"Happy Together" by Wong Kar-Wai in 1997 [File photo]

1997

"Happy Together" by Wong Kar-Wai won the Best Director Prize, which made Wong the first Chinese director to win the award in Cannes history. "Happy Together" is a 1997 Hong Kong film that depicts a turbulent romance between two men. Ho Po-Wing and Lai Yiu-fai, a couple from pre-handover Hong Kong, visit Argentina hoping to renew their ailing relationship.

1998

Hou Hsiao-Hsien's "Flowers of Shanghai" entered the competition section for the Palme d'Or.

1999

Chen Kaige's "The Emperor and the Assassin" won the Technical Prize at the 1999 Cannes Film Festival. The film covers a great deal of Ying Zheng's life, from his early life as a hostage to his dominance over China, and depicts him essentially as an idealist seeking to impose peace and unity on the world.