Headlines from China: Fan Bingbing’s First Public Appearance in 2019 

Fan Bingbing’s First Public Appearance in 2019 

On April 22, actress Fan Bingbing attended the ceremony of the 9th anniversary of the founding of streaming platform iQiyi. This is her first public appearance in 2019 after she was caught up in tax evasion scandal. This makes Chinese netizens speculate that she is back to work. And this is not the first indication that she is returning to the entertainment scene. After Fan’s tax matter was widely exposed by media outlets around the world, it was rumored that she was fired from the cast of the upcoming spy movie 355. However, director of the movie confirmed earlier this month that Fan will remain in the cast. Read More on Mtime

‘X-Men: Dark Phoenix’ Lands Release Date in China

Marvel’s superhero film X-Men: Dark Phoenix is set for release on June 6 in China. Produced by 20th Century Fox, Dark Phoenix will be the final installment of the X-Men main series. The film is the directorial debut of Simon Kinberg, starring James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Sophie Turner, and Jessica Chastain. In the film, the X-Men must face the unleashed power of “Dark Phoenix” Jean Grey after a mission to space goes wrong. Read more on Mtime

Cannes Directors’ Fortnight Selects Johnny Ma’s ‘To Live to Sing’

On April 23, the 72nd Cannes Film Festival unveiled the lineup for this year’s Directors’ Fortnight section.Chinese-born Canadian director Johnny Ma’s To Live to Sing is among the selected films. To Live to Sing is the second feature-length film by Chinese filmmaker Johnny Ma, whose debut Old Stone premiered at the Berlinale in 2016. To Live to Sing is about Zhao Li, the owner of a small traditional Chinese opera company in the suburbs of Chendgu, who is facing the imminent destruction of her theatre and neighbourhoods and has to fight against bureaucracy. Read more on ifeng