Director Wang Quan'an and actress Lisa Lu promote the film Apart Together in Beijing on February 8 (CFP)

Chinese director Wang Quan'an says he has kept his feet on the ground despite the fact that his new film seems to be "crazily in demand" at the upcoming Berlin International Film Festival.

Wang, who won the Golden Berlin Bear in 2007 for the film Tuya's Marriage, is heading for Berlin again with his latest film, Apart Together, a moving drama about a family reunion.

Besides competing for the top Golden Bear award, this time Wang will have another big moment to embrace - Apart Together has been chosen as the festival's opening film. It will have its world premiere on February 11 in front of the movie industry's most celebrated stars, who will gather for the Berlinale's 60th birthday.

Apart Together will also appear at the Berlinale Goes Kiez and the Culinary Cinema sections during the ten-day festival.

"I put no pressure on myself," Wang told domestic Web site Sina.com.cn on Monday prior to his Berlin trip.

"I'll do just two things in Berlin. One, screen my film; and two, enjoy the party."

Apart Together will be screened six times during the festival.

"It is indeed crazy," Wang said. He and his team have been working against time to prepare English and German subtitles for the Berlinale. The festival committee soon asked for two more prints and even offered to help with the subtitle translations.

Speaking of his rivalry with Zhang Yimou, the other Chinese filmmaker competing for the Golden Bear, Wang said, "Each director has his own style. There is really not much comparison. The only one I want to defeat is myself. Only then could I achieve further development."

Apart Together tells the story of a retired Kuomintang veteran who returns to Shanghai in search of his wife, from whom he had been separated for decades after he fled to Taiwan in 1949. His plans to take his wife back to Taiwan are disrupted when he finds she has already established another family.

The film stars 83-year-old Chinese-American actress Lisa Lu as the woman who tackles emotional struggles between her lover and her current husband. Other cast members include Ling Feng, Xu Caigen, Mo Xiaoqi and Ma Xiaoqing.

(CRIENGLISH.com February 9, 2010)