On the red carpet: Andy Lau (劉德華)

Actor and singer Andy Lau (劉德華) served as the Jury President of the 7th Asian Film Awards held in Hong Kong on Mar. 18, 2013. Before the ceremony, he briefly answered reporters’ questions on the red carpet. An excerpt of his Cantonese Q&A follows:

Andy: My apologies for not being able to spend too much time for interviews due to my busy schedule as president of the events. I hope to be able to spend more time with the press after the award ceremonies.

Reporter: Do you have high hopes for the Hong Kong nominees?

Andy: I support all the films. I support all the films.

Reporter: What do you consider to be a good Asian film?

Andy: If the audience understands the story line. However, everyone has his or her own expectations. Even if it’s a film that I like very much, there is only one vote from me.

Video: Andy Lau (劉德華) – 7th Asian Film Awards red carpet
video by Yuan-Kwan Chan / Meniscus Magazine

During the ceremony, Lau sat next to the Excellence in Asian Cinema award winner, Michelle Yeoh (楊紫瓊), but took the stage twice: once to formally open the awards show, and again to present the Best Film nominees with Sylvia Chang (張艾嘉). It was during that announcement that Lau revealed his strategy for his vote, which was to watch each film twice (once to get through all the dialogue in various languages, and a second time to study the films more closely – both times without distraction from family members). Lau lightly pumped his fist when “Mystery” (China, directed by Lou Ye) won. The film was a selection at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival.

Video: Andy Lau & Sylvia Chang – 7th Asian Film Awards – Best Film Presentation
video by Yuan-Kwan Chan / Meniscus Magazine