"My dream is to make a continuous playing film if you ask me what will be my last film," said director Tsui Hark when he met with students of the Beijing Film Academy on September 9. "But I know it is impossible."

Director Tsui Hark (left) meets with students at the Beijing Film Academy on Thursday, September 9, 2010. [CRI]

Just coming back from the 67th Venice Film Festival, Tsui shared his experiences from his dozens of films and his recent trip to Venice.

"They liked the characters in 'Detective Dee' and gave it a high score of 7.4, even though they didn't know much about the background of China's Tang Dynasty," Tsui said about the film festival's committee members.

"Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame" is Tsui's latest action thriller competing for a Gold Lion at the 67th Venice Film Festival, which runs until September 11. The story is set in the Tang Dynasty of ancient China. A legendary detective named Di Renjie lives under the reign of Wu Zetian, and is summoned by her to investigate a series of mysterious deaths.

The suspense film is set for domestic release on September 29.

In response to a question about whether he is nervous about competing with four other Chinese films at the box office, Tsui said he would not describe it as a fight and wanted to see the other movies.

Tsui also told students about his experience in making films. He said whenever he is interested in a story and is totally focused on the roles, he always feels the characters will jump out, approach him and communicate with him.

"You might think it's mysterious and scary, but it really happens to me," Tsui said.

As for what he has learned as a director, Tsui said he believes film is a mirror through which people can figure out who they are.

"Through film, I am able to see who I am, what I cherish and how I view my life," he said.

Tsui also gave the students his personal email address and told them to send him any messages if they had good ideas about films and wanted to collaborate with him.