THE Infernal Affairs may be the first film that to represent Hong Kong to compete for the Best Foreign Language Film in the next Oscar race, the Federation of Motion Film Producers of Hong Kong announced Tuesday.

It will also join the other two Hong Kong films, Heroic Duo and PTU, both were strong competitors of Infernal Affairs for the Oscar nomination, in the coming Asia Pacific Film Festival in Iran.

Media Asia Group, producer of Infernal Affair, refused to speculate if the film would win the prize in the Academy Awards. "The film has snatched many prizes in different events. Of cause we hope it could win something back this time, but the chances are really hard to predict."

The prudence of the producer comes from the obvious inferior position of the film. The film, which is about policemen and gangsters, is rather mundane. Though the plot is fascinating, the film doesn't seem to meet the Oscar voters' taste, who always look for rich content in films.

Besides Westerners may find it difficult to grasp the Oriental Buddhist doctrine reflected in the film. Without the familiar faces of Chinese stars like Zhang Ziyi, the film, which has a strong cast of popular Hong Kong actors and actresses, is predicted to have an extremely slim chance to stand out in the competition.

Yet, Infernal Affairs is the first Hong Kong nomination for the Oscar, and this has meant much more than winning a prize.

Despite Infernal Affairs' nomination, Chinese mainland won't be affected in sending its own nominators to Oscar for the same prize, since Hong Kong is participating the Oscar event as a region.

Editor: Wings