Yu Hewei and Zhang Yi, leading actors in Cliff Walkers, a spy thriller directed by Zhang Yimou. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)

Zhang Yimou's spy thriller Cliff Walkers received seven nominations, including one for best film, at the 34th edition of Golden Rooster, China's top film awards, the China Film Association said on Monday.

Zhang was also nominated for best director. Yu Hewei and Zhang Yi, two leading actors of the film, will compete for best actor while Liu Haocun, the film's leading actress, was nominated for best actress, the association says.

Cliff Walkers is the first foray of Zhang into the spy genre. Set in the 1930s in Northeast China's Harbin city during the Japanese invasion, the film follows special agents of the Communist Party of China as they test their wits against their enemies to complete a secret mission.

Yu Hewei and Zhang Yi, leading actors in Cliff Walkers, a spy thriller directed by Zhang Yimou. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)

The other nominees for the best film were Chinese Doctors, My People My Homeland, Island Keeper, Sister and The Pioneer.

For the first time, five foreign films will compete for the best international film, including The Father, featuring Anthony Hopkins, and Persischstunden, a coproduction of Russia, Germany and Belarus.

Launched in 1981, the Golden Rooster award is sponsored by the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles and the China Film Association.

This year's ceremony will be held in Xiamen in East China's Fujian province on Dec 28-30.