Huang Sibo, Zhu Xiaoce, Lu Zhiyao, Zhang Zuting, Lin Ruyi... the main cast and crew of "Better Tomorrow" sat in a row under the stage.
Huang Sibo was wearing a formal suit and a bow tie. He looked like a decent person. Although he had a confident smile on his face, it was a pity that he basically couldn't understand either English or French spoken at the scene.
Only when this happened did I realize that CET-4 was simply for nothing.
"Xiao Lin, when you give out the awards later, should you say it in English or in French? You won't miss it, right?" Huang Sibo asked in a low voice.
Lin Ruyi glanced at him: "Brother Huang, what are you thinking about? It would be nice if we could come and walk on the red carpet and make a splash. Do you really expect to win an award?"
Huang Sibo expressed his dissatisfaction: "Why, do you think Mr. Pei's script is not good, or do you think Actor Lu's acting skills are not superb enough?"
"Moreover, during the previous screening, the response from the audience was quite enthusiastic. Everyone applauded enthusiastically. From my observation, only twenty or thirty people seemed to have left midway, while everyone else had watched the entire show. Doesn't this still win an award?"
Lin Ruyi shook her head. She originally lowered her voice deliberately, but then she thought that no one here could understand Chinese, so she raised her voice slightly.
"Brother Huang, you don't understand the content of this piece. It's normal to have such thoughts. After all, Mr. Lin's company handled this film's participation in the exhibition."
"Films in Cannes are subject to conditions. They must be filmed 12 months before the festival and cannot be screened at other international film festivals. Commercial operations in the country are allowed, but commercial operations in other regions outside the country will not be allowed.
In principle, it’s not feasible.”
Huang Sibo was stunned: "What's the point? Then our movie seems to no longer meet the requirements?"
Lin Ruyi nodded: "Yes, but the film festival is, to put it bluntly, a place that pays attention to connections. The rules are set by people. Although "Better Tomorrow" was released, its popularity is very low now and there is no particularly heated discussion.
, and I have never participated in other film festivals.”
"The reason why these film festivals have established these mandatory requirements is simply to lock in more high-quality film resources and ensure the quality and popularity of the film festival."
"Actually, some films that have won awards in Berlin, Venice and other places can also participate in the Cannes Film Festival. However, except for some very excellent and top-notch films that can win awards, it is basically difficult for others to be selected."
"In addition, the relationship between Cannes and film distribution companies is also very delicate. Some bad films can enter the main competition section. It is said that there is also an exchange of resources. Of course, this situation is very rare. And at most, candidates are brought in.
Whether you can win an award depends on the quality of the film itself, this is the bottom line of Cannes."
"So you understand, right? Because "Beautiful Tomorrow" has very low popularity abroad and is of excellent quality, plus some factors we don't know about, the judges made an exception and let us come to make a splash, but don't even think about winning the award.
, we have earned a lot of money by being able to come here to walk on the red carpet and see the world."
Huang Sibo is a little regretful. Although he is the person in charge of Feihuang Studio, he is the most amateur among everyone present. He has been in "shock" recently. Although he is also studying, he has not yet understood this.
Since I am not responsible for submitting movies for review, I naturally don’t know these tricks.
"Then this is a pity. If I had known, we would have reviewed the film first and then released it?" Huang Sibo said angrily.
Lin Ruyi shook her head: "I've thought too much. Many good domestic films came to Cannes without success, and "Better Tomorrow" was probably not good enough. Besides, who could think so far back then?"
"What's more, you have to be familiar with similar film festivals. Many award-winning directors have attended the film festival many times and are biologically related to the film festival. As for us, let alone Cannes, we are not well-known in China...
…”
"So, don't think so much, just make soy sauce and go back and be done with it. If we can come here to make soy sauce, we have already benefited from Mr. Pei and killed a large number of domestic films, okay?"
Huang Sibo thought about it, and it seemed to be the same.
However, at this moment, Zhu Xiaoce, who had been listening to the discussion between the two people, interrupted: "Xiao Lin, Cannes is different from the Oscars. At the final awards ceremony, if no nominations are awarded, the organizing committee will generally
The crew will not be notified to participate, so we can pack our bags directly. In other words, we can at least win a prize."
Lin Ruyi's eyes lit up instantly: "Really?"
Zhu Xiaoce hesitated for a moment: "Well... that's the case in most cases, but in rare cases there will be some nominations. In short, I think there is still hope for winning an award such as Best Newcomer."
"After all, the quality of our movies is at stake here, so we have to have confidence."
During the discussion, the awards began to be announced one by one.
Short Film Palme d'Or, Best Debut Film, Special Mention...
