Chapter 15: Exhibition Screening

After getting off the plane and exchanging greetings with Wang Sheng and the others, the group took a taxi to the hotel that had been booked for them.

Cao Yang didn't have to worry about any of this; the school had arranged everything perfectly.

According to the previous agreement, the school only needed to provide equipment and personnel; as for the money, it was not to be mentioned.

But ever since Cao Yang’s film was made and the school teachers and leaders saw it, he didn't have to worry about anything anymore.

He didn't have to handle the submission for censorship, the film festival registration, the international flight tickets, or the food and lodging in Berlin.

No one mentioned the previous agreement anymore either.

After resting at the hotel for a day, the next day, Cao Yang was dragged along by Tian Zhuangzhuang to visit all sorts of people—selectors, producers, directors, and members of the film festival organizing committee.

Don't look at the fact that Old Tian hasn't won a major European award in a serious way; part of the reason is because of the ban on his directing, which caused him to have no new works for ten years. Otherwise, looking at his connections in Europe, while I wouldn't dare say he would win the top prizes at the Big Three, he would have had a very good chance at other awards.

The Berlin Film Festival began on February 7th and lasted until the 18th. During this period, it was a large-scale screening and sales platform, gathering filmmakers from all over the world, and many distribution companies came here to "pick up scraps."

At the opening ceremony on February 7th, Cao Yang took Old Tian, Li Xiaoran, and Zhao Tiantian to walk a red carpet that no one paid attention to; they were complete nobodies, and absolutely no one recognized them.

This year, three Chinese-language films were shortlisted for the main competition section—one from Taiwan and two from the mainland. Under normal circumstances, the domestic media should have been in a frenzy; this was a great joy.

But the situation was a bit special; Wang Sheng’s film had not passed censorship and was entered into the competition without authorization.

As for Cao Yang’s film, it featured Tian Zhuangzhuang, who was still in his period of being banned from directing. The media couldn't immediately be sure if this was a film Tian Zhuangzhuang had made by "borrowing a shell," as it was all too easy for people to let their imaginations run wild when a student in their twenties was the director.

The media hadn't reported much yet, presumably all waiting to see how things played out on the 18th.

For the next few days, Cao Yang followed Old Tian around socializing and got to know quite a few people.

He had originally wanted to go see a few screenings, especially *Malèna*, which was also a film in the main competition section. Monica at the peak of her beauty was definitely worth watching, but unfortunately, he never had the time.

He was busy until the 12th, when things finally came to a temporary pause, and Cao Yang finally had some time.

In the afternoon, just as Cao Yang arrived in the hotel lobby, he saw Li Xiaoran.

"Xiaoran, are you going out?"

"Director... Cao, there is a screening of *Intimacy* at 2:30 this afternoon. I heard this film is quite good; it’s one of the favorites for the Golden Bear, and the festival catalog rating is decent, so I want to go see it."

Cao Yang looked at Li Xiaoran. She was wearing a white, round-neck knit sweater on top, which was somewhat form-fitting, outlining the full curves of her upper body.

Below, she wore a brown pleated skirt that reached about ten centimeters below her knees, a pair of gray knee-high boots on her feet, and a brown trench coat over it all.

Although she didn't yet have the aura of a mature woman from later generations, she had the advantage of youth. This was probably what a "bone-structure beauty" was—her shelf life would be incredibly long.

"I was just about to go see a screening too. Let’s go together."

Li Xiaoran didn't refuse and went with Cao Yang to the screening venue.

The screening hall for *Intimacy* was very large. When the two of them entered, quite a few people had already arrived, and the occupancy rate was about eighty percent, which was very high.

Finding a seat in the middle-left, Cao Yang saw Li Xiaoran’s little face was red from the cold, so he said, "Berlin is still quite cold. You’re wearing a bit too little; it’s best to change your coat for a down jacket."

The average temperature in Berlin in February was around minus two degrees Celsius; when the wind blew, it was quite cold.

"Down jackets are a bit bulky when worn; they don't look good."

Cao Yang had nothing to say. If you want style over warmth, you have to endure the punishment of the "temperature."

When it reached 2:30, the lights went out, and the screening began.

Then, just four minutes in, the male and female leads were already rolling around together. Seeing this, Cao Yang knew he was in trouble. With the nature of European art films, they were definitely going to go all out next.

It would be fine if he were watching alone; after all, everyone around was a stranger, no one knew anyone, and there was nothing to be embarrassed about.

The key was that Li Xiaoran was right next to him, which made it a bit awkward.

Cao Yang didn't know what education was like in Europe and America, or if they would feel shame in this situation. But with Chinese education, even the most open person would still feel shame watching a "small film" in front of an acquaintance.

This bunch of European art-house types were truly impressive; this one scene lasted about three minutes.

Cao Yang stole a glance out of the corner of his eye; Li Xiaoran was looking down, not knowing what she was thinking.

There was no help for it; it would be even more awkward if he got up and left now, so he just kept watching.

By the seventeenth minute, it started again, with the same plot.

Biting the bullet and watching on, was he sure this wasn't an adult film?

After finally finishing it, setting aside the erotic elements, the film’s theme discussed the transition from sex to love, and also touched on extramarital affairs, and so on.

The French are truly romantic as hell; they are so wild it’s off the charts. They are indeed avant-garde.

Actually, Cao Yang could also see that, hidden beneath the erotic appearance, it was actually trying to express human loneliness, only that among the large amount of explicit plot, what the director wanted to express was too subtle.

!

Perhaps only the film festival judges could dig into the depth of the film; the general audience would definitely just watch it as a romance film.

Love, loneliness, extramarital affairs...

Hey, this theme is so familiar!

Isn't *On the Beach at Night Alone* reflecting these themes!

What a coincidence, it’s just that the entry points of the two films are completely different.

Seeing Cao Yang still sitting in his chair in deep thought, Li Xiaoran pinched Cao Yang’s arm and pulled him up to leave.

What an awkward afternoon.

On the 13th, the Taiwanese film *Betelnut Beauty* began its screening. Cao Yang took Li Xiaoran and Zhao Tiantian to go; being away from home, everyone counted as their own people, and supporting each other was the right thing to do.

They also met the director and the young Zhang Zhen.

At this time, Zhang Zhen looked like an art-house type at first glance; his features were very obvious. Like Liang Chaowei, he looked very melancholy, didn't talk much, and was a bit shy.

Because they weren't very familiar, they just exchanged greetings, which counted as meeting, and after watching the film and offering a few compliments, they left.

It must be said that Taiwan’s Jiao Xiongping is truly resourceful. Not only was she the producer of Wang Sheng’s film, but she was also the producer of this film. Being able to "escort" two films with similar themes into the main competition section at the same time is truly not simple.

On the 16th, the premiere of Wang Sheng’s *Beijing Bicycle* took place. The organizing committee assigned a screening hall that could hold a hundred people. Cao Yang, as usual, brought Li Xiaoran and Zhao Tiantian to show support, and Old Tian came along too.

Near the time of the screening, including reporters and film critics, there were fewer than forty people in the hall.

"The occupancy rate isn't very good," Zhao Tiantian muttered in a low voice.

Cao Yang smiled helplessly, "We are all nobodies, and without the backing of movie stars, this occupancy rate is actually not bad. If our film can have this occupancy rate tomorrow, I will be satisfied."

Zhao Tiantian shrank her head and stuck out her tongue.

Suddenly, there was quite a commotion at the entrance. Cao Yang looked over and saw Jiao Xiongping and Wang Sheng, one on each side, accompanying Xie Fei as they walked in.

Wang Sheng’s usually stern face was now filled with smiles.

(End of chapter)