Veteran Hong Kong actor-singer Andy Lau on Thursday was named Asian filmmaker of the year by one of the region's leading film events, the Pusan International Film Festival.

Festival organizers paid tribute to the 44-year-old Lau's track record of cultivating movie making talent.

"Lau has proven himself as one of the celebrities committed to promote Asian cinema," organizers said in a statement.

The statement noted Lau first worked with young directors when he set up TeamWork Motion Pictures in 1991, then invested in the independent film by Hong Kong director Fruit Chan, "Made in Hong Kong," in 1997.

He later set up Focus Group, a group of companies involved in film, pop music and artist management. One of the companies, Focus Films, last year launched "Focus First Cuts," backing six projects by new directors from Taiwan, Hong Kong, mainland China, Singapore and Malaysia and arranging for their TV and video releases.

Among the projects is the recent China box office hit "Crazy Stone" about robbers in the Chinese heartland who duel with a security chief protecting a precious stone.

Pusan organizers also said Focus Films has been involved in the distribution of independent films "Joni's Promise," "Singapore Gaga" and "Before We Fall in Love Again."

The 11th Pusan International Film Festival will take place October 12-20 in the southern South Korean city of Busan. Organizers of the festival retain an old spelling for the city.

Considered one of the hardest working and most prolific artists in Chinese show business, Lau studied at the famed artist training program at Hong Kong TV station TVB in 1980 before launching successful recording and screen careers.

He was one of Chinese pop music's "Four Heavenly Kings" in the 1990s, along with Aaron Kwok, Leon Lai and Jacky Cheung.

Lau has continued to juggle music and acting. Most recently, he filmed the epic "Battle of Wits," played a drug dealer in "Protege" and released a new album "Voice."

His other film credits include the acclaimed crime thriller "Infernal Affairs," which has been remade by Martin Scorsese as "The Departed," and Zhang Yimou's martial arts film "House of Flying Daggers."

Previous recipients of the Asian filmmaker of the year award at Pusan include Iranian director Mohsen Makhmalbaf and Taiwan's Hou Hsiao-hsien.