Set in 19th-century China and featuring an all-star cast - including Hong Kong heartthrob Andy Lau, who lost out to Li for Best Actor - The Warlords also bagged Best Director for Peter Chan.

Lau, who was nominated for awards in two separate roles, picked up the Best Supporting Actor trophy for his performance as a mafia boss in Protege.

The crime thriller was nominated in 15 out of 17 possible categories in one of the Chinese film industry's top honours.

The celebrity-obsessed Hong Kong press was out in full force at the red carpet event as hundreds of screaming fans waved banners and cheered a string of glamorous leading ladies and men as they arrived outside the Hong Kong Cultural Centre.

Director Lee Ang bagged the Best Asian Film award for another war epic, Lust, Caution. The film has been dogged by controversy for its explicit sex scenes and its subject matter of a government that collaborated with the Japanese occupation. Lee was not in Hong Kong to accept the award.

Siqin Gaowa was named Best Actress for her role in the quirky The Postmodern Life Of My Aunt, about a woman in her 60s who falls for an amateur Peking Opera performer, played by superstar Chow Yun Fat.

Prolific director Johnnie To scooped Best Screenplay with his crime flick Mad Detective after drawing plaudits at last year's Venice Film Festival.

To also produced Eye In The Sky, which won Best New Director for Yau Nai Hoi and Best Performance by a Newcomer for actress Kate Tsui.

The Professional Achievement award was given to much-loved comedian Lydia Sum, better known as 'Fei Fei' (literally meaning 'Fat Fat'), who died from cancer in February.

The Lifetime Achievement award was presented to Hong Kong movie boss Raymond Chow, whose Golden Harvest studios helped produce a string of talent from the former British colony, including action star Jackie Chan and martial arts legend Bruce Lee.

Hong Kong enjoys a rich film heritage and became an international movie powerhouse in the 1970s, but it has fallen on tough times in recent years with dwindling box office receipts.

However, its stars still enjoy huge popularity across Asia.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE