In third place, with 8 nominations, is Felix Chong and Alan Mak's The Silent War, although it failed to secure a Best Picture nod. That category is filled out by Dante Lam's The Viral Factor, Soi Cheang's Motorway and Pang Ho Cheung's Vulgaria. The Best Director nominees follow suit, with the notable exception of Pang, who receives a nomination for his romantic comedy Love In The Buff, rather than his raucous sex comedy.
Lau Ching Wan (The Bullet Vanishes), Tony Leung Ka Fai (Cold War), Nick Cheung Ka Fai (Nightfall), Tony Leung Chiu Wai (The Silent War) and Chapman To (Vulgaria) will duke it out for Best Actor, while Miriam Yeung (Love in the Buff), Elanne Kwong (Love Lifting), Sammi Cheng (Romancing in Thin Air) and Zhou Xun (for both The Silent War and The Great Magician) go head-to-head for the Best Actress award.
Zhou isn't the only name to feature more than once. Chapman To is also named in the Best Supporting Actor category for DIVA, Pang Ho Cheung receives screenplay nominations for both Vulgaria and Love in the Buff, while stunt co-ordinator Chin Kar Lok is named three times in the Best Action Design category, for his work on Cold War, Motorway and The Viral Factor. Chan Kwong Wing is nominated for scoring both Wong Jing's The Last Tycoon and The Silent War, while three of the five songs nominated for Best Song feature lyrics written by Lam Jik. Kinson Tsang's sound editing also sees him recognised for three different films, Cold War, The Viral Factor and Andrew Lau's The Guillotines.
Sadly, the nominations this year point to a worrying lack of diversity and depth within the local industry. While there is no denying the talents of many of the names who appear on this year's list, there are a few who have clearly made the cut purely to make up the numbers. Here's hoping the future will see the cinematic gene pool expand, rather than dry up or be sucked further North.
Below is a full list of the nominees. The awards ceremony will be held on Sunday, 21 April.
Best Picture
The Bullet Vanishes
Cold War
Motorway
The Viral Factor
Vulgaria
Best Director
Law Chi Leung (The Bullet Vanishes)
Longman Leung, Sunny Luk (Cold War)
Pang Ho Cheung (Love in the Buff)
Soi Cheang (Motorway)
Dante Lam (The Viral Factor)
Best Actor
Lau Ching Wan (The Bullet Vanishes)
Tony Leung Ka Fai (Cold War)
Nick Cheung Ka Fai (Nightfall)
Tony Leung Chiu Wai (The Silent War)
Chapman To (Vulgaria)
Best Actress
Zhou Xun (The Great Magician)
Miriam Yeung (Love in the Buff)
Elanne Kwong (Love Lifting)
Sammi Cheng (Romancing in Thin Air)
Zhou Xun (The Silent War)
Best Supporting Actor
Alex Man (The Bounty)
Liu Kai Chi (The Bullet Vanishes)
Gordon Lam (Cold War)
Chapman To (DIVA)
Ronald Cheng (Vulgaria)
Best Supporting Actress
Jiang Yiyan (The Bullet Vanishes)
Mavis Fan (The Silent War)
Elaine Kam (The Viral Factor)
Dada Chen (Vulgaria)
Susan Shaw (Vulgaria)
Best Screenplay
Law Chi Leung, Yeung Sin Ling (The Bullet Vanishes)
Longman Leung, Sunny Luk (Cold War)
Pang Ho Cheung, Luk Yee Sum (Love in the Buff)
Alan Mak, Felix Chong (The Silent War)
Pang Ho Cheung, Luk Yee Sum, Lam Chiu Wing (Vulgaria)
Best New Artist
Zhang Lanxin (CZ12: Chinese Zodiac)
Alex Tsui (Cold War)
Feng Wenjuan (The Last Tycoon)
June Lam (Love in the Buff)
Jayden Yuan (Tai Chi Zero)
Best Cinematography
Chan Chi Ying (The Bullet Vanishes)
Jason Kwan, Kenny Tse (Cold War)
Andrew Lau, Jason Kwan (The Last Tycoon)
Anthony Pun (The Silent War)
Kenny Tse (The Viral Factor)
Best Editing
Yau Chi Wai (CZ12: Chinese Zodiac)
Kwong Chi Leung, Wong Hoi (Cold War)
David Richardson, Allen Leung (Motorway)
Kwong Chi Leung, Chan Chung Ming (The Bullet Vanishes)
Azrael Chung (The Viral Factor)
Best Art Direction
Silver Cheung, Lee Kin Wai (The Bullet Vanishes)
Yee Chung Man, Jessie Dai (The Great Magician)
Lau Sai Wan (The Guillotines)
Man Lim Chung (The Silent War)
Tim Yip (Tai Chi Zero)
Best Costume Design and Make-Up
Lee Kin Wai (The Bullet Vanishes)
Yee Chung Man, Jessie Dai (The Great Magician)
Dora Ng (The Guillotines)
Man Lim Chung (The Silent War)
Tim Yip (Tai Chi Zero)
Best Action Design
Jackie Chan, He Jun (CZ12: Chinese Zodiac)
Chin Kar Lok, Wong Wai Fai (Cold War)
Chin Kar Lok, Wong Wai Fai, Ng Hoi Tong (Motorway)
Sammo Hung (Tai Chi Zero)
Dante Lam, Chin Kar Lok, Wong Wai Fai, Ng Hoi Tong (The Viral Factor)
Best Original Film Score
Chan Kwong Wing, Chen Zhi Yi (The Last Tycoon)
Teddy Robin, Tommy Wai (The Bullet Vanishes)
Eman Lam, Veronica Lee (DIVA)
Peter Kam (Cold War)
Chan Kwong Wing (The Silent War)
Best Original Song
追風箏的風箏 (from DIVA)
Composer: Davy Chan, C.Y. Kong
Lyrics: Lam Jik
Performer: Joey Yung, Mag Lam
刀鋒偏冷 (from The Guillotines)
Composer: Jay Chou
Lyrics: Vincent Fang
Performer: Li Yuchun
戀無可戀 (from Lan Kwai Fong 2)
Composer: Charmaine Fong
Lyrics: Lam Jik
Performer: Leo Koo
定風波 (from The Last Tycoon)
Composer: Leon Ko
Lyrics: Chris Shum
Performer: Jacky Cheung
DoReMi (from Romancing in Thin Air)
Composer: Lo Tayu
Lyrics: Lam Jik
Performer: Sammi Cheng
Best Sound Design
Phyllis Cheng (The Bullet Vanishes)
Kinson Tsang (Cold War)
Kinson Tsang (The Guillotines)
Benny Chu, Steve Miller (Motorway)
Kinson Tsang (The Viral Factor)
Best Visual Effects
Cheng Man Ching (Cold War)
Han Young Woo, Victor Wong, 崔百全, Seong Ho Jang (CZ12: Chinese Zodiac)
Victor Wong (The Guillotines)
Ken Law, Cheung Chin Wing (Motorway)
Chas Chau, Ho Pui Kin, Ng Yuen Fai, A Law (Tai Chi Zero)
Best Film from Mainland China or Taiwan
Back to 1942 (China)
GF*BF (Taiwan)
Love (Taiwan)
Love is Not Blind (China)
Painted Skin II: The Resurrection (China)
Best New Director
Fung Chih Chiang (The Bounty)
Roy Chow (Nightfall)
Brian Tse (McDull: The Pork of Music)