“Flight of the Red Balloon ( French : Le voyage du ballon rouge ) is a 2007 French-Taiwanese film directed by Hou Hsiao-hsien . It is the first part in a new series of films produced by Musée d'Orsay , and tells the story of a French family as seen through the eyes of a Chinese student. The film was shot in August and September 2006 on location in Paris. This is Hou's first non-Asian film. It references the classic 1956 French short The Red Balloon directed by Albert Lamorisse .