'' The Assassin '' ( ; or : '' The Assassin Niè Yǐnniáng '' ) is a 2015 wuxia film directed by Taiwanese director Hou Hsiao-hsien . A Taiwan/Mainland China/Hong Kong co-production , it was an official selection in the main competition section at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival . At Cannes , Hou won the award for Best Director . It was released in Mainland and Hong Kong , China on 27 August , and a day later in Taiwan on 28 August 2015 . It was selected as the Taiwanese entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 88th Academy Awards but it was not nominated
2015 Cannes Film Festival
2015 Cannes Film Festival
The Assassin (2015 film)