"If you like kung fu movies, then you've come to the right place," Wong Kar-wai told the audience before the film's New York premiere. "If you don't like kung fu movies, then it's time to change."

The event was held at the Museum of the Moving Image in Queens, New York, and included a post-screening onstage interview with the director. A lively question-and-answer session with the audience followed, during which one audience member shouted from a back row that she had worked briefly for Wong on the film and was wondering if he would be her reference for her film school application.

"Talk to me after," the 57-year-old director sporting his signature sunglasses replied.

Wong is widely considered one of the most influential film directors of his generation, both inside and outside of Asia. Saturday's premiere was the centerpiece of a comprehensive retrospective of Wong's work, which began on July 12 and includes all 10 of his feature films. The retrospective continues with screenings of My Blueberry Nights, In the Mood for Love and 2046 before it ends on Aug 24.

Wong's latest feature, in which he seeks to re-invent the martial arts genre, reunites Tony Leung and Zhang Ziyi, the stars of his science-fiction epic 2046. Neither actor has a background in martial arts, and both spent three years training for the film's fight sequences.

"I always wanted to make a kung fu film, but there have been so many kung fu films made before me and so I had to find my angle," Wong says.

The film tackles the story of Ip Man, played by 51-year-old Leung, who pioneered the popular Wing Chun fighting style and taught kung fu legend Bruce Lee.

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A minute with: Wong Kar Wai on 'The Grandmaster' and kungfu