Veteran Hong Kong actor-singer Andy Lau on Thursday was named Asian filmmaker
of the year by one of the region's leading film events, the Pusan International
Film Festival.
Festival organizers paid tribute to the 44-year-old Lau's track record of
cultivating movie making talent.
"Lau has proven himself as one of the celebrities committed to promote Asian
cinema," organizers said in a statement.
The statement noted Lau first worked with young directors when he set up
TeamWork Motion Pictures in 1991, then invested in the independent film by Hong
Kong director Fruit Chan, "Made in Hong Kong," in 1997.
He later set up Focus Group, a group of companies involved in film, pop music
and artist management. One of the companies, Focus Films, last year launched
"Focus First Cuts," backing six projects by new directors from Taiwan, Hong
Kong, mainland China, Singapore and Malaysia and arranging for their TV and
video releases.
Among the projects is the recent China box office hit "Crazy Stone" about
robbers in the Chinese heartland who duel with a security chief protecting a
precious stone.
Pusan organizers also said Focus Films has been involved in the distribution
of independent films "Joni's Promise," "Singapore Gaga" and "Before We Fall in
Love Again."
The 11th Pusan International Film Festival will take place October 12-20 in
the southern South Korean city of Busan. Organizers of the festival retain an
old spelling for the city.
Considered one of the hardest working and most prolific artists in Chinese
show business, Lau studied at the famed artist training program at Hong Kong TV
station TVB in 1980 before launching successful recording and screen careers.
He was one of Chinese pop music's "Four Heavenly Kings" in the 1990s, along
with Aaron Kwok, Leon Lai and Jacky Cheung.
Lau has continued to juggle music and acting. Most recently, he filmed the
epic "Battle of Wits," played a drug dealer in "Protege" and released a new
album "Voice."
His other film credits include the acclaimed crime thriller "Infernal
Affairs," which has been remade by Martin Scorsese as "The Departed," and Zhang
Yimou's martial arts film "House of Flying Daggers."
Previous recipients of the Asian filmmaker of the year award at Pusan include
Iranian director Mohsen Makhmalbaf and Taiwan's Hou
Hsiao-hsien.
