Boat People, the final film in Ann Hui’s Vietnam Trilogy, secured her reputation as one of the most critically acclaimed filmmakers of the Hong Kong New Wave. The story is told from the perspective of a Japanese photojournalist named Shiomi Akutagawa (George Lam), who is invited to revisit Da Nang three years after the end of the Vietnam War. But Akutagawa soon finds himself confronted with the disquieting truths behind the deceptive appearance of peace portrayed in official accounts. As he uncovers stories of abuse and mistreatment, he decides to help a young pair of siblings escape—at the risk of his own life.

Boat People marks a conscious choice by Hui to step away from the formal experiments and genre conventions of her first three films. It is a classical realist drama with a compassionate voice that brings forth sympathy for the Vietnamese people in the aftermath of the war. It was filmed on location in Hainan following official approval from the Chinese government. Released at a time of anxiety over the 1997 handover of Hong Kong, the film was a box office sensation, grossing more than HKD 15.5 million, and a big winner at the second Hong Kong Film Awards.

Ann Hui (b. 1947, Liaoning) started her film career as a key figure of the Hong Kong New Wave. Her experiences span across genres and her work has constantly committed to realism. Her debut film The Secret (1971) takes inspiration from a real-life murder case, while the award-winning Boat People (1982) depicts the reality of Vietnamese refugees. Her work often features autobiographical elements. In Song of the Exile (1990) and As Time Goes By (1997), she reflects on her memories and ponders the arduous search for one’s roots as a speck in the sea of history. She has also shown a deep interest in the stories of the common people in Hong Kong, such as in The Way We Are (2008). Her latest work is a documentary on Hong Kong poets, Elegies (2023).