Actor Joe Odagiri (left) and director Tian Zhuangzhuang attend the opening ceremony of the 2009 Golden Horse Film Festival in Taipei on November 5, 2009. [Tungstar/ent.sina.com.cn]

The annual Golden Horse Film Festival, the top film event in Taiwan has opened with local filmmaker Cheng Wen-Tang's crime drama "Tears" and mainland director Tian Zhuangzhuang's fantasy feature "The Warrior and the Wolf".

Japanese heartthrob Joe Odagiri, lead actor in "Wolf", was the highlight photo opportunity on the festival's red carpet.

Presided over by Taiwan's leading director Hou Hsiao-Hsien, the month-long festival will screen more than 100 Chinese and foreign films divided in categories such as anti-domestic violence, Chinese independent filmmaking, and classic film.

The festival will close on November 28 with the Golden Horse Awards ceremony, known as the Chinese-language Oscars.