Chapter 220: Lucky Goddess, Capturing the Bear, and Setting Sights on Censorship!

As the actress finished her speech, the award presenter appeared on stage again and opened the envelope in their hand.

Matt felt as if he were unable to breathe.

Fortunately, the presenter did not keep people in suspense and quickly read out the name.

"Best Actor Silver Bear — Matt Damon, *The Hunt*, congratulations!"

The presenter's voice was still echoing in the venue, but Matt seemed frozen at this moment, as if stunned by the surprise.

"Matt, congratulations, go up on stage to accept your award."

Wei Jin's mood was complicated; he had cultivated a Best Actor, but it was possible there would be no more awards afterward.

"Wei, thank you, it was you who allowed me to win Best Actor, a Berlin Film Festival Best Actor, the same Berlin Film Festival Best Actor as Leonardo, thank you, thank you."

Wei Jin could feel Matt's excitement, so he stood up to hug him and offered his blessings: "Hey, buddy, relax, you should still remember your speech, right? Go on, enjoy your exclusive moment."

Taking a deep breath, Matt straightened his clothes and walked slowly onto the stage, accompanied all the way by the enthusiastic applause of the audience.

"Praise Berlin, this award is a recognition of my acting career, I want to thank my friend, Wei."

"He is a very remarkable director, and it was he who gave me this opportunity."

"I also want to thank my friend, Leonardo, it is he who has been stimulating me for so many years."

Although Matt was still speaking, Gao Yuanyuan was already visibly nervous.

"Yuan Yuanjie, relax, if I gain it, it is my fortune; if I lose it, it is my fate."

Wei Jin had calmed his mood by this point; even if there really were no more awards, he could just come back later.

Matt returned to his seat with a smile, holding the little Silver Bear, feeling as if his steps had become much lighter.

Meanwhile, new awards continued to be presented; the biggest winner of the night was about to appear.

"Best Director Silver Bear — Asghar Farhadi, *About Elly*, congratulations!"

This was a drama from Iran that told the story of how people should make choices when facing situations; the core idea the director conveyed was: "A painful result is always better than a resultless pain."

Wei Jin had watched this film with Gao Yuanyuan, and it was indeed of a high standard, despite the opening part being somewhat long-winded.

The awards continued, and with only two left, all the film crews at the venue began to grow nervous.

"Jury Grand Prix Silver Bear — Maren Ade, *Perfect Second Pair*, and Claudia Llosa, *The Milk of Sorrow*, congratulations!"

Surprisingly, two Jury Grand Prix awards were given this time, which meant it was a product of compromise; it seemed the judges had argued very fiercely over the final grand prize.

"Hunter, the chances are getting smaller and smaller."

Although Matt had won his own award, he felt Wei Jin deserved a trophy.

"It's not the end yet, wait a little longer, wait."

Hunter did not know if the public relations work had actually played a role; before the suspense was revealed, anything was possible. — Jury President Tilda Swinton walked onto the stage.

This was a stylish, androgynous woman with a very strong personal style, and it was clear from the previous awards that they were the result of her leadership.

"I am very happy to be the Jury President of this year's film festival; next, I will present the Golden Bear Award."

At this moment, Tilda Swinton's mood was very complicated; she was committed to promoting the rejuvenation and feminization of the film festival, but the previous director award, actress award, and Bauer Silver Bear were already the maximum concessions from the other judges, and she had to admit that the resistance to reform was truly too great.

Taking a deep breath, Tilda Swinton tried hard to squeeze out a smile; she needed to maintain the dignity of the film festival.

"Best Film Golden Bear — *The Hunt*, Wei."

Hearing the final result, Gao Yuanyuan stood up in excitement.

"Xiao Jin, I knew it, I knew you would never disappoint people, congratulations."

Wei Jin was a bit dazed; this scene was just like Berlin five years ago. Perhaps Yuan Yuanjie was his lucky goddess in Berlin?

"Wei, congratulations, you've captured the Golden Bear!"

Matt was also very excited; of course, a film crew should be complete, which would make the subsequent path to winning awards more certain.

Wei Jin stood up, hugged Yuan Yuanjie, and walked toward the stage.

After a symbolic cheek-kiss with the female president, Wei Jin took the Golden Bear trophy with both hands; its size was no different from his previous Silver Bear, just a different color.

"Praise Berlin!"

Wei Jin held the little bear above his head with one hand: "The Berlin International Film Festival is the beginning of my career. The first Silver Bear made me a leader among the young generation of directors in our country and brought huge help to my career."

"Five years later today, I am very honored to stand here again and receive the Golden Bear, the highest honor of the Berlin International Film Festival. Thank you to the film festival and the jury for their affirmation of me."

"The film *The Hunt* has many points of direction, and perhaps everyone has different understandings."

"But in my view, the reason that moved me the most, to the point that I had to make this film, is the protagonist's consistent attitude. I will also always maintain this attitude. The Golden Bear, the Palme d'Or, and the Golden Lion—I will conquer them one by one!"

Wei Jin's words caused thunderous applause to erupt at the scene. This young man was only one Golden Lion away from the European Big Three Grand Slam; that day might come very soon.

