Chinese American actor and producer Daniel Wu was honored with the Best from the East Award at the New York Asian Film Festival, where he reflected on identity, cultural exchange and his decades-long connection with Hong Kong cinema.

Wu, who also presented Cold War 1994 during the festival, said he felt "excited, proud and honored" to receive the recognition.

"Although I was born and raised in the West, I've always represented Hong Kong film," he said. "Hong Kong film has had its ups and downs in the past 30 years. But it's always going to survive."

Returning to Hong Kong to film has always felt like "a homecoming", Wu said. Reflecting on his cross-cultural career, he acknowledged the complexities of his identity. As a Chinese American who has spent much of his career in Hong Kong, he said he feels more at home filming in China, where he does not feel like a "minority", while still navigating questions about his own identity.

Wu said his mother's advice helped him embrace both sides of who he is.

"You should just think of yourself as a person of the world and not necessarily someone of the East and West," he recalled her saying. "You're both worlds."

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Wu said he now sees his career as "right in the middle on this bridge", connecting cultures while expanding opportunities for future generations of Asian actors.

"The only reason why I keep trying to work in the United States is to show the next generation that it's possible for people like us," he said. Growing up, he rarely saw Asians on screen except in stereotypical roles.

"I'm trying to help open up a path for the next generation so that we have more representation and more visibility in the West," he added.

Speaking about his role in the movie, Wu said the character was unlike any he had played before. Rather than a clear-cut hero or villain, the role challenged him to portray a morally complex mastermind at a different stage of life.

"I never played a character like this that was so morally ambiguous," Wu said. "I've played bad guys, good guys and young cops, but I've never played an older mastermind like this."

"It's interesting to be at a different stage in my own life and relate to this character and understand him," he said.

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The film also depicts the period surrounding Hong Kong's return from British rule to the motherland, giving audiences an opportunity to explore that chapter of history through cinema.

The Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in New York has partnered with the New York Asian Film Festival since 2009. This year, 17 Hong Kong films are being showcased at the festival.

Maisie Ho, director of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in New York, said the film festival serves as a bridge between East and West.

"For Asian Americans, who are locally born and raised here, to really reconnect to their own identity, through movies, through the culture, through seeing all these productions from there. That's a very valuable way of connecting them to their own roots," she said.

Ho said the festival also allows audiences of all backgrounds to gain a deeper understanding of Asia's cultural diversity through cinema.

Ho described Wu as "already an ambassador bridging East and West". She said his cross-cultural experiences help audiences appreciate different perspectives and recognize that there is never just one way of understanding the world.

Through figures like Wu and platforms such as the festival, cultural exchange becomes more meaningful and accessible, she added.

Hong Kong actress Angela Yuen is also receiving the New York Asian Film Festival's Screen International Rising Star Asia Award.

Contact the writer at mingmeili@chinadailyusa.com