It’s been busy week for Chinese cinema in the news. With the return of a formerly blacklisted actress, a lifetime achievement award for a prominent director, and a lawsuit over boring trailers, there’s a good amount of buzz going on in the media. In between the gossip there are a couple of screenings this weekend to keep you entertained.

First up, Screen Time has earlier reported a couple of rumors that our favorite mainland actress Tang Wei (汤唯 ), blacklisted on the mainland after her role in Ang Lee’s Lust, Caution, might soon be returning to mainland movies. The latest, rather bizarre news is she will appear in The Founding of the Party, a prequel to 2009’s Founding of a Republic. According to Danwei earlier this week, Tang Wei will play the part of Tao Yi, Mao Zedong’s first love. The Founding of the Party has already started filming and is set to be released sometime next year, marking the 90th anniversary of the event it is named after. Presumably this film won't feature the kind of steamy sex scenes Tang participated in for Lust, Caution. Instead we can expect more images of Mao playing with children and getting pissed with his buddy Zhou Enlai. Can’t wait.

Tang Wei’s return to the mainland industry – after starring in the Hong Kong flick Crossing Hennessy earlier this year – brings up some old questions about the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (SARFT) and censorship in general. Earlier this week China Geeks provided an interesting in-depth look at what some film experts are saying about the censorship of films and China’s attempts to compete with Hollywood. You can read another piece by yours truly on the government’s role in recent Chinese blockbusters here.

In other news, last week the Venice Film Festival honored the veteran director John Woo by presenting him with the Golden Lion Award for Lifetime Achievement. The Hong Kong native has been directing since the 80s and is best know for his classic action flicks A Better Tomorrow and The Killer starring Chow Yun-fat, as well as his Hollywood work with Nicolas Cage and John Travolta in Face/Off and Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible II. The star-studded Venice event included big names like Quentin Tarantino, who presented Woo with his award.

Closer to home, it seems China is now up there with the US in the silly litigation stakes, with Beijing woman Chen Xiaomei demanding compensation from a cinema for wasting her time with trailers and adverts before her viewing of Aftershock. She is suing the Polybona International cinema in Xian for the cost of her movie ticket (RMB 35), an additional RMB 35, and a formal written apology. Oh the injustice.

After all that gossip, here are some serious screenings to keep you going over the weekend.

This Saturday (September 11) at 7.30pm, BC MOMA’s ongoing “Young Chinese Filmmakers” showcase continues with Vegetate, directed by Wang Jing. This film tells the story of Zhu Li, who awakes from a years-long coma to find herself embroiled in a frightening world where people’s ethical and moral universe has been shattered by the allure of a quick buck. The screening will feature a Q&A with the director, script writer and cast members. The film is in Mandarin with English subtitles, and tickets are RMB 40/30 (students)/25 (BC MOMA members).

Also on Saturday (September 11) at 798’s Ullens Center for Contemporary Art, is a screening of Li Hongqi’s latest feature, which picked up the Golden Leopard, the top prize at Locarno Film Festival (2010), and the Red Chameleon Award at the Cinema Digital Seoul Festival (2010). Set in a small town in Inner Mongolia, Winter Vacation is a coming-of-age tale about four young people on the last day of their winter holiday. In Mandarin with English subtitles, the screening takes place at 1.30pm and costs RMB 15.

Here’s something a little more unusual – on Sunday (September 12) from 8.30pm at Yugong Yishan, Belgian musicians Quentin Manfroy, Eric Bribosia and Matthieu Ha will collaborate with some unspecified locals to improvise a soundtrack to the 1930s Shanghai silent classic The Goddess, starring Chinese screen legend Ruan Lingyu. The Goddess is Ruan’s best known role, in which she plays a Shanghai girl forced into the world’s oldest profession. Tickets are RMB 60/50 (advance)/30 (students).

While we’re on the topic of Ruan Lingyu, Screen Time has heard a whisper that BC MOMA is planning a retrospective of the actress’ work in October. Stay tuned for more news on that in the coming weeks.

Finally, BC MOMA has a Spanish Film Festival opening tonight. Unfortunately we don’t have synopses for the films, and it’s unclear whether they all have English subtitles. We can confirm, however, that the opening film tonight definitely has Chinese and English subtitles – best to call the cinema on 8438 8258 to confirm on other individual titles. Tickets for each film are RMB 40/30 (students)/20 (BC MOMA members). Here’s the schedule:

Friday, September 10
7:30pm  Yo También

Saturday, September 11
2pm  Mar Adentro
4pm  Flamenco Flamenco

Sunday, September 12
2pm  Los Girasoles Ciegos
4pm  Mi Vida sin mí

Monday, September 13
7:30pm  Siete mesas de billar francés

Tuesday, September 14
7:30pm  Los Girasoles Ciegos

Wednesday, September 15
7:30pm  Mataharis

Thursday, September 16
7:30pm  Mar Adentro

Friday, September 17
7:30pm  Flamenco Flamenco
9:20pm  Yo También

Saturday, September 18
2pm  Obaba
4pm  Mi Vida sin mí

Sunday, September 19
2pm  Siete mesas de billar francés
4pm  Mataharis