Tsui Hark honours late partner Nansun Shi at Lyon masterclass

Tsui Hark paused his career masterclass in Lyon to remember Nansun Shi, his longtime partner who died in July.

"I miss my partner, Nansun, who helped me on so many projects over so many years," the Hong Kong director said during the session, according to Variety.

Shi died on July 13 at the age of 75, Variety reported. She co-founded Film Workshop, the production company behind much of Hark's work, with him in 1984. The pair were jointly honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Hong Kong Film Awards in 2025.

Shi's credits as a producer included A Better Tomorrow and Infernal Affairs, according to Deadline. Her career in Chinese-language films spanned 38 years. She was born in Hong Kong and went to school in the United Kingdom.

Hark was in Lyon as a guest of honour of the Lumière Film Festival, which ran from October 10 to October 18, 2026. The festival staged a retrospective titled "Invitation to Tsui Hark" and listed titles including Shanghai Blues from 1984 and Peking Opera Blues from 1986. Hark was scheduled to appear at Pathé Bellecour on October 11 at 11am for the masterclass exploring his career.

Hark was born in 1951 in Vietnam into a Chinese family, according to the festival. He became known as a director and producer whose work moved between martial arts, comedy, fantasy and large-scale action.

In Lyon he also looked ahead. He said he is working on a comedy set in London about people from different cultures coming together to confront a serious problem. He described a second idea as a dreamlike future version of a city such as Hong Kong or Beijing.

He also spoke about artificial intelligence and images. With AI in culture, viewers are not sure whether what they see is real or not real, he told the masterclass audience.

For fans, this means a moment of remembrance sat beside new work. Hark spoke of loss. Then he spoke of London, of future cities, and of pictures that can no longer be trusted at first glance.