Portuguese-Chinese beauty Isabella Leung may not have won any awards for her starring role in the Hong Kong film Isabella, but she walked away from the Berlin Film Festival with a role in an upcoming Spanish film.

The 17-year-old Leung, with just one year in show business, will be working with Spanish director Gernan in a treasure-hunt action film. Only two Hong Kong actresses — Maggie Cheung and Hsu Chi — have previously appeared in European films.

Singer Deep Ng from Emperor Group has been cast as the male lead. Veteran Hong Kong actor Kenneth Tsang will play his teacher.

Gernan, known in Europe for both his films and his paintings, appeared at last year's Shanghai International Film Festival. The upcoming production will be shot in Spain and Shanghai.

(Shenzhen Daily February 24, 2006)