China enters epic love story 'The Knot' in Oscar best foreign movie race

China has selected "The Knot," a tearjerker about lovers separated by the political divisions between mainland China and Taiwan, as its entry into the Oscar best foreign movie race, an official said Tuesday.

Luan Guozhi, director of international cooperation at China's Film Bureau, told The Associated Press in a phone interview that a selection panel comprising about a dozen movie-industry insiders chose the movie in a vote in late September.

He said he didn't know how many votes "The Knot" got and declined to say which other movies were in contention.

Shot in Shanghai, Tibet and Canada, "The Knot" follows the romance between a medical student and a young female painter, who meet in Taiwan. The student flees to mainland China ahead of a political crackdown, and civil war in 1949 separates the two sides _ and the lovers.

The selection of "The Knot" rounds out the Oscar submissions from the Chinese-speaking world. Taiwan has submitted Oscar-winning director Ang Lee's new spy thriller "Lust, Caution," while Chinese-ruled Hong Kong, has chosen director Johnnie To's stylish gangster thriller "Exiled."

The submissions still need to survive another round of screening to become official nominees in the Oscars' best foreign film category. The U.S. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences usually narrows down submissions to up to five nominees.

Lee's "Lust, Caution," which won a Golden Lion _ the top prize at the recent Venice Film Festival _ is the clear favorite among the three entries.

The three Chinese-language submissions highlight the growing integration of the Chinese-speaking film industry.

"The Knot" was made with both Hong Kong and Chinese investment and features actors from China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Lee's "Lust, Caution" is a U.S.-China-Taiwan co-production that was shot in Malaysia, Shanghai and Hong Kong. Lee is a U.S.-based Taiwanese, lead actor Tony Leung Chiu-wai is from Hong Kong and female lead Tang Wei is from China.