2009 HKIFF Opening Ceremony / "Shinjuku Incident" World Premiere - 1

Oh man I took so many photos... I don't know where to start!

I think its best to go in chronological order as much as possible.  Here's my pics from the start of the Ceremony.  I arrived early (I think I may have actually been the first guest to arrive...)

This is the mascot for the Festival, named Bau Fa...

Bau Fa getting delinted! :-P

The super hardcore fans are ready!

The Press was ready,  even though there was no one to take any pictures of (except me...)

The Festival Director, Miss Soo Wei Shaw stops at the press zone.

Next up,  HKIFF ambassador, Miss Karen Mok:

Looking great!

Crazy number of press there!

Not a super clear picture, but thats famed cinematographer Christopher Doyle. He was joking with the press quite a bit in Cantonese and Mandarin.  Very impressive!

Costars of "Shinjuku Incident."  - Chin Ka Lok (錢嘉樂) and Lam Suet ( 林雪).

Our pal Hayama Hiro and one of his costars from 'Shinjuku Incident'.

Everyone must recognize the guy on the right,  he's a well known actor Paul Chun (秦沛).  You may not know, but he is actually 'Shinjuku Incident' Director Derek Yee's half-brother.  Standing next to him is his daughter, Leslie Chiang, who is in the movie too.

No introduction necessary for Daniel Wu.  On the right is his Japanese costar, Kato Masaya.

doing some Q & A with the host.

Next up,  the big guy himself, who arrived in style:

Jackie Chan, flanked by two beautiful actresses.

Xu Jinglei(徐静蕾) and Fan Bingbing(范冰冰) , who costar with Jackie in 'Shinjuku Incident'.

Jan Lamb (林海峰)

Hey, I recognize that guy,  its Fredric Ambroisine! 

A little late, but its acclaimed director Derrick Yee.  I have a lot of respect for him! He's made several of my favorite Hong Kong movies! 

We were lucky to have living legend Raymond Chow appear too.  I met him briefly in Tokyo in October, but didn't have a chance to say hello this night since he was surrounded by people all night.

In addition to the premiere of 'Shinjuku Incident',  they were also premiering 'Night and Fog',  an Ann Hui directed film starring Simon Yam and Zhang Jingchu.  They came down too:

I've only seen Simon one time in person before.  I think he's been eating the same food as Andy Lau,  he doesn't seem to age.

Zhang Jingchu looked amazing. 

Except her costars kept stepping on her dress and tripping her up! :-P 

OK, thats enough for one blog!  But  I still have at least 2 or 3 more blogs worth of photos to share from the rest of it though. So stay tuned for LOTS of photos... and then there's the video! :-P

ps- Don't forget to become a fan of the HKIFF 'The Buzz' profile here on alivenotdead.com - CLICK HERE TO BECOME A FAN.  We're working with the HKIFF to share the latest from the festival with movie fans in Hong Kong and from around the world!