As a frequenter of Beijing International Film Festival (BJIFF), Hong Kong actor Tony Leung Ka Fai has attended several sessions of BJIFF with his works, and won Best Supporting Actor as the role of “Hawk (Zuo Shandiao)” in The Taking of Tiger Mountain last year.The inauguration of the 6th Beijing International Film Festival coincided with the panorama of Lost in White, co-starred by Tony Leung and Dawei Tong. On the evening of April 16, Tony, together with other members of the production team of Cold War II, including Aaron Kwok and Yun-Fat Chow, appeared on the red carpet for the opening ceremony of the 6th BJIFF, having become attached to it.

　　Since 1983, Tony Leung has partaken in production of about 130 movies, having been nominated 27 times at domestic and international film awards, winning awards 10 times. Approaching his 60s, Tony Leung even gets offered every kind of movie. Recently, he starred many medium and small budget movies in Chinese mainland. Tony Leung told the reporter, he hoped to help young Chinese filmmakers through cooperating with young directors of Chinese mainland. Speaking of his affinity with Beijing, he smiled, “I am a ‘senior Beijinger’. I came to shoot a film in Beijing in 1982. I was the first among Hong Kong actors and actresses heading north.”

　　A sweet guy in studios, a mentor for young people

　　Lost in White, which is being shown, is Director Xu Wei’s debut film. As a professional cinematographer, he cooperated with Tony Leung at My Career as a Teacher. Tony Leung recalled, at that time, Xu just graduated. Through several months of cooperation, he felt the enthusiasm of Xu for film. “What Xu impressed me at studios is just like what Hark Tsui did. He is professional, concentrated and attaches importance to his works. I appreciate such people and I am willing to cooperate with such directors.”

　　In order to support Xu, Tony Leung called Dawei Tong and coaxed him to star. “Our friendship began with the shooting of Ping Guo. He was a new actor then, but now he has been an influential actor in Chinese mainland. At that time, he received the screenplay of Lost in White, but he was uncertain whether he should go to shoot at a place so cold. With a temperature of minus 40 degrees centigrade, he was afraid that it was too cold to play his normal role. I told him on the phone I had received the offer and he can count on me.”

　　Tony Leung is the most respected person at studios. He would remind the director of cold weather which tended to cause power consumption for cameras and walkie-talkies. He would tell Dawei Tong how to shake head to look more handsome in front of the camera lens. When Dawei Tong got his foot hurt, he would help him dress the wound. He even gave a hand to the staff member in charge of props: “What you have made is not like a police station in a small northeast town”, and then, he would prepare a cup of jasmine tea for his role. On hearing that there were some fighting scenes for his next work, Tony Leung packed his wire device and protective clothing and lent them to Dawei, telling him he had personally tested them for safety concerns. Tony Leung would like to go through the script for young actors, or pick up trash at studios. Tony Leung told the reporter, “I have got accustomed to these things all these years. If possible, I would like to do something. I can’t stand idling. Being in the filmdom for so many years, I have accumulated diverse experience. There are usually some hidden dangers, some dangerous things are randomly placed, while the working rhythm is intense, so special attention should be paid to. Tony Leung would collect nails, hammers, tighten screws, and perform some duties of assistants. Later on, he mainly draws everybody’s attention: “If the boss or producer notices I am doing this sort of things, somebody may lose his or her job because of my behaviors, so I just call their attention and let them do by themselves.”

　　Shoot every film with a sense of mission

　　Tony Leung lived through the golden period of Hong Kong film industry, he is anxious that there will be no worthy successors in future for Hong Kong film industry. “We have a huge demand for talents, for there are always those same directors and actors or actresses all the way: “I don’t want to see this phenomenon reoccurred on the mainland. So, I intend to consciously shoot more films for new directors. I hope we can share the experience and lessons we have in Hong Kong. I’d like to shoot their films with less remuneration. I am an ‘assistant director’ serving new directors. We should encourage and support next generation filmmakers so as to promote the development of the film industry in a healthy and mature way. Otherwise, they will think I just come to shoot films, and go back home upon completion. If every filmmaker comes to work with this attitude, the film we shoot would never be professional.”

