Mainland stars Zhou Xun and Li Bingbing, leading ladies in spy thriller "The Message" ("Feng Sheng)", will compete for Best Actress at the 46th Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival, also known as the Asian Oscars.

It will be only the second time two actresses have been nominated for the same film, with Michelle Yeoh and Zhang Ziyi the first in 2000 for Ang Lee's "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon."

”The Message“ has also been nominated for Best Screenplay, Best Visual Effects, Best Art Direction and Best Makeup and Costume Design, festival organizers revealed on Wednesday.

Films produced or co-produced by mainland companies have enjoyed high recognition at this year's festival.

Romantic drama "Like a Dream“ (”Ru Meng“), a Mainland-Taiwan-Australian production, received nine nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director for Clara Law, Best Actor for Daniel Wu and Best Actress for Yolanda Yuan.

Mainland director Guan Hu's ”Cow“ (”Dou Niu“), which tells the tale of a farmer and a cow during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1937-45), also won seven nominations, including Best Actor for star Huang Bo.

Zhang Ziyi, Wang Xueqi and Yu Shaoqun all received nods for their roles in Chen Kaige's ”Forever Enthralled“ (”Mei Lanfang“), while young director Ning Hao's black comedy Crazy Racer (Fengkuang de Saiche) will be up for four gongs, including Best Picture.

Of the four women competing for Best Actress, three are from the mainland.

Taiwan's talents have also made a big splash. Local boy Leon Dai's ”No Puedo Vivir Sin Ti“ (”Buneng Meiyou Ni“) bagged eight nominations, including Best Picture and Best Director, while its star, newcomer Chen Wen-pin, will be one of Wu's challengers for the Best Actor prize.

Taiwanese-French actress Sandrine Pinna has also received a Best Actress nod for her role in Yang Yang, while Face (Lian), an arthouse movie within a movie, won five nominations, including Best Director for Tsai Ming-liang.

The jury, led by Taiwan director Hou Hsiao-hsien, this year sidelined some of the most profitable commercial blockbusters, such as Jackie Chan's ”Shinjuku Incident“ (”Xinsu Shijian“), John Woo's historical epic ”Red Cliff II“ (”Chi Bi II“) and Donnie Yen's ”Ip Man“ (”Ye Wen“).

The 24-day festival kicks off on Nov 5, with the results announced in Taipei on Nov 28.