A Hong Kong-Canada co-produced film "Lunch with Charles" has won seven nominations in the Leo Awards 2001 in British Columbia, Canada, according to a government press release here Wednesday.

Carrie Yau, secretary for information technology and broadcasting of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR), sent her congratulation on the film following the nomination.

Directed by the Canadian director Michael Parker, "Lunch with Charles" is co-produced by Newfull Development Co. Ltd. in Hong Kong and Holiday Pictures in Canada.

The film has been nominated for seven Leo Awards, including Best Feature Length Drama, Best Director, Best Screenwriter, Best Cinematography, Best Production Design, Best Musical Score and Best Male Performance.

"The nominations for Leo Awards reflect not only the international recognition of the high standard of the film, but also showcase the success of co-production activities between Hong Kong and Canada," said Yau.

The Leo Awards were established in 1998 to celebrate excellence in film and television production in British Columbia, Canada. The awards presentation ceremony will be held on May 11-12 in Vancouver.

"Lunch with Charles", a romantic comedy about two couples in search of their own dreams filmed at locations in Hong Kong and Canada, has received advance approval as a Hong Kong-Canada co-production in 1999 under the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Film and Television Co-production between the government of Hong Kong SAR and the government of Canada.

Two films, including "Lunch with Charles", and three animation series, with a total production budget of about HK$96 million (US$12.3 million), have been approved as co-productions under the MOU.

(People’s Daily 05/03/2001)