Award-winning actress Cecilia Yip has been working in the film industry for more than 20 years and has starred in more than 40 movies. She has seen dozens of directors come and go, however what impresses the 42-year-old veteran the most about a new director is the fresh insight and vision, that only a rookie can see.

Yip is one of the judges at the Asian Festival of First Films and said young film makers get only once chance to make a first impression.

"There is only one 'first film' for artists," she said. "The major difference between young directors and more experienced ones is they are much more creative and have fresh ideas.

"They have the passion to create and to tell stories."

Yip is the only actress on the judging panel and said films should connect with the audience.

"I don't know much about films technically, such as how the lights function and how to capture different angles of the characters," she said. "But I can choose a winner just like a member of the audience who buys ticket at the cinema.

"The most important thing is not how big the budget is or how flashy the pictures are. It is the heart, the devotion and the director's personal style that really matters."

Wearing a long skirt decorated in Indian patterns, the 1.7 metre-tall woman is a picture of poise and politeness. It was quite a change from her early film days when she won Best Actress at the Hong Kong Film Awards with Alfred Cheung's Let's Make Laugh.

In 1982, Yip landed her first major movie role in Hong Kong new wave director Patrick Tam's Nomad. She played a young girl searching for the meaning of life opposite the late-singer/actor Leslie Cheung.

Now, 24 years later, she still enjoys Tam's films. "He is more mature and gives a film totally different from the trendy films in Hong Kong, which are over-comical," she said.

With more than 40 movies on her resume, acting is now simply a job and she is no longer dazzled by the bright lights of fame.

What she wants now is positive critics and real opinions.

"Even if I am an experienced actress, I still want to change, to try and to improve," she said.

"It is true that people rarely tell you whether my acting is good or bad in a film. They already have a fixed image of my acting so I have no space to breakthrough."

She is looking forward to working with more young filmmakers as well. "When I work with new actors, I think to myself, I used to be one," she said.

"Sometimes, working with a young team can create different kinds of sparks because they bring something new and unexpected."

(China Daily December 8, 2006)