Hong Kong Kungfu movie superstar Jackie Chan pocketed the Best Leading Actor Award of the 25th Golden Rooster film awards, dubbed "China's Oscar," organizers announced on Saturday evening.
Jackie Chan was nominated for his role in the New Police Story. It was the first time that film artists from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan competed for personal prizes at the Golden Rooster and Full Blossom Film Festival, which gives out the top honors in China's film industry.
Chan expressed his gratefulness to the jury with three "thanks" in his speech at the awarding-ceremony on Saturday evening. "Two years ago, I wanted to make a breakthrough of my performance by acting a different role. I didn't expect to win such an important award by the film," he said.
In the New Police Story, Chan played a tragic hero, something he had never tried before in his performance career.
Chan is well known for his Kungfu films such as Drunken Master, Police Story and Rumble in the Bronx. Thunderbolt, also starring Chan, was the first Hong Kong film to be screened at more than 1,000 US cinemas.
The US film Rush Hour featuring Chan was among the top 10 movies in the United States in 1998 in terms of box office revenue.
"Jackie Chan has won the Chinese film an international honor by representing the righteousness and dignity of the Chinese, with his constant efforts," the jury said.
In the competition for the other awards, the three films that had got the most nominations all reaped satisfactory results.
Warfare film On Mt. Taihang by Wei Lian, Shen Dong and Chen Jian won the awards for Best Sound Recording, Best Music and Best Feature Films.
The international-awards-winning Hoh Xil Mountain Patrol by Lu Chuan, reputed as a flagship of the "Sixth Generation" of Chinese directors, also won the award for Best Feature Films.
The jury, as they had done at previous festivals, again let two films share one of the most important awards, though they had promised not to do so earlier.
A dark horse for this year's Golden Rooster awards is You and Me, a small budget film which grabbed the awards for Best Director and Best Leading Actress.
Xie Tieli and Xie Jin, both the leading figures in the so-called "Third Generation" of Chinese directors, were granted the Lifetime Achievement Awards.
(Xinhua News Agency November 13, 2005)