　　In Cold War II, Tony Leung Ka Fai cooperated with Aaron Kwok and Yun-Fat Chow for the first time. The first role Tony played was a walk-on part in The Shell Game II starred by Yun-Fat Chow. "Not just I played a walk-on part in the film. The other is Andy Lau. Our first shot was standing by both sides of Chow. He pushed the door to enter, and said, 'You two. Go down and take a look!' We answered, 'Yes, Long Brother!' Then, we were out of the scene. At that time, we were very excited and we designed many poses for ourselves, but in the end we were scolded severely by the director, and we almost cried." Chow comforted the two, and said, "This is quite common in our circle. It will be fine if you can endure".

　　Years later, Tony Leung Ka Fai won many best actor awards, and he is to cross swords with Yun-Fat Chow and Aaron Kwok in Cold War II. Chow joked that he is old, and said that Hong Kong film in the following 50 and 100 years should rely on the "younger generation" like Tony Leung Ka Fai and Aaron Kwok. When talking about this, Tony said, "What he means is not that I and Aaron should be relied on, but that we should carry on. He hopes next wave of actors can carry on. He hopes to see every actor can work hard like Aaron and I, pursuing progress in performance rather than awards. He hopes we can pass down such spirit."

　　Praise BJIFF's efforts to cultivate talents

　　Film Screening of the 6th BJIFF includes Retrospective Exhibition of Director Han Hsiang Li's Works and screening of 3D restored version of The Last Emperor. Both of them have something to do with Tony Leung Ka Fai. Tony said Han Hsiang Li is his enlightenment teacher. In 1982, Tony acted as Emperor Xianfeng in The Burning of Yuan Ming Yuan and Reign behind a Curtain directed by Han Hsiang Li, and he won the Best Actor of the third Hong Kong Film Awards, becoming the youngest winner of the award. Great changes took place in his life. On that year, Bertolucci invited him to play the role of Pu Yi in The Last Emperor, but his missed the chance because he had promised to act in The Last Emperor directed by Han Hsiang Li.

　　Why did the two directors, an Oriental director and a Western director, choose to shoot films with the same theme during the same period? Tony thinks there are too many selections because of China's long history and culture. "Chinese stories are everywhere, and they are all gold mines. So, as a filmmaker, he should be good at digging out meaningful themes, rather than purposely choose some themes that people are not willing to hear or see to stimulate anyone else."

　　Tony also calls for attaching importance to cultivating talents: "We have such a large film market, larger than the US. Americans rush to China to cooperate, and they would set Chinese roles in their films. Why could others see the market, while we couldn't and just waste it? Why can't we cultivate our own film practitioners? Actors, cameramen, and gaffers should all be professional. Only a team of professionals can produce a good film. And it is our responsibility to cultivate these talents. I appreciate the efforts BJIFF have made to cultivate Chinese film practitioners. It is a very good platform, which provides many opportunities for Chinese film practitioners to learn and cooperate."

　　Never forget making the film in Beijing for the first time

　　In 1982, Tony Leung Ka Fai and Director Han Hsiang Li made the film Reign behind a Curtain at the Imperial Palace. It was the first time he came to Beijing. Tony was very proud of himself, being the first Hong Kong actor to make a film in Beijing.

　　More than 30 years has passed, Tony still clearly remembers the impression Beijing left him at that time: On a snowy day, he rode a bike from Tuanjiehu to Tian'anmen. The broad roads were covered with snow. It was so quiet, as there were no cars or other people on the roads, only a track left by his bike wheels. It was the first time he saw the snow, and he felt everything in front of his eyes was wonderful.

　　The shooting of Reign behind a Curtain lasted for about a year. Tony went to the Imperial Palace every morning. After watching the flag rising at Jinshui Bridge, he entered the palace from the front door. "I have seen the Imperial Palace when the sun just rose, and the Imperial Palace in the nighttime. There were no grand stages or tourists, so I have walked to nearly every corner of the Imperial Palace." Tony recalled an evening with his face full of happiness: "Once in the Hall of Supreme Harmony, after finishing the shot, I went up to the gate tower in the imperial robe, and saw the big moon in the sky. There was a silhouette of the Imperial Palace. Several lights were in the distance. They were lights from the studio of the crew. Looking down at my imperial robe, I felt especially happy, because no real emperors could come to the gate tower to enjoy the night scene of the Imperial Palace alone. Since they were born, they were attended on by a large number of people and they had no freedom. So I felt I lived a very happy life."

　　Tony is very proud that he has witnessed the development of Beijing, and he hopes he can witness the growth of BJIFF.