BUSAN (AFP) - A glittering line-up of top Asian cinema stars converged on the South Korean port city of Busan on Thursday for the opening of the region’s premier international film festival.
Along with Korean heartthrobs Lee Byung-hun and Jun Ji-hyun, Chinese stars Tang Wei and Cecilia Cheung are attending the 10-day Busan International Film Festival (BIFF).
Launching the 17th edition of the festival will be the world premiere of Hong Kong thriller “Cold War” which stars screen veterans Aaron Kwok and Tony Leung Ka-fai.
“It’s an honour to have this film open BIFF, the first time a Hong Kong film has done so,” said Kwok at the event’s opening press conference. “We hope it will remind the world that there are a lot of talented filmmakers in Hong Kong and they are still making exciting films.”
In the tradition of Hong Kong thrillers such as “Infernal Affairs” (2002) - remade by Hollywood into the Oscar-winning “The Departed” (2006) - “Cold War” looks at corruption in the city’s police force.
Co-director Longman Leung said he hoped the film would help refocus attention on Hong Kong cinema, which has been hit by falling production numbers and attendances in recent years.