The nominations for the 43rd Golden Horse Awards for Chinese-language cinema were announced today in Taipei. Titles competing for Best Feature Film are Patrick Tam's After This Our Exile, Ning Hao's Crazy Stone, Johnnie To's Exiled, Peter Chan's Perhaps Love and Su Chao-pin's Silk.

Musical Perhaps Love dominates the race to the finishing line with 12 nominations including Best Director and a Best Leading Actress nod for Zhou Xun. Patrick Tam's After This Our Exile secured seven nominations, including a Leading Actor nomination for last year's winner Aaron Kwok.

Reflecting the even spread of the results, Feng Xiaogang's Oscar candidate The Banquet and Taiwan supernatural thriller Silk secured five nominations each, while six films secured four nominations each: Ning's Crazy Stone, Leste Chen's Eternal Summer, Exiled, Tian Zhuangzhuang's The Go Master and Pang Bros' Re-cycle.

Two unexpected inclusions in the final nomination list are Tian's The Go Master and Wu Mi-sen's amour-LEGENDE. Neither film was strictly eligible for the awards which demands that all submissions are primarily in a Chinese language dialect. Festival changed regulations at the eleventh hour to assure their inclusion.

Among the surprises is the lack of a Best Director nomination for After This Our Exile's Patrick Tam. Unusually, Exile's Goum Ian Iskander (aka Ng King-to), Eternal Summer's Joseph Chang and Da-Yu: The Touch of Fate's Wu Chung-tien each go head-to-head in both the Best Supporting Actor and Best Newcomer categories.

Perhaps Love, which premiered in Venice in September 2005, was eligible for inclusion in last year's Golden Horse Awards but chose not to submit.

43rd GOLDEN HORSE AWARDS

Best Feature Film:
After This Our Exile (dir. Patrick Tam)
Crazy Stone (dir. Ning Hao)
Exiled (dir. Johnnie To)
Perhaps Love (dir. Peter Chan)
Silk (dir. Su Chao-pin)

Best Director:
Ning Hao (Crazy Stone)
Johnnie To (Exiled)
Peter Chan (Perhaps Love)
Su Chao-pin (Silk)

Best Leading Actor:
Aaron Kwok (After This Our Exile)
Sam Lee (Dog Bite Dog)
Chang Chen (The Go Master)
Francis Ng (Wo Hu)

Best Leading Actress:
Carina Lau (Curiosity Kills the Cat)
Zhou Xun (Perhaps Love)
Siqin Gaowa (The Postmodern Life of my Aunt)
Angelica Lee (Re-cycle)

Best Supporting Actor:
Goum Ian Iskander (After This Our Exile)
Joseph Chang (Eternal Summer)
Chapman To (Moonlight in Tokyo)
Wu Chung-tien (Da-Yu: The Touch of Fate)

Best Supporting Actress:
Pearlly Chua (I Don't Want to Sleep Alone)
Amy Chum (My Mother is a Belly Dancer)
Vicki Zhao (The Postmodern Life of My Aunt)
Nikki Shie (Reflections)

Best New Performer:
Goum Ian Iskander (After This Our Exile)
Bryant Chang (Eternal Summer)
Joseph Chang (Eternal Summer)
Wu Chung-tien (Da-Yu: The Touch of Fate)

Best Original Screenplay:
Patrick Tam & Tian Koi Leong (After This Our Exile)
Ning Hao (Crazy Stone)
Su Chao-pin (Silk)
Pan Chih-yuan & Liu Hsueh-jung (Da-Yu: The Touch of Fate)

Best Screenplay Adaption:
Edmond Wong (Dragon Tiger Gate)
Ning Dai & Zhang Yuan (Little Red Flowers)
Li Qiang (The Postmodern Life of My Aunt)

Best Cinematography:
Mark Lee (After This Our Exile)
Zhang Li (The Banquet )
Wang Yu (The Go Master)
Peter Pau (Perhaps Love)

Best Visual Effects:
Eddy Wong & Victor Wong (A Chinese Tall Story)
Ho Siu-lun & Pornpol Sakarin (Perhaps Love)
Ng Yuen-fai (Re-cycle)
Foo Sing-choong (Silk)

Best Art Direction:
Tim Yip (The Banquet)
Emi Wada & Etsuko Aiko (The Go Master)
Yee Chung-man & Pater Wong (Perhaps Love)
Narongchal Aunn-ja (Re-cycle)

Best Make-up & Costume Design:
Patrick Tam & Tu Hsu-chung (After This Our Exile)
Tim Yip (The Banquet)
Emi Wada (The Go Master)
Yee Chung-man & Dora Ng (Perhaps Love)

Best Action Choreography:
Donnie Yen (Dragon Tiger Gate)
Ling Chun-pong & Wong Chi-wai (Exiled)
Yuen Wo-ping (Fearless)
Stephen Tung & Farah Khan (Perhaps Love)

Best Original Film Score:
Tan Dun (The Banquet)
Lim Giong (Do Over)
Peter Kam & Leon Ko (Perhaps Love)
Peter Kam (Silk)

Best Original Film Song:
Sheng Heyu (The Banquet)
Chen Shin-hung (Eternal Summer)
Chris Shum (Perhaps Love)
Teresa Chang (Reflections)

Best Film Editing:
Du Yuan (Crazy Stone)
Chen Po-wen (Do Over)
David Richardson (Exiled)
Wenders Li & Kong Chi-leung (Perhaps Love)

Best Sound Effects:
Tu Duu-chih, Guo Li-chi, Ke Yijun (amour-LEGENDE)
Tu Duu-chih & Tang Shiang-chu (I Don't Want to Sleep Alone)
Kinson Tsang (Perhaps Love)
Jadet Chawang (Re-cycle)

Best Documentary:
Doctor (Cream Production Company)
My Football Summer (Serenity Entertainment International)

Best Short Film:
Black Night: Next Door (Filmko Entertainment)
53 Flower House (London Film School)
Days on the Crosswalk (National Taiwan University of Arts)
The Secret in the Wind (National Taiwan University of Arts & Portico Media)

Formosan Film Award:
Days on the Crosswalk (National Taiwan University of Arts)
Do Over (Top Film Company & Leader Entertainment)
Da-Yu: The Touch of Fate (TLF Production)

Formosan Person Award:
Kuo Li-chi, Pan Chih-yuan & Berlin Chen