Hong Kong Film Awards to celebrate Chinese cinema (original) (raw)

Hong Kong Film Awards to celebrate Chinese cinema (Agencies) Updated: 2004-12-22 16:13

The Hong Kong Film Awards in 2005 will celebrate the past 100 years of Chinese cinema, and acclaimed Taiwanese directors Ang Lee and Hou Hsiao-hsien have been invited to attend, a newspaper reported Wednesday.

When the ceremony is held March 27, judges won't just be picking the best new movies, the South China Morning Post reported.

A panel of film professionals will also choose the best 100 Chinese movies since the first one was made: "The Battle of Dingjunshan" in 1905, the paper said.

The newspaper quoted Manfred Wong, chairman of the Hong Kong Film Awards Association, as saying that directors Lee and Hou have been asked to present awards.

Lee directed the Oscar-winning martial arts epic "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon." Hou made the historical drama "A City of Sadness," winner of the Golden Lion Award at the Venice Film Festival in 1989.

"We are planning to invite Hollywood stars and some rarely seen big names," Wong was quoted as saying. "But we are still waiting for their answers."