Golden Lion-winning film Still Life saw its bid for the Hong Kong Film Awards run out of steam two months before the unveiling of the result.

The Hong Kong Film Awards Association announced on Wednesday that the film has been removed from the list of nominees, due to technical problems. Its place will be taken by Singaporean film I Not Stupid 2.

Shot using Hi-vision Digital Vidicon and DV, the film was digitally copied on 35-mm reels. However, such media could not reach the standards of the Hong Kong Film Awards body.

Directed by Chinese young director Jia Zhangke, Still Life was awarded the Golden Lion for Best Film at the 63rd Venice Film Festival. The upcoming Hong Kong Film Awards Ceremony, the 26th of its kind, will be held on April 15.

(CRI.cn February 8, 2007)