Outstanding director Xie Fei

The Chinese Directors' Guild recently honored director Xie Fei as Outstanding Director of the Year in Beijing. Xie, 71, won the Golden Bear award at the Berlin International Film Festival in 1993 for Woman Sesame Oil Maker. He has been an active advocate for censorship reform and the establishment of a rating system. The guild also announced the nominations for its other annual awards. Feng Xiaogang's Back to 1942 garnered five nominations for Film of the Year, Scriptwriter of the Year, Actress of the Year, Actor of the Year and Director of the Year. First-time director Xu Zheng, whose comedy Lost in Thailand grossed 1.2 billion yuan ($200 million), was also nominated for Director of the Year. The final results will be announced on April 12.