Chapter 35: Awards Ceremony and Copyright

Separated by about ten meters, Gu Changwei and Lin Nan nodded to acknowledge each other.

Zhang Jingchu seemed to have completely forgotten the remarks she had made to the media belittling *Return to Dust*, and even took the initiative to come up and shake hands with Lin Nan.

Jiang Wenli was still taking photos in the distance and hadn't come over; otherwise, Ms. Zhang would not have dared to come and talk to Lin Nan so blatantly.

After a perfunctory exchange of a few words, Ms. Zhang saw that she was not welcome and returned to the *Peacock* crew.

The red carpet continued, and Lin Nan was notified that it would soon be the turn of the *Return to Dust* crew.

Li Baotian and Jiang Wenli arrived at the exit with Lin Nan; the crew in front was for the German film *Sophie Scholl – The Final Days*.

The red carpet host began the introduction, "Walking onto the red carpet now is the crew from China for *Return to Dust*, including director Lin Nan, lead actor Li Baotian, and lead actress Jiang Wenli."

"This is their first time in Berlin, which reminds us of Zhang Yimou, who won the Golden Bear the first time he came to Berlin..."

Lin Nan tried hard to maintain a smile; off the red carpet, the cameras of various media outlets were flashing wildly, even to the point of being blinding.

Lin Nan caught sight of the Sixth Princess and the people from Sohu, and he smiled and waved at the lenses over there.

Women are natural masters on the red carpet; unlike Lin Nan and Li Baotian, Jiang Wenli appeared poised and graceful, with every movement calm and composed.

Two and a half minutes was the time allotted to the *Return to Dust* crew on the red carpet, and the host even conducted a brief interview with Lin Nan.

As they continued walking forward, they heard the host begin to introduce the *Peacock* crew...

The tiered venue, which could accommodate thousands of people, slowly began to fill up.

The *Return to Dust* crew was located in the middle-back section, with a French crew to the left and a German crew to the right; the *Peacock* crew was in the row directly in front of Lin Nan and the others.

Gu Changwei could have chatted with Lin Nan just by turning his head, but he would never do that, because Jiang Wenli was beside Lin Nan, and Zhang Jingchu was beside him.

Lin Nan could feel the tense atmosphere; looking at Li Baotian, he saw the veteran actor resting with his eyes closed, looking completely unperturbed.

Outside, the sky was growing dark, but the lights were brilliant. Inside the venue, the host announced that the closing ceremony and awards gala of the 55th Berlin International Film Festival had officially begun.

The most exciting moment was about to arrive.

All the guests in the hall were watching the big screen on the stage.

First were the non-competition sections; the two awards for the Young Forum module were both taken by domestic directors.

The Best Film and Short Film awards for the Panorama section were won by films from France and Switzerland, respectively.

Following that, the Children's section and various critics' awards were presented one after another.

As the jury president took the stage, everyone finally waited for the main event of the night.

"I am very happy to gather in Berlin with filmmakers from all over the world to contribute to the development of film art."

"Over the past few months, we have selected a large number of excellent films from all over the world, and after ten days of voting and deliberation, the works that will receive awards tonight will be presented to you."

From this moment on, Lin Nan began to hold his breath, because the name *Return to Dust* could appear at any time.

The first award was the Best European Film Award, an award reserved for local works, which was taken by a Dutch director.

Next, the Best Film Music Award was won by a French director.

When it came time for the Alfred Bauer Silver Bear, a hint of restlessness began to appear among the crowd; in 2003, *Hero* had won this award.

The winner was *The Wayward Cloud*.

At this point, Lin Nan was completely excited, because the subsequent awards were all major ones for him.

Li Baotian's squinting eyes were shining; who said the old veteran was indifferent?

"The winner of the Silver Bear for Best Actress is: Julia Jentsch for *Sophie Scholl – The Final Days*, congratulations."

Hearing this, Jiang Wenli's tense body suddenly relaxed.

"Sister Wenli, it's okay, we'll come again next time," Lin Nan comforted her.

"I am already very satisfied to have made it this far," Jiang Wenli consoled herself.

Gu Changwei turned his head and glanced at his wife, "Director Lin is right, we'll come again next time," which was met with Jiang Wenli's cold, silent stare.

Zhang Jingchu in front was also a bit disappointed; perhaps she had been too presumptuous from the start.

After the Best Actress winner received her award and gave her speech, the jury members continued to present the awards.

A few films flashed by, including *Return to Dust*, "The winner of the Silver Bear for Best Actor is: Lou Taylor Pucci for *Thumbsucker*, congratulations."

Li Baotian let out a long sigh, "Sigh, I was too restless; my cultivation of inner peace still needs more practice."

"Teacher Li, you are too modest; your talent has been seen by the audience for so many years," Lin Nan said very earnestly.

"Haha, let's keep watching, we might just snag a big one." Li Baotian understood the awards process, and Lin Nan felt a bit embarrassed by what was said.

Gu Changwei was also nervously staring at the stage; the Best Actor was giving his speech, and there were still three most important awards left.

The individual Best Director award, as well as the Golden Bear and the Jury Grand Prix for the film as a whole.

"The winner of the Silver Bear for Best Director is: Lin Nan for *Return to Dust*, congratulations."

It was as if a thunderbolt had struck his mind; at this moment, Lin Nan was a bit dazed, as if everything were unreal.

Li Baotian and Jiang Wenli were the first to applaud, and the China Film Group delegation in the distance also stood up to look at Lin Nan, congratulating him with joy on their faces.

