As we role into the October “Golden Week” holiday, here’s a run down of screen related events to keep you indoors during the chilly Autumn evenings.

At the big end of town Inception continues its dream run. After having its China release delayed until September 2, the mind-bending thriller raked in US $13.6 million during its opening weekend in the PRC according to the Hollywood Reporter.

If you haven’t seen Inception yet, it’s definitely worth checking out on the big screen. Sure, the plot has holes big enough to drive a freight train through – actually Leonardo DiCaprio does exactly that at one point – but the story rollicks along fast enough to carry you over the cracks and revel in the imaginative spectacle.

Inception is still screening at cinemas around town, including Sanlitun Megabox. Wanda Shijingshan (3rd floor, No. B18, Shijingshan Lu, Shijingshan District, 石景山区石景山路乙18号万达广场3层) and UME International Cineplex (Renmin University) are showing the film in IMAX.

While we’re on the subject of Hollywood holiday viewing, there are two animated features being released tomorrow (Thursday, September 30) that might be of interest for parents and kids. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, based on the kids’ book by Judi Barrett and Ron Barrett, tells the amusing tale of a town where it rains food. The other title is Battle for Terra, which sounds a little sub-Avatar with a bunch of humans eyeing off an alien planet for colonization. Then again this film dates from 2007, so maybe Avatar is really sub-Terra. In any case, I’m not sure why it’s taken three years for this film to reach China.

Back to the adults.

I lost interest in Zhang Yimou’s career right about the time he started directing military parades for the people who used to ban his films, but if you can get past that his latest film, Under the Hawthorn Tree, is currently playing around town. Sanlitun Megabox has the film with English subtitles.

Based on Ai Mi's 2007 online novel Hawthorn Tree Forever, the film tells the tale of two young people who fall in love after being sent down to the countryside during the Cultural Revolution. Zhang has continued his tradition of finding an innocent-looking young woman at the end of each decade and making her famous (he discovered both Gong Li and Zhang Ziyi) by casting 17-year-old newcomer Zhou Dongyu. It remains to be seen whether she’ll follow the leads of Zhang’s earlier leading ladies by becoming the director's girlfriend. You can read more about Hawthorn Tree here.

If you're interested in independent Chinese cinema you're in for a treat these holidays with the Get It Louder film program at the SOHO New Town Cinema (3rd Floor, Tower D, SOHO New Town, 88 Jianguo Road, Chaoyang District, right beside Dawang Lu subway station). Get It Louder is actually a general showcase of emerging talent and features various events and exhibitions as well as the screening program. See here for more general details on the event, and here for the full screening schedule. The festival site also has short descriptions of the films, most of which appear to be screening with English subtitles. Highlights include Liu Jiaying's Oxhide films and several works by upcoming talent Zhao Dayong: The High Life, Nanjing Lu (listed on the site as Living in Nanking Road) and Rough Poetry. Zhao is featured in the "Bookshelf" column of the latest edition of the Beijinger due out this week. The Get It Louder films screen throughout the holiday until Saturday, October 9.

Up at 798 the Ullens Center for Contemporary Art (UCCA) continue their great screening program with rarely seen films over the next fortnight. At 7pm on Saturday, October 2, they screen two short films by Spanish artist Alberto Garcia-Alix, who currently has an exhibition at UCCA. From Where There is No Return is a journey through García-Alix’s life using 200 photographs taken between 1976 and 2008, while 3 Videos Tristes is a self-portrait of the artist on a journey from Madrid to Paris, where he was treated for a liver condition. The films are in Spanish with Mandarin and English subtitles. Entry is RMB 15/10 (students).

The following day (Sunday October 3) at 4pm UCCA screen The Bride by director Zhang Ming. I don’t know anything about this film other than the synopsis UCCA has posted on their site, which outlines a story of three friends who hatch a plan to seduce a young woman and murder her to cash in on her life insurance. The film is in Mandarin with English subtitles and entry is RMB 15/10 (students).

At 4pm Sunday, October 10 and again on Saturday, October 16, UCCA will screen two rare documentaries by Belgian filmmakers Henri Roanne and Gérard Valetcame. The first, China (Chine) was shot way back in 1971 and promises to be a fascinating peek into the Moaist era. This work pre-dates even Antonioni’s controversial and much better known documentary Chung Kuo – Cina, made in 1972. The second film at UCCA will be China, From the Abacus to the Computer, which sees Roanne and Valetcame retrace their 1971 route through a dramatically altered nation in 1997. The bad news for English speakers is the films are in French with Chinese subtitles. Tickets will RMB 15/10 (students).

Closer to town, BC MOMA will be screening two of their Young Chinese Director titles during the break. Wang Jing’s Vegetate tells the story of Zhu Li, who wakes 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. Vegetate screens at 7.30pm on Friday, October 1, and again at the same time on Thursday, October 7. In Mandarin with English subtitles. RMB 40/30 (students)/25 (BC MOMA members).

The other Young Directors’ title at BC MOMA is Crossing the Mountain, a strange, highly experimental story set in a minority village near the China-Burma border. This isn’t one for those who like their films action packed, but if you want to see something that attempts a genuinely different approach to filmmaking then Crossing the Mountain is worth checking out. If you have a VPN you can read a more detailed appraisal here. Crossing the Mountain is in Wa Dialect with Chinese and English subtitles, and screens at 11am on Sunday, October 3. RMB 40/30 (students)/25 (BC MOMA members).

Finally, BC MOMA’s retrospective of the Chinese silent film legend Ruan Lingyu that we mentioned in the last Screen Time post has been postponed until November. Stay tuned for more news as we get closer to the date.

Happy National Day Holiday viewing!