Prominent Taiwanese filmmaker Hou Hsiao-Hsien once again proved his talent in filmmaking, as the world-renowned Cannes Film Festival hailed him as the Best Director for his martial arts-themed film "The Assassin" on Sunday.
"I have been to Cannes seven or eight times. It is a great encouragement for me to win the director award this time," said the director through an interpreter during his acceptance speech at Palais des Festivals et des Congres.
Hou further said that making a film is never easy, as he and his team had to struggle with the movie's budget.
The award-winning director also expressed his gratitude to the film's crew and casts.
"The Assasin," which is Hou's first martial arts-themed film, is a story of Nie Yinniang, played by Taiwanese actress and model Shu Qi, a daughter of a general abducted by a nun at the age of 10 and trained to become a female assassin during the 9th century. Shu's character is assigned to kill her province's governor after one unsuccessful mission.
The 68-year-old filmmaker is considered as the leading figure in Taiwan's New Wave cinema movement, the rejuvenation of Taiwanese cinema, which exhibits realistic, down-to-earth, and sympathetic portrayals of Taiwanese life.
According to Shanghai Daily, Hou is also known for his "lingering camera shots and minimalist dramas depicting the upheavals in Taiwan in the 20th century."
In 1993, his film "The Puppetmaster" won the Jury Prize, the third most prestigious prize after the Palme d'Or and the Grand Prix, at the 46th Cannes Film Festival.
Regarding other winners, French film director and screenwriter Jacques Audiard's "Dheepan" won this year's Palme d'Or award, Hungarian director Laszlo Nemes' "Son of Saul" obtained the Grand Prix, and Yorgos Lanthimos of Greece earned the Jury Prize.