Andy Lau Tak-wah joins notables and stars in a toast as the Hong Kong International Film Festival kicked off last night with the sold-out world premier of Johnnie To Kei-fung's Election 2, the sequel to last year's triad epic launched at the Cannes Film Festival. To earlier said the film, starring Simon Yam Tat-wah and Louis Koo, examined post-handover Hong Kong and its impact on local people, especially in the triad world. Festival ambassador Lau and Japanese star Chiaki Kuriyama, of Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill: Vol 1, also attended the opening ceremony at the Cultural Centre. The festival last night also featured another opening film, Isabella by Edmond Pang Ho-cheung. Composer Peter Kam earlier won the best film score award at the Berlin International Film Festival for the musical score he wrote for the film. The festival will feature more than 200 films from around the world.
