Hu went to the United States in 1979, first studying business at New York University. But when she started her career as a successful business woman in the 1980s, Hu would have been the last to guess she would make the transition from financier to filmmaker.

"I am not the type who cherished a passion for film art from an early age. I bumped into the film circle by chance. But now I am trying my best to be a qualified film artist," Hu explained.

A chance meeting with acclaimed Chinese director Chen Kaige "opened the door" into the world of film making, she recalled. "But it took another three years to wrap up my business career."

Afterwards, Hu tried her hands on painting, writing novels, photography, and, in 1992, took a two-month intensive training course in filmmaking at New York University.

Then, Hu decided she "wouldn't ever be bored again."

Not long after completing her first student film, a 16mm narrative film, Dream and Memory, which generated critical acclaim internationally in 1994, Hu became interested in a script which later became Shadow Magic, a Sony Pictures Classics release that premiered at Sundance 2000 and drew much critical attention.

Her first feature film Shadow Magic stars British actor Jared Harris, Chinese actors Xia Yu, Liu Peiqi, and Chinese actresses Lu Liping, Fang Qingzhuo, and Xing Yufei. It depicts the introduction of the cinema art into China around the 1900s. Her debut film was well received and has won her a couple of film awards home and abroad including Best Picture (Golden Rooster Film Awards) and People's Choice (Golden Horse Film Awards) awards.

But Hu was not satisfied with the success. "I expected the box office income to be at least 80 million yuan (US$9.55 million) in domestic market. And it turned out to be about 8 million yuan. Anyway, it was not too bad for a first-time director's work on the fledgling mainland market in 2000."

To her observation, most Chinese language films are still marginal in Western film markets.

It is true that some Chinese film artists have gained a foothold in mainstream markets, she said. But most of them are working as mainstream directors and catering for mainstream audiences.

But that situation might well justify the great potential that Chinese films have in global film markets.

Hu said the film market needs to be expanded and nurtured with great care.

The film industry on the mainland is far from mature compared with that in some developed countries like the United States, Hu said.

"For instance, the mainstream films in a more mature market cater for their target audiences in particular niches and the film marketing strategies are more skilled and diversified. But thanks for reforms and further opening up, I can see that we are moving fast in the right direction," she said.

"The core issue is the creativity of the film artists. No matter if it is a commercial flick or a so-called art-house film, it must have strong box office appeal and give audiences the confidence to come back to the cinema again and again," she said, adding she is optimistic about the performance of her new film.

"I expect at least 10 million yuan (US$1.2 million) in box office revenues from the domestic release," Hu said confidently.

(China Daily November 25, 2004)