Chapter 79

Although the Sydney Film Festival doesn't have as many sections as Berlin, it still divides screening areas according to film categories to facilitate viewing for the audience.

Wu Yuchen didn't know if his Berlin Jin Xiong had played a role, or if some judge was interested in their film, but they were given a fairly decent spot in the fantasy section for "Coherence."

However, Wu Yuchen didn't have time to take Jiang Qinqin to watch various films for the moment. He and Tang Yu dragged their suitcases, took out the promotional posters printed back home, and started putting them up one by one themselves.

For an unknown small crew, this kind of promotion has to be done by oneself; there's no such prestige to have the organizers handle all this for you thoughtfully.

This time, Wu Yuchen was much better prepared than when he went to Berlin last time. Besides posters, there were also flyers; in short, he had spent a small sum of money on promotion and distribution.

Jack was a suspense film enthusiast. While strolling in this area, he ran into someone actively handing out flyers. He took one and looked:

"A sci-fi suspense masterpiece by a Jin Xiong director!"

"The most brain-burning sci-fi suspense film of the year! Challenge your IQ!"

Jin Xiong director? Most brain-burning? Challenge your IQ?

This immediately piqued Jack's interest, and he headed toward this exhibition hall.

At the entrance of the exhibition hall, he saw several different posters pasted on display boards. These posters were either group photos of the 8 people or solo shots of the female lead, Jiang Qinqin, with a meteor streaking across the background, but the unified style was to highlight a sense of suspense.

At the same time, different slogans were written on different posters:

"Do you want to know if there is another you in the world?"

"Sci-fi fans absolutely cannot miss this!"

"You won't guess the ending until you see the very end!"

"A $10,000 low-budget film that subverts your worldview!"

Several other people who were attracted over couldn't help but ask:

"Can a sci-fi film be made for $10,000?"

"Of course! If you think it's not a sci-fi film after watching it, you can file a complaint with the organizers!" Wu Yuchen said confidently from the side.

These promotional slogans were all about the hype; attract people in first, then worry about the rest.

A short film Jin Xiong is still a Jin Xiong; his production cost was less than $20,000, so rounding it down, it's 10,000.

And don't you know, this kind of promotion really worked. By 7 o'clock in the evening, the entire screening hall was full of people, all lured in by curiosity or a competitive spirit.

Jack was also sitting in the screening hall at this time, intending to see what this so-called Jin Xiong director's $10,000 sci-fi suspense masterpiece "Coherence" was really made of!

After the film started, Wu Yuchen kept observing the audience's reactions in the hall. Although he had made certain adjustments to the first ten minutes, the necessary foreshadowing had to be there; he was just afraid that "Coherence" would drive people away in the first ten minutes like in his past life.

Seeing that about ten minutes had passed and there were no audience members leaving, Wu Yuchen breathed a sigh of relief; at least it proved his adjustments were effective.

Jack watched the 8 people chatting continuously at the dinner party for ten minutes. Although he felt a bit bored, as a suspense film lover, he still had the necessary patience. Moreover, there were indeed some detailed signs in the beginning that made him pay attention, such as the cracked mobile phone, which should have a role later on.

As the power went out in the villa in the film, the unexpected events perked the audience up. Sure enough, from this moment on, the plot began to unfold, one surprise after another attracting the audience's attention, with conflicts and suspense emerging, teasing the audience's nerves and making their brains race.

When the Schrödinger's cat and parallel world settings were thrown out, some gasped, and some had a sudden realization.

When they saw Fu Dalong point out that none of them were from the same world, the entire audience was shaken, feeling a sense of hair-raising horror. Fu Dalong being attacked by another version of himself later on caused even more tension and fear among the audience.

Jack was getting more and more excited as he watched. In fact, he didn't find the concepts of parallel worlds and time loops particularly strange; for example, "Back to the Future" and "Groundhog Day" had already used these elements.

But this director actually made people from various parallel timelines intersect, leading to chaotic consequences he had never thought of and a sense of fear brought by the unpredictable; this was simply a genius idea! He was trembling all over with goosebumps!

Only now did he realize that many details had been foreshadowed earlier, but he had no time to recall them for a moment and could only follow the plot.

Seeing the change in the female lead Amy's eyes on the screen from numbness and disappointment to gloom, some people already had a premonition of what was about to happen. Sure enough, with the suspenseful and slightly eerie music, the female lead Amy turned dark. The audience followed her footsteps and gaze as she looked at the same eight people from different worlds, choosing the version of herself that smiled the happiest to walk over to...

Amy successfully replaced her version from the perfect world.

Finally, under the gaze of Jiang Qinqin's sweet smile, Huang Haibing looked at his phone: "It's so strange, you're the one calling me..."

Then he answered the phone, his expression froze for a moment, and he immediately turned his head to look at his girlfriend.

At this moment, Jiang Qinqin's smile vanished, and she looked at Huang Haibing with a face full of gloom.

The big screen went black, and the film ended.

"WTF! What kind of brain-hole is this! I'm actually starting to be afraid of myself!"

"Oh my god, they killed themselves!"

"I killed myself, so am I still me?"

"No! I don't want to look in the mirror for the next two days!"

These were the people who were scared by the film's thriller elements. In the 90s, thriller tropes like "Triangle" where one kills oneself were still rare or even non-existent, so as soon as it appeared, it shocked the audience.

Of course, there were also many voices of praise:

"My god! This film is just too cool! I didn't even notice when these people had already swapped worlds!"

"How many times did these parallel timelines intersect? My brain is completely overloaded; this is definitely the most brain-burning film I've seen this year!"

"I thought it was a bit boring at first, but now looking back, it's all foreshadowing and details. I must watch it again!"

At this time, Wu Yuchen also brought Jiang Qinqin and Tang Yu up on stage to express his thanks.

The audience below also burst into thunderous applause; this film really gave them full surprises and shocks!

After the applause subsided slightly, before Wu Yuchen could even open his mouth to thank them, someone couldn't help but start asking:

"Director, how many time-space intersections actually happened?"

"Can you still return to your own room after going out?"

"Will Amy kill her boyfriend in the ending?"

"How many Amys exist in that final timeline?"

Facing this series of questions, Wu Yuchen didn't panic. He raised his hand to press down, and after it quieted down, he said:

"I can say a few things:

First, the time-space intersection caused by the comet had already occurred before the party started;

Second, passing through that dark zone will lead you into other timelines;

Third, every choice is a process of creating parallel timelines;

……

I can only reveal this much; as for the other plot points, I think it's an interesting process for everyone to dig into them on their own~"

After hearing the director say this, no one asked anymore, lost in thought and constantly recalling the content of the film; this was indeed the charm of this film.

Then there was another round of applause and a shout:

"'Coherence' will definitely be one of the top ten films of the year!"