Long before Hong Kong declared itself the ‘first port of asylum’ for Vietnamese refugees in 1979, tens of thousands of Vietnamese had already been flocking to the city by cargo ships in the four years prior. Ann Hui made her first creative endeavour to chronicle this chapter of Hong Kong’s history with acute insights in the TV drama Below the Lion Rock: The Boy from Vietnam. Subsequently, as Vietnamese migrants became an increasingly contentious issue in Hong Kong, Hui directed two more films on the same topic, The Story of Woo Viet and Boat People. Collectively, these three works became known as the Vietnam Trilogy, marking the stellar rise of Hui’s filming career.

Despite notable differences in their production scale, style and story settings, the works in the Trilogy share a common thread in their theme and characterisation, subtly complementing each other. This demonstrates Hui’s intimate knowledge of the plight of the Vietnamese migrants and commitment to her subject as an auteur. As restoration of Boat People completed last year, it is now the perfect time to revisit this acclaimed trilogy.