MUMBAI: With Asian martial arts movies making their mark in the global multiplex arena it should come as no surprise that a few of them have been nominated for BBC's World Cinema Award.

Film journalist Jonathan Ross will host the live award programme on BBC Four in the UK on 27 January. In a humorous aside Ross said, "This is a shortlist which is long on inspiration. There's more foreign talent here than in the Premiership. But let's hope that the standard of refereeing is a little better."

The nominees include the historical Chinese actioner Hero. Directed by Zhang Yimou the film stars Jet Li as a man who defeated three assassins who sought to murder the most powerful warlord in pre-unified China. From Brazil comes The Motorcycle Diaries. Directed by Walter Salles the film is based on the journals of Che Guevara who led the Cuban Revolution. In his memoirs, Guevara recounts adventures he, and best friend Alberto Granado, had while crossing South America by motorcycle in the early 1950s.