The new Chinese movie Curiosity Kills the Cat is hoping to compete for the 2007 Oscar's Best Foreign Film award along with The Banquet and Curse of the Golden Flower.

 

For the moment, The Banquet directed by Feng Xiaogang, and Curse of the Golden Flower will represent the Chinese mainland at next year's Oscars.

 

"The company has already handed in the written application to the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television," said Liu Xiaoyong, Curiosity's distributor.

 

According to Oscar rules, the movie must be screened for seven days from September 20 before it is officially released nationwide on October 12, Liu said.

 

The movie will be shown at the Beijing Purple Light Movie Theater.

 

Curiosity kills the Cat, by Zhang Yibai, tells an enchanting story set in a modern city in which a woman, her husband, a manicure store owner, a security guard and a country girl who all live in a luxury apartment trigger a number of mysterious events out of sheer curiosity.

 

 

Zhang's previous accolades include a TV opera Cherish Our Love Forever which he directed in 1998. It starred rising actress-turned-director Xu Jinglei.

 

Liu said the application includes recommendation letters from four international experts.

 

One recommendation letter pointed out that most Chinese movies vying for an Oscar tend to be about Chinese history or ancient China. But with the US media providing more news and business coverage of China's rapid economic development, American audiences are keen to watch movies reflecting modern urban life in China.

 

(Xinhua News Agency September 22, 2006)