Chapter 180: Cannes Departure

Feng Xiaogang, who always emphasizes that awards are unimportant, took home two major awards at the Student Film Festival: Best Film and Most Popular Director among Students.

At the awards ceremony, Feng Xiaogang was all smiles and full of energy the entire time.

Furthermore, he repeatedly emphasized that students are the most authentic and unhypocritical group...

This posture drew mockery and ridicule from a large number of netizens.

"If you give him an award, he's your mother; if you don't, he opens fire. This is very Feng Xiaogang..."

"Director Feng's hypocritical look is still so authentic!"

"Didn't he say he didn't care about winning awards?"

"The awards Director Feng doesn't care about might refer to the Golden Lion or Golden Bear. Because he... has never won them..."

…………

Two cars were parked outside the villa, and several assistants were loading suitcases.

Liu Yifei was wearing a white T-shirt, paired with loose jeans and white sneakers, her long hair draped over her shoulders, looking very pleasing to the eye.

Even now that it was time to set off, Liu Xiaoli still couldn't quite believe that she would actually be going to a film festival as a supporting actress!

Liu Yifei hugged her mother's arm, whispering something, occasionally drawing a doting eye-roll from Liu Xiaoli.

Before long, everything that needed to be brought was loaded into the cars.

"Xixi, Auntie, we're setting off." Lin Nan reminded them.

"Mm, let's go..."

Liu Yifei nodded in response, her tone filled with cheerfulness.

……

When Lin Nan, Liu Yifei, and their group of seven or eight people appeared at the airport, the media reporters lying in wait reacted instantly.

"Lin Dao, Yifei, are you heading to Cannes?"

Many reporters asked directly, even though they already had the answer in their hearts.

"Yes, heading over early."

Hearing the accurate answer, the group of reporters became even more excited.

"Wishing Lin Dao a successful capture of the Palme d'Or this time..."

"And Best Actor..."

"Yifei, remember to bring back the Best Actress trophy!"

"Thank you."

Liu Yifei smiled like a flower, said sweetly, and tightened her grip on Lin Nan's hand.

Less than an hour later, the news of Lin Nan and Liu Yifei setting off for Cannes had spread.

"Lin Dao Nan and Liu Yifei, carrying 'The Fault in Our Stars', set off today for the Cannes International Film Festival!"

"Liu Yifei is youthful and beautiful, living up to the name 'Fairy Sister'!"

"Airport couple photo of Lin Dao and Liu Yifei, a perfect match!"

……

As the news spread, a host of filmmakers, actors, and production companies in the industry all turned their attention toward them.

Those who were close and those who weren't quickly sent their blessings on Weibo.

"Hoping Lin Dao and Yifei's 'Stars' successfully captures the Palme d'Or!"

"And Best Actor, Best Actress..."

In the eyes of many industry insiders, Lin Nan is the youngest major director in the country, possessing rich experience in competing at international film festivals.

Perhaps this time, there really will be a different result...

Major directors like Zhang Yimou and Jia Zhangke were also paying attention.

They know very well that among the three major film festivals, Cannes is undoubtedly the hardest to conquer!

It just depends on what the result will be for Lin Nan's 'Stars' when the time comes.

At the very least, they must come away with something...

…………

After a ten-hour flight, minus the 6-hour time difference, by the time Lin Nan, Liu Yifei, and the others got off the plane, it was exactly past 12:00 PM Cannes time.

Don't look at how famous the Cannes International Film Festival is worldwide; the place of Cannes itself is very small, with an area the size of an ordinary small town.

At this time, the foot traffic in Cannes was already very high, consisting of either filmmakers from all over the world or tourists.

Yue Jun had brought people to wait outside Nice Airport early on.

"Lin Dao, Yifei, everyone, let's get in the cars first. It's still over an hour's drive from here to the town of Cannes."

The group got into the cars and headed toward their destination.

Yue Jun began to talk about the Chinese-language films and Chinese directors and actors coming to the film festival this time.

"The 'Wu Xia' crew, including Chen Kexin, Starring Zhen Zidan, Tang Wei, and Li Xiaoran, has already started doing promotions."

Lin Nan found it amusing.

A few days ago, the media was still reporting on Starring Zhen Zidan's Weibo, saying he wanted to settle down and study for a while, and now he's run off to Cannes again?!

Gu Changwei and Zhang Ziyi brought 'Life is Hot' to do promotions and sell copyrights;

Deng Wendi, Li Bingbing, and Jun Ji-hyun's 'Snow Flower and the Secret Fan';

Fan Bingbing followed the South Korean crew for 'My Way';

Xu Ke, Zhou Xun, Chen Kun, and others brought 'Flying Swords of Longmen';

Yu Dong brought a group of artists from Bona...

……

Listening to Yue Jun introduce them one by one, Lin Nan also felt some emotion.

It truly is the most prestigious Cannes Film Festival!

Although 'Stars' is the only film participating in the competition section, there are so many Chinese-language films here for promotion and selling copyrights, far surpassing Berlin and Venice.

"Have these people all arrived already?"

"No, only a small portion have arrived. Most people will arrive one after another in the next few days."

Hearing this, Lin Nan nodded.

He just said, he set off several days early himself, would he still arrive later than them?

Liu Yifei looked through the car window at the seascape outside, a vast expanse of blue.

"During the film festival, shall we go look around?"

Lin Nan suggested knowingly; Cannes is a world-famous tourist destination.

"Ah? Okay."

Liu turned her head to look at Lin Nan and smiled in agreement. She was just thinking about this matter.

……

Soon, everyone arrived at the hotel.

