Tsui Hark Pays Tribute to Nansun Shi, Discusses New Projects and Speaks on AI at Lumière Festival (Exclusive)

Lyon, France – Hong Kong filmmaker Tsui Hark paid tribute on Sunday at the Lumière Festival to Nansun Shi, his former wife and longtime producing partner, saying he deeply misses the pioneering producer who died in July. "I miss my partner Nansun, who helped me on many projects […]

LYON, France – Hong Kong filmmaker Tsui Hark paid tribute to her ex-husband and longtime production partner Nanson Shi at the Lumiere Film Festival on Sunday, saying she deeply misses the pioneering producer, who died in July.

“I miss my partner, Nanson, who helped me with so many projects over the years,” Tsui said at the start of his masterclass after watching a montage of his career highlights. Related Stories "The Mystery Science Theater 3000: The RiffTrax Experiments": Behind the Scenes of Love Satellite

Clearly moved and at a loss for words, he continued, "I'd say my coming here is also a tribute to him. I hope if he's around in spirit, he's happy with what we're doing here." Popular in Variety

Shi, who died on July 13 at the age of 75, was one of the most influential figures in Hong Kong cinema. He co-founded Film Workshop with Tsui in 1984 and helped produce and present some of the industry's flagship films to international audiences. Although the couple divorced, they continued their longtime professional collaboration and were jointly honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2025 Hong Kong Film Awards.

One of the leading figures of the Hong Kong New Wave, Tsui helped invent the martial arts genre, mostly for films such as Shanghai Blues, Peking Opera Blues, Once Upon a Time in China, Green Snake and the Detective D franchise. The multi-award winning Hong Kong film features an overview of his work and a masterclass exploring his career in Lyon.

Looking ahead, the filmmaker shared details of a new project that brings together Eastern and Western cultures.

"I'm working on a comedy in London," he said. "I think that today we need to bring people from different cultures together to face a serious issue, so that we have a funny look at this kind of cooperation."

Tsui, who said he has always believed in thinking five years ahead rather than simply living in the present, also reflected on the possibilities offered by the growing number of media platforms and how they can be used to create experiences that bring people closer together.

One of the ideas he is exploring is creating a dream version of a city like Hong Kong or Beijing that is imagined in the future. "It's very real now. Maybe we need something more inspiring to keep us going."

Tsui also pondered the blurred boundaries between reality and illusion in a world dominated by advertising, political propaganda, the Internet, and artificial intelligence.

He described modern society as being constantly bombarded with messages designed to shape people's beliefs and behavior, questioning how much people can resist what they are being told.

"We are very passive about our environment," he said. "We have a problem with our identity."

"I think it's even more ridiculous now that we have AI in our culture," he added. The funny part about AI is that you're not sure if what you're seeing is real or not.

However, this uncertainty also scares him. "When you wake up, you don't know what's real," he said.

The filmmaker also talked about the philosophical dimension of his films, which he sees as a way to question the influences that shape people's understanding of the world.

Despite his concerns about contemporary society, Tsui remains convinced that humor plays an essential role, even when dealing with the most serious subjects.

"The world is very messed up," he said. We have virus, we have war, we have economic problems. "I don't know how humans can survive all these problems."

But he believes that cinema can help people find a different point of view. One of the important elements in filmmaking is that maybe we can entertain and inject humor into our belief that the world is still a wonderful place to live.

Tsui is honored at the Lumière with screenings of four of his films: "Shanghai Blues" (1984), "Beijing Blues Opera" (1986), "Once Upon a Time in China" (1991) and "Time and Tides" (2000).

The Lumiere Film Festival continues until October 18 in Lyon.