10th Anniversary Special Screening of Dragon Blade Shines at the Asian World Film Festival

LAPost / Culver City, CA (November 16, 2025) — As the 11th Asian World Film Festival (AWFF) draws to a close, the festival hosted a special 10th anniversary screening and tribute event for the Chinese epic Dragon Blade on November 16 at the Culver Theater. In his opening remarks, AWFF Executive Director Georges N. Chamchoum stated that this tribute not only reaffirms the film’s enduring artistic value a decade later, but also serves as an important ceremony honoring cross-cultural collaboration, international-level filmmaking, and the cinematic expression of Chinese historical epics. He emphasized that Dragon Blade remains a landmark achievement in the internationalization of Chinese cinema, with its scale, themes, and multinational production model continuing to hold exemplary significance today.

Director Daniel Lee (Li Rengang) attended the event along with two of the film’s key creative leads—cinematographer Tony Cheung (Cheung Tung-leung) and composer/music director Henry Lai Wan Man. The trio joined the audience for the screening of the 2015 global co-production that drew widespread international attention, followed by an engaging post-screening Q&A.

Starring Jackie Chan, John Cusack, and Academy Award winner Adrien Brody, Dragon Blade is set along the Silk Road 2,000 years ago, blending epic scale, large-format action sequences, and a tapestry of diverse civilizations. Produced by Jackie Chan, Zeng Pei-Shan, and Daniel Lee, the bilingual Chinese-English film was designed from its inception for the global market and is widely regarded as an essential case study in the internationalization of Chinese blockbuster filmmaking.

Daniel Lee holds a distinguished, almost iconic position within Chinese cinema. A painter-turned-filmmaker, he is known for his masterful command of composition, color, and visual aesthetics—creating works that unite poetic imagery with narrative force. Dragon Blade stands as a concentrated expression of his artistic signature: Kurosawa-esque epic scale, action sequences with the muscular energy of Chang Cheh’s martial-arts films, and an overall cinematic structure and styling that match international blockbuster standards. In recent years, Lee’s work has continued to deepen in emotional nuance, thematic resonance, and cross-cultural communication, marking him as a key auteur driving the industrial advancement of Chinese cinema. Reflecting on the desert shoot and the multinational team, he noted, “There was pressure, of course—but more than that, it felt like a profound dialogue between civilizations.”

The film’s striking visual world was crafted by acclaimed Asian cinematographer Tony Cheung, known for his meticulous control of light and shadow, fluid camera movement, and commanding spatial composition. In Dragon Blade, Cheung’s large-scale on-location photography, deep battlefield staging, and painterly compositions reconstructed the vast deserts, fortresses, and military formations of the Silk Road with sweeping grandeur. His lens brought layered portrayals of multiple ethnic groups, allowing the film’s depictions of war, culture, and fate to resonate with realism and historical weight. Cheung’s cinematography anchors the epic not only in spectacle but in emotion.

The score, composed by veteran musician Henry Lai Wan Man, is a masterclass in cross-cultural music design—seamlessly blending ethnic instrumentation, choral arrangements, and orchestral symphonics. The soundtrack’s sweeping architecture and memorable themes connect character arcs with the film’s cultural and moral conflicts. Lai incorporated ancient traditional instruments to bridge the ancient Silk Road and contemporary audiences, while orchestral layers heightened the film’s depictions of compassion, belief, and sacrifice. His work has been widely regarded as a defining example of cross-cultural scoring in modern Asian cinema.

Ten years ago, Dragon Blade applied Hollywood-level industrial systems to reinterpret Silk Road history, translating China’s ideals of harmony and universal connectedness into cinematic language accessible to global audiences. With its massive action sequences, multicultural cast of characters, and international narrative rhythm, the film’s craftsmanship continues to impress. Local film critic Richard Ren commented after the screening: “This is a film made with sincerity and imagination for audiences around the world. A decade later, few works have surpassed it in both ambition and execution.”

At the conclusion of the screening, the entire audience rose for a spontaneous standing ovation that lasted five full minutes, a powerful tribute to the film’s artistic achievement, production ambition, and cross-cultural storytelling legacy. The AWFF organizing committee remarked that such an overwhelming response underscores the deeper meaning of this tribute screening—not only celebrating a successful film, but acknowledging the contributions of Chinese cinema to global film culture.

The 10th anniversary event drew film enthusiasts, industry professionals, scholars, and representatives from cultural institutions, becoming one of the most talked-about programs of this year’s festival. As a special presentation of the Asian World Film Festival, the screening reaffirmed the film’s technical and artistic sophistication and served as an official festival tribute—recognizing Dragon Blade’s pioneering cross-cultural collaboration, industrial breakthroughs, and enduring impact on the global visibility of Asia-Pacific cinema.

The event was hosted by Olivia Li (Li Jiabi), with coordination by Jack Tu (Tu Shengcheng) and Amy Peng (Peng Tianying). Event director Tanxuan Shi (Shi Tanxuan) ensured the program’s smooth and elegant presentation.

(Written by: Richard Ren / LAPost)