Chinese director Lu Chuan's award-winning WWII film City of Life and Death will screen in North America this coming spring, The Hollywood Reporter says.

The film, called Nanjing! Nanjing! in Chinese and set around the Nanjing Massacre in 1937, will be distributed in North America by Kino International, a New York-based independent theatrical distribution company.

Kino is set to premiere the film on May 11 at the Film Forum in New York City.

City of Life and Death opened in the Chinese mainland on April 22, 2009, and went on to gross $10.2 million in its opening weekend.

The film's many accolades include the top prize of Spain's San Sebastian Film Festival in 2009, and an achievement in directing award for Lu Chuan at that year's Asia Pacific Screen Awards.

Lu Chuan is currently working on his next film, King's Feast, which stars City of Life and Death actor Liu Ye.

Some other top-grossing Chinese films have also gotten release dates in North America, including Feng Xiaogang's new comedy, If You Are the One 2, which opened in 20 North American cinemas this Christmas Eve.

(CRIENGLISH.com December 31, 2010)