"Thanks to all the staff of the crew, Hunter, you are an excellent Producer." The nearly two-hundred-pound big man Hunter in the audience was moved to tears by Wei Jin's unexpected words of thanks.

"Thanks to Matt Damon for his exquisite performance, which made the film even more vivid."

"Thanks to my alma mater, Beijing Film Academy, for sheltering me from the wind and rain on the road of my growth."

"Thanks to my lucky goddess, with you there are no accidents, I love you."

"Once again, praise Berlin, thank you!"

Amidst the sustained, high-pitched applause, Wei Jin returned to his seat, and Gao Yuanyuan hugged him tightly.

At this moment, Gao Yuanyuan's eyes were already red; this was the first time Wei Jin had said the word "love." Although he did not name names, she knew that the lucky goddess was herself. — When the awards ceremony ended, it was already late at night in Berlin, while in the country, it was exactly morning.

Beijing Film Academy was the first to receive the news; the school followed its tradition and hung up the prepared banner early in the morning:

"Warmly congratulate our school's 2006-class outstanding Graduate Student Wei Jin for winning the Best Film Golden Bear at the 59th Berlin International Film Festival!"

Subsequently, a large amount of news transmitted back from the film festival occupied the entertainment headlines of all major media.

"Director Wei Jin captures the Golden Bear with *The Hunt*, becoming the youngest Golden Bear Director in the country."

"Wei Jin—the country's fifth Golden Bear Director is born!"

"Great Director Wei Jin boasts that he will conquer the European Big Three one by one!"

"Gao Yuanyuan—Wei Jin's lucky goddess?"

While netizens sent their blessings, they also began to discuss it heatedly.

Zhu Xiongjiang: "Wei Jin must be the youngest Golden Bear winner, right?"

I Also Want to be Artistic: "I don't know, but that's not important. Palme d'Or, Golden Bear—only the Golden Lion is missing for the Grand Slam. Looking forward to it!"

Purple Palace Immortal: "Gao Yuanyuan really seems to bring good luck to Wei Jin; she was with him for his first time in Berlin too."

Song Junjie Mighty and Domineering: "Why don't we all take a guess: who will he bring with him when he goes for the Golden Lion?"

De Katelaere: "I also don't know if the film will be released domestically. I'm so looking forward to it."

However, among the multitude of messages, one post attracted the attention of the vast majority of netizens.

【One film, creating one gold and one silver—is it the sorrow of censorship, or human suppression?】

An anonymously published Wenzhang detailed the entire cause and effect of "The Hunt," from its domestic script to its adaptation into a foreign script.

This included Wei Jin refusing to participate in domestic film festivals like the Golden Rooster and Hundred Flowers Awards, for which he was accused of not understanding the bigger picture; the fact that the script review for "The Hunt" exceeded the stipulated 20 working days;

When the foreign script for "The Hunt" was registered and filed; and when the domestic script for "The Hunt" was rejected.

The entire Wenzhang contained not a shred of subjective argument, merely laying out the timeline of events, but it was precisely this objective exposition that made the problem clearer to netizens.

lc White Feather: "This is clearly targeted. Just because he didn't attend the film festival and awards ceremony? Aren't these people being a bit too overbearing? Do they really think it's still the feudal era?"

Just Want to Stir Up Trouble: "Hehe, these people really are remnants left over from the feudal era."

Great Glory: "I call on the relevant departments to investigate strictly. Power without supervision only leads to corruption!"

"Seconded +1"

"Seconded +2"

"."

In less than a day, this post had already been viewed over 100,000 times and forwarded to major portal websites, sparking widespread social concern.

For a time, public opinion on the internet surged, with even celebrities and artists standing up in support, saying that if not for the old stubborn ones, this Best Actor award should have belonged to Huaxia. — "What do we do now? Department Head Tong is already very unhappy."

In fact, the review committee had many members, and generally speaking, the specific review of a project did not require the intervention of leadership.

Moreover, a single project did not require everyone's participation; it had always been decided by a dozen or so people.

"I didn't expect this kid to actually take home the Golden Bear. Chen Shiren is just too useless."

"Now is not the time to worry about that. Think about how to provide an explanation..."

Those present nodded upon hearing this. They knew full well that this matter was indeed an act of personal retaliation. Originally, it wasn't a big deal, but now that it was known to everyone, an explanation had to be given.

A group of people discussed back and forth, but they couldn't reach a conclusion. To put it bluntly, no one wanted to take responsibility.

"I will take responsibility. Also, let Hou go talk to Tian and calm the situation down as soon as possible..."

An old man with graying hair stood up and said. The way everyone was pushing responsibility onto each other made him realize that these old cronies could no longer keep up with the times. If they couldn't even manage unity, how could they continue to hold power? They were nothing but dry bones in a tomb.

"That's settled. Don't feel ashamed, either. If any of you want to settle scores, don't do it through censorship; it's easy to leave people with ammunition. Next time, who knows who will be responsible."

The old man walked slowly out of the room, leaving only one sentence echoing in everyone's ears.

"Huayi Brothers, you've been pampered for so many years—it's time to do something, isn't it?"

The first update of the day. I humbly request all my book friends to reward me with subscriptions, follow-up reads, collections, monthly tickets, and recommendation tickets. Thank you all! (End of chapter)