Lineup at Golden Rooster Awards gives the jury plenty to crow about

The 37th China Film Golden Rooster Awards, one of the country's most prestigious industry honors, will be announced in mid-November in Xiamen, Fujian province, organizers announced during a Beijing briefing on Oct 27.

In all, 20 awards will be given to winners from among the 251 submissions — Chinese films that were screened between July 1 of last year and June 30, and foreign movies screened during the same period that have debuted globally within two years.

Six features received nominations for the Best Picture Award — one of the biggest trophies — namely crime drama Endless Journey, comedy Johnny Keep Walking!, war epic The Volunteers: To the War, romance Viva La Vida, street dancing-themed comedy One and Only, and director Zhang Yimou's Article 20.

Denis Villeneuve's sci-fi blockbuster Dune: Part Two will vie for the Best Foreign Language Film, competing against four other rivals — Christopher Nolan's biographical film Oppenheimer, the American psychological thriller Mother's Instinct, Russian movie The Challenge, which is the first film shot in space, and the documentary Kim's Video.

Pop idol Wang Yibo, who plays a young dancer pursuing his dream in One and Only, will contend for Best Actor, facing off against capable contenders such as Shen Teng, who is known for his vivid interpretation of an underdog racer in Pegasus 2, and Lei Jiayin, who portrays a procurator struggling with a midlife crisis while continuing to seek justice in Article 20.

Article 20 has also earned Ma Li, who plays Lei's wife, a nomination for Best Actress, with the other shortlisted actresses including Li Gengxi, for her touching portrayal of a 25-year-old patient fighting severe uremia in Viva La Vida, and Zhang Zifeng, for playing a dumpling cook in a factory canteen in I Love You, to the Moon, and Back.

As one of the most prestigious awards, Best Director will be contested by five nominees, from veteran director Chen Kaige for The Volunteers: To the War to emerging talent Shen Ao for his film, No More Bets.

Award winners will be announced during the 2024 China Golden Rooster and Hundred Flowers Film Festival, which will be held between Wednesday and Nov 16.

The biggest events include the opening and award ceremonies, which seek to demonstrate Chinese cinema's achievements over the past year, according to Deng Guanghui, vice-chairman of the China Film Association, one of the organizers of the festival and the awards.

Launched in 1992 and consecutively held in Xiamen for five years, the festival is scheduled to screen 75 movies. The lineup comprises 10 new Chinese mainland titles, 25 features from Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan, as well as 40 foreign films from over 30 countries.

Due to its increasing popularity, the festival is expected to draw more foreign attendees than in previous years. Volunteers who are able to speak a number of different languages are being recruited, with plans to bring onboard over 600, according to Wu Zidong, director of Xiamen's publicity department.

Two posters were unveiled during the news event: The primary poster features a rooster about to crow, and the secondary poster is an artistic representation of the number "37", symbolizing this year's 37th edition.

Lu Bu, the designer of the primary poster, explains that the rooster's comb and feathers are colored in an orange-red shade that resembles the color of peacock flowers, an icon of Xiamen.

He adds that the technique used to depict the rooster was inspired by paper marbling, a traditional pattern design dating back to the Tang Dynasty (618-907).

Zhu Xiaohai, the designer of the secondary poster, explains that the image incorporates inspiration drawn from the interplay of light and shadow cast by movie projectors, explaining that the design symbolizes the vitality of the art of film.