The next edition of CNN’s chat show Talk Asia from Beijing sees the show’s host Lorraine Hahn interviews one of China’s most renowned and influential filmmakers Chen Kaige. The internationally-acclaimed director, best known for such movies as The Emperor and the Assassin and the award-winning Farewell My Concubine, discusses his latest project The Promise.

The show airs on 25 June at 8:30 am, 8 om, 10:30 pm and on 26 June at 4 pm and at 8:30 pm. Kaige says, “It’s a very significant film for me because I got a so-called Asian cast; we have a Japanese, a very famous actor named Sanada and Korean one named Dong-kun Jang and also the actors and actresses from Hong Kong as well.

“It is a love story and we have very strong entertainment elements for sure and including the kung fu stuff. I hope at the end of the day people will say, ‘So it’s great entertainment film but we also find some meanings in the film.’ That’s what I want.”

During the half-hour interview, Chen continues to chat about his inspirations, his life as a member of the famous fifth generation of filmmakers, and growing up during the Cultural Revolution in China. When asked if he considers himself a political filmmaker, he replies, “I’m not political at all but as you know that I grew up in a very, very political period of time which is the Cultural Revolution…yes, we are artists, we want to show people our piece, but at the same time we think it’s very important for us to make our points in our movies.”

Additionally, Chen talks about the challenges of being a filmmaker in China, and where he thinks the Chinese film industry is heading.