After nearly twelve hours of travel, Liu Xiaoli was a bit tired, so Liu Yifei chose to stay at the hotel to accompany her.

Lin Nan and Yue Jun took people, preparing to go to the film market to take a look.

The exhibition booths for 'Stars' and 'Painted Skin 2' were both there.

The film exhibition area could be described as bustling with noise and excitement.

Looking around, there were people of all races, and promotional stands and movie posters could be seen everywhere.

"Take me to see the 'Stars' side."

Lin Nan instructed.

As a work in the main competition section, one can imagine its treatment.

Before even getting close to the 'Stars' booth, Lin Nan saw quite a few people gathered around, consulting about something.

It seemed they were asking about screening times.

The staff brought by Yue Jun were explaining that after the opening ceremony, the film would distribute screening tickets here at the booth.

Lin Nan even saw a familiar face, that European film distributor he had met several times in Berlin and Venice.

Every time they would chat for a few sentences, but he had never bought the copyright to his films, the reason being he wanted to buy but the budget wouldn't support it.

…………

"I think I saw Lin Dao?"

Not far away, Zhou Xun muttered.

"Lin Nan?" Xu Ke asked softly.

"Yes, it's him, no mistake!"

Zhou Xun's eyes lit up, and she walked over quickly.

Just as Lin Nan was about to turn around to go see 'Painted Skin 2', he was given a big fright by the petite girl who suddenly flashed before his eyes.

"Holy crap! Xun-ge, you're asking for a beating doing that!" Lin Nan said irritably.

"Haha, scared you? Look at you."

Zhou Xun teased him carelessly; this personality is also the reason she can be friends with many people.

Just as Lin Nan was about to speak, he saw Xu Ke and the others walking over from the front.

Lin Nan passed Zhou Xun and went to greet them.

"Producer Shi, Xu Dao."

Lin Nan first shook hands with Teacher Shi Nansheng, and then with Xu Ke.

Because back in Berlin, it was Teacher Shi Nansheng who presented him with the Silver Bear for Best Director, for 'Buried' that time.

Conversely, with Xu Ke, this should count as their first greeting.

Besides this, there was an even more important matter: Teacher Shi Nansheng is one of the jurors for this Cannes Film Festival.

"Lin Dao, long time no see."

On the awards stage last time, the two of them only exchanged a polite greeting.

Looking again today, this producer who possesses immense influence in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Southeast Asia truly has a very strong aura.

"It has been a long time since I've seen you; last time there wasn't a chance to chat much."

"By the way, how is the promotion for Xu Dao's 'Flying Swords of Longmen' going?"

Xu Ke's appearance, having an inner helper like Teacher Shi Nansheng, was also a hot topic of discussion back then.

"Haha, it's okay, it's okay..."

Whether it's really good or not, Lin Nan actually doesn't care; this is just socializing.

…………

According to the film festival's regulations, after the opening ceremony, Teacher Shi Nansheng, as one of the jurors, cannot have contact with the outside world; these two days are the last of her free time.

Zhou Xun is quite lucky; looking at it this way, she is very much liked by Teacher Shi Nansheng.

Since they met, it's inevitable to sit down and chat together, to exchange ideas.

In Lin Nan's eyes, Xu Ke's previous films excelled in their imaginative, bold, and creative script concepts.

However, chatting about film face-to-face this time, the other party seems even more obsessed with machinery, equipment, and 3D; every three sentences, he can't leave new technology!

"I've seen your 'Stars'..."

Unexpectedly, Teacher Shi Nansheng said softly.

This made Lin Nan perk up instantly. Xu Ke and Zhou Xun on the side looked over at the same time.

"A very good film! Where it can go, I don't know..."

This sentence is interesting; the charm of Chinese lies right here.

"Peace of mind, peace of mind. I'll just treat it as bringing Yifei here for a trip, hehe..."

"Oh? Then I'd quite like to meet that little girl."

Teacher Shi Nansheng said with a smile.

"Fine, then I'll definitely introduce her to Producer Shi and Xu Dao later."

Today, Lin Nan can be considered to have expanded his network again, exchanging contact information with Teacher Shi Nansheng and Xu Ke.

Especially Teacher Shi Nansheng, she is a frequent guest and juror at many international film festivals.

…………

The domestic media that came to the Cannes Film Festival have already sent back the latest reports.

"Lin Dao Nan has arrived at the Cannes Film Festival."

"Lin Dao, Xu Dao, Producer Teacher Shi Nansheng, and Zhou Xun chatted warmly in a cafe for a long time..."

"The film festival is about to open, and Chinese-language film copyright trading has yet to begin..."

……

Returned to the hotel in the evening.

Liu Yifei had already ordered food and was tucking in.

Other actresses and female stars would be very careful about this, but Liu is different; she never avoids food because she insists on exercising, running, and practicing martial arts every day...

Lin Nan was still pondering Teacher Shi Nansheng's sentence today: what did she mean by "where it can go, I don't know"?

He acknowledges the fierce competition at Cannes, which is even above Berlin and Venice, which can be seen from the number of participating films.

But this sentence made Lin Nan feel like a cat was scratching his heart, especially uncomfortable!

At this moment, Liu Yifei suddenly spoke up.

"I have to cooperate with the brand for street photography tomorrow, do you want to come along?"

Looking at Liu Yifei's expectant eyes, Lin Nan nodded with a smile, "Then I'll just watch you from the side?"

"Mm-hmm, okay..."

Liu nodded happily.

"Good, then that's it. Anyway, there are still two days until the opening ceremony."

Next chapter, later.