Chapter 65: Capturing the Jin Xiong

The next day, at the closing ceremony, it felt as if all of Berlin had surged over. On both sides of the red carpet, media of all sizes were packed, and camera flashes from every direction arrived like a torrential downpour.

This time, Wu Yuchen and Jiang Qinqin had also managed to snag an opportunity to walk the red carpet. Neither of them had any formal wear, so they wore the new clothes they had bought for a few hundred yuan before setting off from Beijing. Just like that, they waited under the direction of the staff.

Jiang Qinqin was quite nervous at this moment; even before stepping onto the red carpet, the smile on her face was a bit stiff.

Seeing this, Wu Yuchen smiled from the side and said:

"Qinqin, what are you nervous about?"

"There are so many people!"

"Hehe, those people aren't here for us. Look at both sides—over 90% of the audience is here for the feature films."

Upon hearing Wu Yuchen say this, the tension in Jiang Qinqin's heart suddenly deflated a bit. While disappointed, most of the pressure was also lifted.

"When we were at the exhibition hall these past two days, I really thought we had become famous..."

"A short film is, after all, just a short film."

"You really are open-minded~"

"Hehe, there will be plenty of opportunities in the future!"

As the two were chatting casually, they were urged by the staff to step onto the red carpet.

While walking the red carpet, there indeed wasn't a massive roar of cheers, but they weren't as unknown as Wu Yuchen had claimed. After all, through word of mouth, many people had already seen this sharply styled *Bus 44*.

"Bus 44, go for it!"

"Number 44, you guys are the best!"

"44, Best Short Film!"

Encouraging cheers and blessings came from both sides of the red carpet, which left Wu Yuchen looking a bit surprised. He immediately waved to them with Jiang Qinqin to express his gratitude.

The Berlin Film Festival has always been relatively pragmatic, unlike Hollywood or Cannes, which engage in all sorts of theatrics. The red carpet didn't last long. After each film crew took their seats, the lights dimmed, the host went on stage to give a brief address, and then the jury appeared, immediately beginning the awards ceremony.

In this jury, there were two Chinese faces: Ann Hui and Joan Chen.

Seeing these two, Wu Yuchen thought about the great success of Chinese films at this Berlin Film Festival, and it didn't seem strange at all.

Don't think that juries are entirely objective and fair; in reality, everyone has strong subjectivity. Moreover, there is one point: Chinese people are very clannish at international film festivals.

In 1993, the fledgling Ang Lee was able to win the Berlin Jin Xiong in one fell swoop with *Eat Drink Man Woman* because the jury president that year was Zhang Yimou. In 2007, it was Zhang Yimou who presented the Venice Golden Lion to Ang Lee's *Lust, Caution*. Ang Lee himself has said that Zhang Yimou is his benefactor.

This kind of compatriots helping compatriots is truly very common in the international film circle.

The first awards presented were all minor ones or from niche categories.

To be honest, Wu Yuchen had always been a bit confused about the "Big Three," because he didn't know what many of the awards actually were.

For example, the Caligari Award, the Don Quixote Award, and the *Berliner Morgenpost* Readers' Jury Award presented earlier—he didn't know what they were rewarding. Moreover, these awards might exist this year and disappear the next, only to pop up again two years later. Who knows how they come up with them?

Soon, it reached the short film category. Wu Yuchen stared intently at the podium and the big screen, sitting upright.

The first one up was the Teddy Award. This award could be said to have no suspense, as it was taken by the LGBT-themed film *Alkali, Iowa*.

The remaining short film directors couldn't help but feel slightly nervous; only the Silver Bear and Jin Xiong for short films remained.

Wu Yuchen also scanned them. He had two biggest competitors this time.

One was the British animated short *The Forgotten Toys*, and the other was the Norwegian short *Kinobilletten*.

"Next, we invite Mr. Thomas to continue presenting the Jury Silver Bear for Short Film."

After the presenter went on stage, he didn't ramble and directly read the citation:

"This is an animated film about love and friendship, a heartwarming story that takes place between the rag doll Annie and the teddy bear Teddy..."

At the same time, the animated scene appeared on the screen; it was indeed *The Forgotten Toys*.

Its director let out a breath and then went on stage to accept the award with a smile.

Now, Wu Yuchen couldn't help but feel nervous. Although the probability of winning the Jin Xiong increased with one less competitor, he was afraid of walking away with nothing! Every year at film festivals, there are often films that are highly favored but end up failing.

"We invite Mr. Wagner to the stage to present the Jin Xiong for Best Short Film!"

Wagner was a little old man. Standing in front of the podium, he opened the envelope in his hand, took a look, and said with a smile:

"Wow, this is a very excellent short film. I personally like it very much!"

Then he paused, scanned the audience, and announced loudly:

"*Bus 44*!"

Although it was a short film, it was still a Jin Xiong, so the treatment was different.

The big screen played scenes from *Bus 44*, accompanied by a voiceover:

"An ordinary bus, a test of human nature, a shocking ending, a thought-provoking smile..."

At this moment, Jiang Qinqin in the audience let out a scream and hugged her boyfriend tightly.

Wu Yuchen no longer hid his feelings; he clenched one fist and waved it, smiling wantonly.

At this moment, the entire venue erupted in warm applause, and cheers even came from the Chinese film crew side: "Well done!"

Wu Yuchen let go of Jiang Qinqin, hugged or shook hands with the other short film directors sitting nearby, and then puffed out his chest, walking onto the podium with high spirits.

The little old man Wagner first hugged Wu Yuchen and then handed a red box containing the medal to Wu Yuchen.

Only the main competition category received the real gold and silver bear trophies; other categories received medals. The medal given to Wu Yuchen had the pattern of a Jin Xiong imprinted on it.

Wu Yuchen didn't care whether it was a trophy or a medal; what mattered was the honor!

"Wow! I still find it hard to believe. After all, this is my first work, and it actually managed to win the Jin Xiong for Best Short Film. Thank you to the organizing committee for your recognition of me!"

As Wu Yuchen spoke, he raised the medal in his hand, and the people below smiled warmly.

"This *Bus 44* is not my credit alone. Perhaps those who have seen our short film know that there is a long list of acknowledgments at the end.

There were 27 of us in total, and we scraped together less than 4,000 US dollars to shoot this film. So I want to thank them here; without them, there would be no *Bus 44*!"

This truly caused surprise among the people below. They hadn't expected such a story behind this short film. With such a low budget and 27 people scraping it together, one could imagine the difficulties of filming.

At this time, someone took the lead in applauding again, and the applause grew louder and louder; no one was left out. This was encouragement for the *Bus 44* crew and admiration for their spirit of love for film! ===== CHAPTER 66 =====