Born in Anshan in Liaoning Province, North-east China, and brought up in Hong Kong, Ann Hui On-wah studied film-making at the London Film School from 1973 to 1975 after obtaining a Master’s degree in Comparative Literature from the University of Hong Kong.  Upon returning to Hong Kong, she first worked as an assistant to veteran director King Hu and then joined the Hong Kong Television Broadcasts Limited where she directed a number of outstanding short documentaries and a one-hour drama series on 16mm film, including Wonderfun (1975), CID (1976) and Social Worker (1977).  In 1977, she joined the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) and made seven television episodes for their drama series, two of which were banned from airing because of the sensitive subject matter of the story.  She them joined the Government television network, RTHK, in 1978 and made three featurettes for the series Below the Lion Rock, of which the best known is Boy from Vietnam, which subsequently became the first part of her “Vietnam Trilogy”, the other two parts being the feature films The Story of Woo Viet (1981, Directors, Fortnight, Cannes Film Festival) and The Boat People (1982, Official Selection at Cannes and Best Film at Hong Kong Film Awards).

She left television and made her debut feature in 1979, The Secret, a thriller.  Her other films include the Spooky Bunch (1980); Romance of Book and sword (1980); Love in a Fallen City (1984); Princess Fragrance (1987, Best Film at Créteil Film Festiva;); Starry is the Night (1988); Song of the Exile (1990, Best Film at both Asian Pacific Film Festival and Rimini Film Festival); My American Grandson (1991) and The Yakuza Chase (1991).  She also served as Executive Producer for The Day The Sun Turned Cold directed by Yim Ho (1994, Best Film at Tokyo International Film Festival).  A new surge of creativity emerged with Summer Snow (1995, Best Actress Award at Berlin Film Festival and numerous awards at both Hong Kong Film Awards and Golden Horse Awards); followed by The Stuntwoman (1996).  Her latest work, Eighteen Springs, is currently in production.

Miss Hui is esteemed to be one of the most important film directors of Hong Kong with strong artistic integrity and creative originality.  She served as a Member of the Council from 1993 to 1996 and Academic Affairs Committee in 1995.