Gu Changwei turned to offer his congratulations. Lin Nan stood up, hugged Jiang Wenli and Li Baotian, and then walked out of his seat toward the stage.

The jury member was still introducing Lin Nan and the film, "A film like a vast sandstorm, showing poetry and power, shining with light, and full of extraordinary restraint and compassion..."

Lin Nan walked onto the stage and took the Silver Bear trophy with both hands; this was the first important trophy belonging to Lin Nan—the Golden Horse Best Newcomer award didn't count.

"Thank you," Lin Nan expressed his gratitude.

The presenter stepped back, leaving the podium to Lin Nan.

Facing the thousands of people in the venue, Lin Nan was a bit nervous, but he mustered his courage and said in broken English, "I am Lin Nan, from China. I came here once two years ago as a newcomer actor."

"This is my first time bringing my own work to compete. I am very honored to receive the jury's love and affirmation, and I will continue to work hard."

"Here, I also want to thank Teacher Li Baotian and Teacher Jiang Wenli for their support; they are the lead actor and actress of my film. Thank you to my school, the Film Academy, for cultivating and teaching me. Thanks again to the Berlin Film Festival for recognizing me, thank you."

Applause erupted like thunder, and Lin Nan felt as if he were walking on cotton as he returned to his seat.

Holding the Silver Bear trophy, Lin Nan was very satisfied.

On stage, they had already begun to reveal the Jury Grand Prix, which was second only to the Golden Bear.

"The winner of the Silver Bear Jury Grand Prix is: *Peacock*, congratulations."

Gu Changwei, who had long been unable to contain himself, stood up all at once; although it wasn't the Golden Bear, he was already very satisfied. This was his first time directing, and there would be opportunities in the future.

Lin Nan offered his congratulations, and amidst the applause of the crowd, Gu Changwei walked onto the stage.

His acceptance speech included his love for the film industry and gratitude to his family and friends; finally, he specifically mentioned that his wife was the lead actress of *Return to Dust*, which made Lin Nan exclaim that he was a master.

The Golden Bear for Best Film was taken by the South African director's *U-Carmen e-Khayelitsha*, and the film festival officially came to a close.

At this moment back home, it was already three in the morning, and many media practitioners were forced to get up and work overtime.

First-hand news from the Berlin Film Festival began to occupy the headlines of major news outlets.

And Lin Nan prepared to meet with a group of film distributors the next day.

When Lin Nan drifted off to sleep, the morning news back home began to report on the awards won by *Peacock* and *Return to Dust* in Berlin.

Li Baotian and Jiang Wenli both left Berlin on the 21st; Lin Nan specifically saw them off at the airport to thank them for this trip to Berlin. As for the nominations that didn't lead to awards, everyone could only accept it as fate.

Watching the two and their assistants board the plane, Lin Nan returned to the hotel; he had appointments with quite a few distributors today.

He used to have a question: why did those old-generation directors keep filming even though they lost money on every film, and he finally knew the reason.

Others were aiming for film festivals; as long as they could win an award, the copyright could be sold for at least several times the cost, and they saved on distribution costs and theater revenue sharing—it was pure profit, and they didn't care at all whether the domestic box office could break even.

Han Dong specifically asked Lin Nan if he needed help; regarding film copyright trading, China Film Group was professional, and they also needed to hurry and finalize the import of some films over these two days.

Lin Nan gladly accepted, and at ten in the morning, he met with several well-known distributors with the people from China Film Group.

European distributors still offered the highest prices.

From the beginning, Lin Nan had made up his mind to sell the copyrights outright and not get involved in subsequent matters.

Several distributors split the copyrights for regions outside the mainland, and the price for Europe alone accounted for half, rising from over two million to four million, all because of one Silver Bear trophy.

After a day of negotiations, buyers were confirmed for all regions outside the mainland, for a total price of 8.3 million US dollars.

Two years ago, *Blind Shaft* won the Alfred Bauer Silver Bear and only sold for a little over three million US dollars; sure enough, awards also had their tiers.

Lin Nan believed that *Peacock* would definitely not sell for less, but it couldn't compare to *Return to Dust*, where all copyrights belonged solely to Lin Nan.

That evening, Lin Nan specifically met with Han Sanping to thank him for the help from China Film Group.

"I really should have invested in this film back then; it's truly enviable," Han Sanping did not hide the heat in his eyes at all.

An investment of less than 400,000 US dollars, sold for 8.3 million—a net profit of over twenty times, plus a Best Director trophy.

"Han Dong is joking; back then, no one dared to think it could help me win Best Director. I was just hoping to get a consolation prize."

Lin Nan said with a smile; when he invested alone, he really did have a mindset of trying it out, and it turned out he had won the gamble.

"As for the screening permit, let's start processing it when you get back; you winning an award will also help with this matter. Have you heard about the box office for *Peacock*?"

Lin Nan nodded; he had read the news. The domestic box office for *Peacock* was dismal. It was released on the 18th, and the first-day box office was less than 500,000; the second and third days were about the same.

Even though the news that the film had won the Jury Grand Prix was sent back, it didn't save the box office, at most increasing it to 700,000 or 800,000 a day, but the domestic box office was no longer important.

The copyright for *Peacock* had already been settled; its cost was only three times that of *Return to Dust*, and earning five or six times that by selling the copyright was absolutely no problem.

Han Dong's intention was for Lin Nan to learn from the experience and lessons of *Peacock*, at the very least not to be so lackluster at the domestic box office, but for a film with a cost of three million, even with the limitations of the subject matter, as long as it could be screened, it shouldn't lose money.