Award-winning Chinese-American filmmaker Dayyan Eng will direct China's first ever film awards opening short.

Eng has been selected from a pool of talents to create a three-minute film for this year's Golden Rooster Awards night, China's version of the Oscars, news portal Sina.com quoted organizers.

The ceremony will be held during the 16th Golden Rooster and Full Blossom Film Festival, which runs from October 23 to 28 in the eastern city of Suzhou.

With financial support from the movie channel of China Central Television, Dayyan Eng is set to end an era for Chinese film awards ceremonies. Traditionally, dancers and singers dominated the opening.

An opening film is expected to grab audiences' attention and better fit the occasion, the report says.

Cast details for the short film have not been announced.

Dayyan Eng is best known for using his unique sense of humor in his films, enjoyed by both Western and Chinese audiences.

His 2005 Chinese-language romantic comedy, "Waiting Alone," was considered as one of that year's best films by over 50 media.

It received three nominations, including best film, for that year's Golden Rooster Awards. It also garnered the "best first feature" award at the same year's Beijing Film Festival.
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(CRI.cn October 15, 2007)