Ceremony for the 23rd Hong Kong Film Awards was held on 4 April 2004 in the Hong Kong Cultural Centre. Hosts for the ceremony consisted of Dayo Wong and a line-up of nine female celebrities, namely Bowie Tsang, Athena Chu, Candice Yu, Cherrie Ying, Terri Kwan, Ada Choi, Josie Ho, Kristy Yang and Jo Koo. Twenty-three winners in nineteen categories were unveiled. Running on Karma clinched the award for Best Film, while its leading man Andy Lau received his second Best Actor title in the Hong Kong Film Awards.

Infernal Affairs III is a 2003 Hong Kong crime action film directed by Andrew Lau and Alan Mak. It is the third and final installment in the Infernal Affairs film series, and is both a sequel and a semi-prequel to the original film, as it intercuts events before and after the events in the first film. Andy Lau, Tony Leung, Kelly Chen, Anthony Wong, Eric Tsang, and Chapman To reprise their roles again, joined by new cast members Leon Lai and Chen Daoming.