BUSAN, South Korea — It's that time of the year when South Korea's entertainment elite descend upon a southern beach resort town for the country's flagship film event, the Pusan International Film Festival.

But this year the toast of the town isn't a Korean director or actor, it's Hong Kong movie star Andy Lau.

Lau is one of Pusan's honored guests this year because it named him Asian filmmaker of the year for his efforts in promoting new Asian film talent.

In a testament to his regional appeal, the 45-year-old actor has been mobbed wherever he goes, from the very moment he landed in Busan last Wednesday. People gawked and took pictures while he lined up to clear immigration.

Walking the red carpet at the opening ceremony the next day, Lau drew screams as loud as those prompted by Korean stars. The festival runs through Friday.

With his latest honor, Lau has now cemented his credentials in another area — movie producing. Pusan organizers chose him because of his work on a new program that finances up-and-coming directors from across Asia.

One area he hasn't branched out into is directing, and he said he isn't eager to do so.

"I'm still young. I'll be an actor first. Also, there are lot of good directors. If people like me perform well in front of the camera, we shouldn't force ourselves into directing," said Lau, who starred in the 2002 Hong Kong crime thriller "Infernal Affairs," which inspired Martin Scorsese's new film "The Departed."

Lau added his temper was a handicap when it came to directing. "I scold people. I sometimes have a bad temper. If shooting isn't going well and I can't control my temper, I may offend a lot of people," he said.