Taipei, April 16 (CNA) Taiwanese box-office hit "You are the Apple of My Eye" won in a new category introduced this year at the 31st Hong Kong Film Awards, taking the title of "Best Film of Mainland (China) and Taiwan."

The low-budget film is based on a semi-autobiographical novel by popular Taiwanese author Giddens Ko and is set in his hometown of Chanhua County in central Taiwan.

It beat four other Taiwanese and Chinese blockbusters -- The Flowersof War, If You Are the One 2, Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale andStarry Starry Night -- to win the newly introduced Best Film of Mainland and Taiwan award.

Lead actors Ko Chen-tung and Michelle Chen, along with the rest of the main cast, attended the glitzy award presentation ceremony at the harbor-front Hong Kong Cultural Center.

The film tells the story of five high school boys striving to win the heart of classmate Shen Chia-yi, played by Michelle Chen.

The retro coming-of-age drama emerged as an instant box-office success in Taiwan upon its release last year, appealing to audiences of all ages.

It was the third best-selling film in Taiwan's history, with NT$460 million (about US$16 million) in ticket sales. It broke four box-office records on its opening days in Hong Kong and has since become the best-selling Mandarin film ever screened there.

The movie has also generated a buzz in the rest of the Chinese-speaking world, including several Southeast Asian countries.

Noted Taiwanese singer Jam Hsiao, who rose to stardom through a TV reality show, won the award for best new performer for his role in "The Killer Who Never Kills", which is also based on a popular novel by Giddens Ko.

(By Sabine Cheng and Sofia Wu)
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