Race for a Golden Horse

TWO Hong Kong directors will keep the flag flying for the territory when the Taiwan film industry unveils this year's winners for the coveted Golden Horse film awards, the Asian equivalent of the Oscars, next Wednesday.

Stanley Kwan Kam-pang and avant garde film-maker Wong Kar-wai have been nominated for the Best Director award while their films - Kwan's still unreleased Red Rose, White Rose and Wong's Chungking Express and Ashes Of Time - have provided a number of nominations in several categories.

Red Rose, White Rose is nominated for a total of nine categories: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay (Lam Yik-wah), Best Actress (Joan Chen and Veronica Yip Yuk-hing), Best Cinematography (Christopher Doyle), Best Art Direction (Pok Yeuk-muk), Best Costume Design (Pok Yeuk-muk), Best Film Score (Chan Woon-cheong) and Best Editing (Chan Kong-ho).

Chungking Express has eight; Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor (Tony Leung Chiu-wai), Best Actress (Faye Wong Ching-man), Best Cinematography (Lau Wai-keung and Christopher Doyle), Best Art Direction (William Chiang Suk-ping), Best Editing (Hee Kit-wai, William Chiang, Kwong Chi-leung) and Best Film Score (Frankie Chan Fun-kei); while Ashes Of Time is up for four: Best Adapted Screenplay (Wong Kar-wai), Best Cinematography (Christopher Doyle), Best Art Direction (William Chiang) and Best Costume Design (William Chiang).

But despite the long list, Hong Kong nominations this year are relatively weak with none of the films showing any clear edge over their Taiwanese rivals.

Red Rose, White Rose and Chungking Express will be up against stiff Taiwanese competition in the Best Picture category with Edward Yang Dechuang's A Confucian Confusion, Ang Lee's Eat Drink Man Woman, Tsai Ming-ling's Vive L'amour and Duosang (The Mulberry Trees) also vying for the top honour.