Hong Kong New Wave veteran to accept Camellia Award, presented in partnership with Chanel, at Oct. 6 opening ceremony Ann Hui (Busan International Film Festival) Hong Kong filmmaker Ann Hui will receive the 2026 Camellia Award at the 31st Busan International Film Festival, organizers announced Tuesday.Presented by the festival in partnership with Chanel, the award recognizes filmmakers who have made significant contributions to advancing women in the film industry. Since its launch in 2024, the award has gone to production designer Ryu Seong-hie and Taiwanese actor and filmmaker Sylvia Chang (2025).Hui, 79, emerged as a central figure of the Hong Kong New Wave with her 1979 debut "The Secret" and has since directed 27 features and two feature-length documentaries, many of them centered on women and the lives of ordinary people. She is widely considered one of the leading filmmakers of her generation in Asia.Her credits include "Boat People" (1982), which screened at Cannes, and "Summer Snow" (1995) and "A Simple Life" (2011), the only two films to sweep best film, best director, best actor and best actress at the Hong Kong Film Awards. "Boat People" (Bluebird Film Company) Hui has won best director six times at the Hong Kong Film Awards and three times at Taiwan's Golden Horse Awards. In 2020, she received the Golden Lion for lifetime achievement at the Venice Film Festival. At Busan, she previously won the Asian filmmaker of the year award in 2014."In my previous years I felt unwilling to receive such taking-stock prizes because I wished to continue making movies," Hui said in a statement. "Now that I'm nearly 80 and find it difficult to make a film, I think the prize comes just in time for me to appreciate it more."The award will be presented at the opening ceremony on Oct. 6 at the Busan Cinema Center. The festival runs through Oct. 15 at venues across the city.