Toronto Film Festival Dailies

Andrew Lau (also known as Wei-Keung Lau), the celebrated Hong Kong filmmaker, returns to the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) with the North American premiere of his latest action epic LEGEND OF THE FIST: The Return of Chen Zhen. The film recently opened the Venice International Film Festival and is now making its bow in North America. Lau is acknowledged as Hong Kong's premiere director of action films, a genre that is popular everywhere in the world.  

Lau was born in Hong Kong when it was still a British protectorate. He joined the famed chop-socky Shaw Brothers Studios where he first served as a cinematographer on dozens of films, including such fast-moving classics as CITY ON FIRE (1987) and Wong Kar Wai's AS TEARS GO BY (1988) and CHUNG KING EXPRESS (1994). He made his directorial debut in 1990 with the film AGAINST ALL, which was nominated for numerous Hong Kong Film Awards. His subsequent films have all been major international box office winners and have garnered him a slew of awards, including a Best Cinematography prize for CONFESSION OF PAIN (2006). His most famous film is probably the award-winning INFERNAL AFFAIRS (2002), which was adapted by American director Martin Scorsese as the Oscar-winning police drama THE DEPARTED (2006).

LEGEND OF THE FIST: The Return of Chen Zhen (also known as THE LEGEND OF CHEN ZHEN) marks the return of the martial arts hero originally played by the legendary Bruce Lee in FIST OF FURY (1970). For action affiicianados, Zhen is a cultural icon and a symbol of Chinese strength and pride. In this version, Donnie Zen, one of the finest martial artists of his generation, returns to the role he originated in a 1995 television series in a story that is fast on its feet and dynamic to watch. Featuring dazzling action sequences and reinventing the well-known tale of one man's stand to defend a nation's dignity, Lau has transformed the story into a highly entertaining action epic with a not-so-subtle political message.

To view a trailer of the film, visit: http://www.beyondhollywood.com/the-legend-of-chen-zhen-2010-movie-preview-images-and-videos/

Sandy Mandelberger, Festival Dailies Editor