Ang Lee's highly-acclaimed Lust, Caution and Peter Ho-sun Chan's war epic The Warlords picked up the most nominations for this year's Asian Film Awards in Hong Kong, with six nods apiece including best film and best director.

Both films also picked up best actor nods; action star Jet Li tackled a strong dramatic role in The Warlords,while Tony Leung Chiu-waiplayeda war-time official embroiled in a passionate affair in Lust, Caution.

Rounding out the best film category are Hana Makhmalbaf's Buddha Collapsed Out Of Shame, Lee Chang-dong's Secret Sunshine, Jiang's Wen's The Sun Also Rises and Japanese director Suo Masayuki's I Just Didn't Do It.

All were also nominated for best director except Makhmalbaf, while Chinese-Korean director Zhang Lu picked up a best director nod for Desert Dream.

In the best actress category, Secret Sunshine's Cannes prize-winning Jeon Do-Yeon will do battle with Lust, Caution's Tang Wei, Joan Chen for The Home Song Stories, Korean actress Kim Yunjin (Seven Days), Japan's Kiki Kirin (Tokyo Tower: Mom And Me, And Sometimes Dad) and India's Deepika Padukone (Om Shanti Om).

Chen, who has had a good year winning Golden Horse and AFI Awards for The Home Song Stories, was also nominated for best supporting actress for The Sun Also Rises.

Best actor nominations also include Japanese actors Kase Ryo (I Just Didn't Do It) and Joe Odagiri (Tokyo Tower) along with Korea's Song Kang-ho (Secret Sunshine), who won best actor last year for The Host, and Taiwan's Jack Kao (God Man Dog).

The visual effects category is also strong, underscoring the growing strengths of Asia's post-production industry, and sees the local effects houses that worked on The Warlords, Korean monster flick D-War and two Japanese features compete with France's Dubois which worked on The Sun Also Rises.

In terms of numbers of nominations, The Sun Also Rises followed Lust, Cautionand The Warlords with five nods; Secret Sunshine and I Just Didn't Do It picked up four apiece; two other Japanese films - Tokyo Tower and Always: Sunset On Third Street 2 - picked up three apiece, and the rest of the films had one or two nominations.

The Asian Film Awards will be held in Hong Kong on March 17, which is also the opening night of Filmart, HAF and the Hong Kong International Film Festival.

Full list of nominations for the Asian Film Awards:

Best Film

Buddha Collapsed Out of Shame (Iran)

I Just Didn't Do It (Japan)

Lust, Caution (Taiwan / Chinese Mainland)

Secret Sunshine (South Korea)

The Sun Also Rises (Chinese Mainland / Hong Kong)

The Warlords (Chinese Mainland / Hong Kong)

Best Director

Peter Chan - The Warlords (Chinese Mainland / Hong Kong)

JIANG Wen - The Sun Also Rises (Chinese Mainland / Hong Kong)

Ang LEE - Lust, Caution (Taiwan / Chinese Mainland / US)

LEE Chang-Dong - Secret Sunshine (South Korea)

SUO Masayuki - I Just Didn't Do It (Japan)

ZHANG Lu - Desert Dream (South Korea / France)

Best Actor

Jack KAO - God Man Dog (Taiwan)

KASE Ryo - I Just Didn't Do It (Japan)

Tony LEUNG Chiu-wai - Lust, Caution (Taiwan / Chinese Mainland / US)

Jet LI - The Warlords (Chinese Mainland / Hong Kong)

SONG Kang-ho - Secret Sunshine (South Korea)

Joe ODAGIRI - Tokyo Tower : Mom and Me, and Sometimes Dad (Japan)

Best Actress

Joan CHEN - The Home Song Stories (Singapore / Australia)

JEON Do-Yeon - Secret Sunshine (South Korea)

KIKI Kirin - Tokyo Tower : Mom and Me, and Sometimes Dad (Japan)

KIM Yunjin - Seven Days (South Korea)

Deepika PADUKONE - Om Shanti Om (India)

TANG Wei - Lust, Caution (Taiwan / Chinese Mainland / US)

Best Supporting Actor

CHUN Ho-jin - Skeletons in the Closet (South Korea)

KOBAYASHI Kaoru - Tokyo Tower : Mom and Me, and Sometimes Dad (Japan)

Mario MAURER - Love of Siam (Thailand)

SUN Honglei - Mongol (Mongolia / Kazakhstan / Germany / Russia)

TSUTSUMI Shin'ichi - Always: Sunset on Third Street 2 (Japan)

Best Supporting Actress

Joan CHEN - The Sun Also Rises (Chinese Mainland / Hong Kong)

KONG Hyo-jin - Happiness (South Korea)

KIM Hye-soo - Skeletons in the Closet (South Korea)

Apinya SAKUJAROENSUK - Ploy (Thailand)

YAKUSHIMARU Hiroko - Always: Sunset on Third Street 2 (Japan)

Best Screenwriter

AU Kin Yee / WAI Ka-Fai - The Mad Detective (Hong Kong)

IM Sang-soo - The Old Garden (South Korea)

PENG Tao - Little Moth (Chinese Mainland)

James SCHAMUS / WANG Hui-Ling - Lust, Caution (Taiwan / China / US)

SUO Masayuki - I Just Didn't Do It (Japan)

Best Cinematographer

Hooman BEHMANESH - Those Three (Iran)

Chankit CHAMNIVIKAIPONG - Ploy (Thailand)

LIAO Pen-jung - Help Me Eros (Taiwan)

Shanker RAMAN - Frozen (India)

Arthur WONG - The Warlords (Chinese Mainland / Hong Kong)

Best Production Designer

CAO Jiuping / ZHANG Jian Qun - The Sun Also Rises (China / Hong Kong)

KIM Yu-Jeong / LEE Min-Bok - Epitaph (South Korea)

IWAKI Namiko - Sakuran (Japan)

Pisut PARIWATTANAKIT / Thanakorn PONGSUWAN - Opapatika (Thailand)

TSAI Ming-liang - Help Me Eros (Taiwan)

Best Composer

Love of Siam (Thailand) - The August Band / Flure / Witwisit HIRUNWONGKUL / Chukiate SAKVEERAKUL / Passakorn WIROONSUP

Om Shanti Om (India) - Vishal DADLANI / Shekhar RAVJIANI / Pyarelal Ramprasad SHARMA

Lust, Caution (Taiwan / Chinese Mainland / US) - Alexandre DESPLAT

Mid-Afternoon Barks (Chinese Mainland) - Xiao He

Sakuran (Japan) - SHIINA Ringo

Best Editor

Charliebebs GOHETIA - Slingshot (The Philippines)

HIRASAWA Shogo - Maiko haaaan!!! (Japan)

LEE Eun-soo - The Old Garde n (South Korea)

Wenders LI - The Warlords (Chinese Mainland / Hong Kong)

David RICHARDSON - Eye In the Sky (Hong Kong)

Best Visual Effects

Thomas DUVAL - The Sun Also Rises (Chinese Mainland / Hong Kong)

HYUNG Rae Shim - D-War (South Korea)

NG Yuen Fai - The Warlords (Chinese Mainland / Hong Kong)

SESHITA Hiroyuki - Dainipponjin (Japan)

YAMAZAKI Takashi - Always: Sunset on Third Street 2 (Japan)

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