My Chinese romance

Vanessa Branch (above), the British actress seen in Pirates of the Caribbean, stars in Chinese film Love in Translation, which opens this weekend. Branch speaks fluent Chinese throughout the film, in which she stars as a French student in China who falls in love with an ordinary Chinese man. She is a graduate of Middlebury College in the US, where she double majored in Chinese and theater. The actress also starred in another China-US cooperative venture, Milk & Fashion, in 2007.

Filmmaker Michael Gleissner made his directorial debut in 2005 with Irreversi, which stars Mei Melancon, Ian Bohen, Kenny Doughty and Estella Warren. The film marked a milestone as Gleissner shot it in both English and Chinese with two sets of cast and crew, instead of resorting to dubbing or subtitling. The psychological thriller is about a newly-wed couple, Adam and Lynda, who have the perfect life. But Lynda becomes suspicious that her husband's recent fortune has something to do with her beloved brother's death. As Lynda starts digging, the frailty of the relationship begins to show. Irreversi opens this weekend.

Other films opening at cinemas include: