Chinese wartime romance, The Knot, a holder of several domestic film awards, is set to vie for glory at the film industry's most prominent awards, the Oscars.

Actress Li Bingbing and actor Chen Kun are seen in the Chinese romance, The Knot, which has been selected to become the candidate from the Chinese mainland to compete for Oscar nominations for best foreign-language film.

The film has beaten the Golden Lion-nominated The Sun Also Rises to become the candidate from the Chinese mainland to compete for Oscar nominations for best foreign-language film, Tuesday's Beijing Morning Post cited the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, which finalized the selection.

The final list of five nominations will be announced in late January, ahead of the 80th Academy Awards night on February 24, 2008.

The film's director, Yin Li, said he has yet to receive any information.

Yin Li was just back to Beijing from the Rio International Film Festival held in the Brazilian city of Rio, where The Knot was screened.

He said he had no qualms that the film would pose a cultural barrier to Western audiences, citing its successful Rio screening as a proof.

The Knot was the best film at this year's Huabiao Awards, the top official honor for Chinese films. It also won a special jury award at the Shanghai International Film Festival in June.

The film will form a Chinese-language power at the Oscars with Taiwan-born director Ang Lee's Golden Lion-winning Lust, Caution and Hong Kong filmmaker Johnnie To's Exiled.

Lust, Caution is Taiwan's submission, and the gangster flick "Exiled" will represent Hong Kong.

This year's selection for Chinese-language Oscar submissions encountered twists and turns, as Jiang Wen's The Sun Also Rises was first replaced by Johnnie To's Exiled for Hong Kong's candidacy and later lost to The Knot in representing the mainland.

Peter Chan's The Warlords, the previous mainland candidate, was dropped from the bill due to disputes among its investors.

Actress Xu Ruoxuan and actor Chen Kun are seen in the Chinese romance, The Knot.

A poster of the Chinese romance, The Knot, which has been selected to become the candidate from the Chinese mainland to compete for Oscar nominations for best foreign-language film.

(CRI.cn October 9, 2007)