The Grandmasters - a sneak peak into the old ways of Kung Fu

The Independent: "Martial arts epic The Grandmaster will open 2013's Berlin International Film Festival as its international premiere. Directed by Wong Kar Wai, president of this year’s festival jury, the film is set against the tumultuous backdrop of 1930s China."

Unlike other popular Martial Arts films in recent years that have focused on story lines centered around individual historical figures such as Ip Man (Master of Bruce Lee), The Grandmasters sets the scenes against the backdrop of the post Qing dynasty China, depicting the dynamics among the different Kung Fu sects as they struggled to pass on their skills and traditions to the next generation. Civil wars and the Japanese invasion during the second world war has displaced many of the old families, disrupted the centuries old rules and traditions, many of the "old ways" and techniques were lost and forgotten.

Director Wong spent a number of years preparing for this film. Visiting all the major Kung Fu families that still remains in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan today. The actors were also asked to become real disciples in each school and underwent harsh trainings for a couple of years to enable them to better portrait the Grandmasters in the film.

Supported by years of research, the film offers viewers a sneak peak into the most recent, and the last known golden era of the Kung Fu world. It places more emphasis on the real spirits and the traditional values of Kung Fu, before Kung Fu became a thesaurus for special effects in action films, before Kung Fu was perceived more as a form of art.

Can't wait for this film to be translated and premiered for the international audiences.