carving out a niche in the industry. 'When the film industry was booming [in the 1980s], I struggled because I didn't know how to direct commercial films. But now there is room for me to survive,' she says.

Hui's passion for film has been the source of motivation for her work. She can still recall the excitement of watching Andrei Tarkovsky's Andrei Rublev in 1970s London, where she studied film. 'I had the urge to watch it right away again after the screening, but unfortunately I didn't have the money,' she says.

One of a handful of successful female filmmakers in Hong Kong, Hui has scooped three best director prizes from the Hong Kong Film Awards. In a television and filmmaking career that spans more than three decades, she has turned away from more glamorous, more lucrative mainland work to produce poignant social dramas that represent the humanistic side of Hong Kong cinema.