Actress Xu Jinglei alongside the director Leste Chen promote the sci-fi thriller Battle of Memories.[Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

On the heels of directing her seventh feature, The Missing, versatile star Xu Jinglei returns to her most familiar zone as an actress.

In the sci-fi thriller Battle of Memories, which hit Chinese mainland theaters on April 28, Xu stars as the wife of an author who is involved into a series of murders.

Xu, 43, is known as an A-list actress and award-winning director, as well as for her talents in singing, calligraphy and painting.

"Many years ago I began to think acting had become boring, so I chose to gradually shift to the directing and producing," she said at recent media event. "But when I read the script of Battle of Memories, it hooked me".