After each award is presented, the lucky winner steps on the red carpet to receive the award, and the audience will give them endless and warm applause.
In this kind of place, outstanding filmmakers will be treated with God-like respect.
Zhu Xiaoce and others also applauded, but the longer they waited, the more they felt something was wrong.
The entire award ceremony only took more than an hour from the official start to the end, but when I looked at my watch, more than forty minutes had passed.
Even the best actor awards have been handed out, but I still haven't heard the name of "Better Tomorrow".
Zhu Xiaoce originally thought that if this movie could win an award, it would at most win an award for Best Debut or Best Screenplay, but it didn't happen either.
As for Best Actor, there was little hope. Although Lu Zhiyao gave his best acting skills in the movie, there were too many big-name male stars waiting in line at the film festival.
But the question is, will it become increasingly impossible as time goes by?
Best Director Award, still not.
Huang Sibo felt beads of sweat oozing out from his palms, and his heart was pounding.
What do you mean? You can’t really win the Palme d’Or, right? It’s impossible?
Or did the staff make a mistake and we didn't win the prize at all?
The award presenter on the stage has been changed. A well-respected veteran movie star came to the stage and smiled slightly into the microphone.
"Thanks."
"It is a great honor to present this special award of the Jury Prize. I believe that today is an unforgettable experience for everyone present, but we always believe that tomorrow will be better. So, Mr. Chairman, can you tell us now
Which film won this precious award?"
The chairman of the jury, first from the left in the jury group on the right side of the stage, stood up: "The winner of the jury award..."
"huxiaoce!"
When the name of the movie came out, the audience burst into cheers and applause. Zhu Xiaoce froze in his seat, completely in a daze and unable to move.
Huang Sibo had already cheered and pulled Zhu Xiaoce up and hugged him: "Fuck! We really won the prize!!"
No matter how poor your English is, you can still recognize the English movie title "Better Tomorrow" and the completely non-standard pronunciation of "Zhu Xiaoce".
Amid applause and cheers, Zhu Xiaoce walked onto the stage in a daze, shook hands cordially with the award-winning guests, and then came to the podium.
"I'm sorry that I didn't prepare a speech in French or English because I never expected to win this award."
"It's... hard for me to describe how excited I am at this moment."
"As a new director, the production of this film is not due to me alone. Here, I hope that the crew members present can come on stage to share with me this honor that belongs to us..."
Zhu Xiaoce paused every time he said a sentence to allow enough time for translation.
Huang Sibo, Lu Zhiyao and others also came on stage, stood behind Zhu Xiaoce, and expressed their gratitude to the audience and the jury.
Zhu Xiaoce's eyes were filled with tears, and his voice was slightly distorted: "Here, I pay tribute to all the seniors in the film industry, thank all the staff of our crew, thank you..."
After a series of lists of thanks, Zhu Xiaoce changed the subject.
"In addition, all of us on the crew would also like to express our special thanks to a person who was not present at the scene. He injected soul into this film, created superb acting skills for our actors, and also provided our film with the best performance."
Abundant funds allow us to express ourselves without any worries."
"Mr. Pei, thank you for providing the inspiration and soul for this movie. Under your inspiration, I and all the cast and crew have brought this movie to life."
“Thank you everyone!!”
The applause from the scene was thunderous again!
…
…
Monday, May 24th.
Pei Qian woke up naturally after sleeping and looked at his phone. The alarm clock hadn't reached the time yet.
The plan to go to bed early and get up early was a great success, it was such a wonderful day.
Touch the control panel at the bedside to let the sunlight shine in through the smart glass.
Looking at the bright sunshine, Pei Qian suddenly felt that he seemed to have forgotten something.
Suddenly, he suddenly woke up.
Cannes Film Festival Awards!
After chatting with Ruan Guangjian yesterday, Pei Qian was afraid that he would be bombarded with messages again at night, so he put his phone into airplane mode and only left the alarm clock on.
In the early hours of yesterday morning, the Cannes awards ceremony should have ended.
With complicated emotions, Pei Qian carefully turned off the airplane mode.
Then various new message windows began to pop up crazily, and the little red dot on the chat software quickly turned into 99+!
Pei Qian: "..."
It’s over, you won’t really win the prize, right?
Calm down, calm down, maybe it's just that there is no harvest, everyone comes to comfort you?
Pei Qian calmed down, and just when he was about to open the chat software with trembling fingers, the title of a news feed had already been revealed in advance.
"After eleven years, a domestic film once again won the Grand Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival!"
Pei Qian: "..."
He didn't know what the so-called jury award was exactly.
But judging from this title, the situation is definitely not optimistic!