Yuen Woo-ping receives lifetime achievement award in NYC

Yuen Woo-ping, a renowned martial arts choreographer and film director from Hong Kong, China, has been honored for his extraordinary contribution to the special film genre in the past decades.

Hong Kong director Woo-ping Yuen, right, speaks next to actor Donnie Yen at a press conference of the movie "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon 2:The Green Destiny" in Cannes, France, 19 May 2013. [Photo: IC]

The 74-year-old was awarded the "Star Asia Lifetime Achievement Award" at the ongoing 18th New York Asian Film Festival (NYAFF) held at Lincoln Center.

Upon receiving the award, Yuen said that throughout his career he had discovered a number of talented individuals, such as Jackie Chan, Donnie Yen, and Wu Jing, and witnessed their way to stardom.

The master said he hopes that new faces will always emerge in the Kung Fu film genre, passing on the Kung Fu culture to future generations.

From Hong Kong to Hollywood, Yuen has won numerous awards for his works, such as Iron Monkey, The Matrix, Kill Bill, and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, many of which are remembered as classics in the history of Kung Fu or action movie.

The 18th NYAFF runs until July 14.

(Story includes material sourced from Xinhua)