Local action director John Woo Yu-sum's epic Red Cliff is likely to be the biggest winner at this year's Hong Kong Film Awards, receiving 15 nominations out of a total of 19 categories.
The two-part historical epic scooped almost all the major nominations, including best film and best director, when the Film Awards Association unveiled the list of nominees yesterday.
The other best film nominees are The Way We Are, CJ7, Painted Skin and Ip Man.
Behind Red Cliff, 12 nominations each went to the action-packed Ip Man, about the life of kung fu master Ip, and Painted Skin, an adaptation of a Chinese ghost romance.
Eric Tsang Chi-wai, vice-chairman of the awards association, said he expected the judges would have difficulty selecting winners in the best actor and best actress categories.
'Many of the nominees have had impressive performances, or even made a breakthrough, in their films,' said Tsang, a veteran actor.
Local heart-throb Tony Leung Chiu-wai, who plays a general in Red Cliff, faces stiff competition from Louis Koo Tin-lok in Run Papa Run and Nick Cheung Ka-fai in The Beast Stalker.