18th New York Asian Film Festival

Jun 28 - Jul 14, 2019

HBO Talk: Masterclass with Yuen Woo-ping

Hong Kong action choreographer and director extraordinaire Yuen Woo-ping, perhaps best known to Western audiences for his work on The Matrix; Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon; and Kill Bill, will discuss his art and career in Asia and America. The recipient of this year’s Star Asia Lifetime Achievement Award, he is also the subject of a tribute, with three of his films screening at the festival: The Miracle Fighters (1982), Iron Monkey (1993), and Master Z: Ip Man Legacy (2018).

Moderator: Samuel Jamier
Guest: Yuen Woo-ping

Tuesday July 2, 7:30pm
Elinor Bunin Munroe Amphitheater

Lifetime Achievement Award
Yuen Woo-ping
袁和平

Hong Kong action choreographer and director extraordinaire Yuen Woo-ping is perhaps best known to Western audiences for his work on The Matrix, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, and Kill Bill. The extremely prolific Yuen comes from a family of martial artist performers and started as an actor and stuntman in the ’60s. In 1978, he made his phenomenal directorial debut with the smash hit Snake in the Eagle’s Shadow, followed quickly with even greater success by Drunken Master_ — the two films that not only made Jackie Chan an international star but practically created the indelible kung-fu comedy genre. His filmography is a treasure trove of kung-fu classics marked by innovations in fight choreography and hyperkinetic genre stylings. Screening in the festival are the seminal Donnie Yen vehicle Iron Monkey (on 35mm), now a classic of the ’90s “New Wave” of kung fu; the brand-new Master Z: Ip Man Legacy, an exciting entry in the popular Ip Man film series, starring Max Zhang, Michelle Yeoh, and Tony Jaa; and The Miracle Fighters, Yuen’s first of several absolutely crazy meldings of kung fu, fantasy, and comedy that must be seen to be believed.