Hong Kong enters Wong Kar-wai's The Grandmaster to Oscars

By Michael Rosser

Published on September 23, 2013 in ScreenDaily

Martial arts epic entered for inclusion in the Best Foreign-Language Film Academy Award submissions 2013.

Wong Kar-wai’s The Grandmaster has been chosen as the official entry of Hong Kong to the Academy’s Best Foreign Language Film Award.

The film, which debuted in China and Hong Kong in January and opened the Berlin International Film Festival in February, was released by The Weinstein Company in the US on Aug 23, where it has so far grossed $6.3m. This is part of a worldwide gross in excess of $63m.

The martial arts epic, set in 1930s China, stars Tony Leung Chiu-wai (Infernal Affairs) and Zhang Ziyi (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) and tells the story of kung fu icon Ip Man.

It was produced by Wong’s Jet Tone Films and Block 2 Pictures, Hong Kong’s Sil-Metropole Organisation, and China’s Bona Film Group.

The other two finalists for the Oscar submission included box office smash Unbeatable and Ip Man: The Final Fight, directed by Herman Yau

The nominations for the 2014 Academy Awards will be announced on Jan 16, 2014. The 86th Oscar Ceremony will take place on March 2, 2014.

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