In the 1980s, Hui's career was growing on the international cinema circuit. The most popular films for that time were Eastern variations of Hollywood oriented gangster and action films. But Hui did not follow the trend and preferred to create more personal films. Many of her best films involved themes pertaining to cultural displacement. In particular, her central characters are often individuals who are forced to relocate to another country and shown to be struggling and learning to survive. Hui tends to explore the characters' reactions to different environments and their responses to their return home. During this "New Wave" period, most of her films are sharp and tough, with satirical and political metaphors, reflecting her concern for "people"; her concern for women; voicing for orphans who have been devastated by war; and also voicing for Vietnamese refugees. Her best known works, which fall under this category, are "The Story of Woo Viet" (1981) and "Boat People" (1982) – the remaining two parts of her "Vietnam trilogy." "Boat People" won the Hong Kong Film Awards for Best Film and Best director. Although Hui has directed some generic films, another common theme she works with is family conflict, such as in the 1990 film "My American Grandson".