The screenplay of Chinese director Chen Kaige's film "Forever Enthralled" in 2008 was among the winners of the first best scenarist awards offered by the China Film Association(CFA) on Thursday.

The film's screenplay was jointly crafted by famed Chinese writer Yan Geling, Chen Guofu and Zhang Jialu. It is a biopic of late Peking Opera star Mei Lanfang.

The Other four winners include Liu Heng's " Tie Ren," or "Iron Man," which is about two generations of people's hard work in oil fields since 1960, and Cheng Xiaoling's "Qing Shui De Gu Shi," or "The Clear Water," which tells the story of two children's discoveries in adult world.

Yang Zhijin, vice president of China Federation of Literary and Art Circles, said he expected the event to boost the development of Chinese film market.

Zhang Sitao, director of the screenplay committee of the CFA said, "It is an annual event to discuss and honor screenplays."

The five works stood out of some 700 competing films produced from Jan. 2008 to Oct. 2009.