Chapter 17: Awards Ceremony

Festival Daily: She possesses both the allure of an Eastern woman and the charm of a Western woman, not only displaying the gentleness and elegance of Eastern women but also integrating the confidence and independence of Western women, forming a unique kind of beauty.

Her temperament is as gentle as jade, like a beauty who has stepped out of a classical painting; every frown and smile is full of charm.

In the film, through subtle expressions and movements, she reveals the character's inner world vividly, making the audience empathize and become unknowingly immersed in it.

She is the lead actress of "On the Beach at Night Alone" — Li Xiaoran.

The Festival Daily gave it a high score of 3.2, ranking second.

Good news followed one after another; Cao Yang received an official notification from the organizing committee, asking him and the crew to stay for tomorrow's closing ceremony.

Cao Yang told everyone the news, and there was an immediate burst of jubilation; this meant that at least one award was secured.

Although he had expected it, Old Tian still couldn't help but grin widely, thumping Cao Yang on the shoulder, "Good lad, you really did it, it actually worked!"

After the initial excitement, Li Xiaoran's agent, Sister Zhang, began to ponder what brand of clothing she should choose for Li Xiaoran tomorrow.

Ever since the Festival Daily ratings were released, various women's clothing brands that had previously been indifferent were now taking the initiative to call, each one extremely enthusiastic.

Li Chang, a reporter for Sina Entertainment, slammed his hand on the table after taking a call, startling his colleagues working overtime nearby.

Ignoring his colleagues' surprise, Li Chang stood up excitedly and strode toward the editor-in-chief's office, knocking haphazardly on the door before entering, shouting, "Boss, I just got news from Berlin; three, there are three Chinese-language films this year that have received invitations to the closing ceremony."

Editor-in-Chief Hu looked up in surprise, "So many? Are they all in the main competition section?"

Li Chang nodded, "That's right, I even specifically asked; they are all in the main competition section."

Editor-in-Chief Hu was truly shocked this time; how many awards are there in total in the Berlin Film Festival's main competition section? And there are no technical awards, so they are almost all major awards.

Is this still Berlin, one of the three major European film festivals?

Those who know it's the Berlin Film Festival would think it's some Chinese film festival; how is this possible?

Thinking of the information he had learned earlier, Editor-in-Chief Hu couldn't help but ask, "It wouldn't be the films by Wang Xiaoshuai, Tian Zhuangzhuang, and their lot, would it?"

Li Chang was also stunned, quickly pulling out the information he had written on a sticky note, reading, "Cao Yang's 'On the Beach at Night Alone', Wang Xiaoshuai's 'Beijing Bicycle', and the Taiwanese film 'Love Me, Love My Money'."

Editor-in-Chief Hu slapped his forehead with a "thwack" and sighed, "How do we report this? Wang Xiaoshuai's film didn't pass censorship and went to compete privately, and Tian Zhuangzhuang is still in his banned director period."

Li Chang couldn't help but remind him, "Boss, the director of 'On the Beach at Night Alone' is named Cao Yang, not Tian Zhuangzhuang. It was fine not to report it when the film hadn't won an award because we were afraid of trouble, but now it's clearly going to win an award, and that's the Berlin Film Festival."

Editor-in-Chief Hu thought for a moment, picked up the phone, and made a call.

After hanging up, he started dialing again.

He stopped only after making four calls in a row.

Seeing Li Chang's curious gaze, Editor-in-Chief Hu said, "I called a friend at the Bureau; they only know that this film passed censorship and went out through the regular channels of the Youth Film Studio, but because Tian Zhuangzhuang is involved, they still advised me to be cautious when reporting and it's best to wait for the Beijing Film Academy's reaction before deciding."

"Beijing Film Academy?"

Li Chang's expression shifted, "Boss, haven't you thought about calling the Beijing Film Academy to ask what the situation is?"

Editor-in-Chief Hu glared at Li Chang, "Why the hell didn't you say so earlier!"

He picked up the phone and called a friend in the Directing Department of the Beijing Film Academy.

After hanging up, Li Chang saw him tapping his fingers on the table in silence and asked, "Boss?"

Editor-in-Chief Hu made up his mind and instructed Li Chang, "It's confirmed, there's absolutely no problem. Don't report it yet; hurry up and prepare the press release. Focus on two directions: first, the press release for the Best Actress, hurry and find the actress's background information; second, the press release for Cao Yang. I don't need to teach you how to praise him, right? It would be best to get Cao Yang's detailed profile."

Then he stood up and slammed the table hard, "As soon as the awards in Berlin are confirmed, release everything immediately." Since everyone is watching and waiting, if he takes the lead in reporting it now, it gives other media time to prepare; it's better to hold off, prepare thoroughly, and release it all at once tomorrow to completely seize the initiative.

February 18th is the closing ceremony of the Berlin Film Festival.

There were far fewer crews participating in the closing ceremony this time, so there was much more time to linger on the red carpet, and there were dedicated photo and interview areas.

Cao Yang walked the red carpet with Li Xiaoran.

Li Xiaoran wore a sapphire blue deep V-neck velvet gown; the pleated design at the waist made the overall silhouette upright and three-dimensional, making her look even taller and more graceful.

Holding Li Xiaoran's icy hands, Cao Yang thought, being a female star isn't easy; attending major events, no matter how cold the weather is, they have to wear revealing gowns that highlight their figures; it's truly suffering.

Passing the photo area, quite a few photographers were shouting "Li"; Li Xiaoran posed somewhat unnaturally, as she wasn't used to such occasions yet.

It seems that through the Festival Daily and the film, Li Xiaoran had already gained some fame.

After walking the red carpet somewhat stiffly, Cao Yang couldn't help but ask, "Are you cold?"

Li Xiaoran's lips trembled, and she gripped Cao Yang's hand tighter, "Cold."

Entering the theater and finding the crew's seats, Old Tian and Zhao Tiantian had walked faster and were already sitting there.

!

Before long, the film festival chairman gave the opening remarks, the jury members appeared collectively, and the jury president took on the role of host.

The film festival process was quite extensive; besides the main competition section, there were various panorama sections and short film awards to be presented. Once these were all finished, the atmosphere at the scene suddenly changed, and they finally entered the awards ceremony for the main competition section.

"The winner of the Best New Actress award is, Angelica Lee, 'Love Me, Love My Money'."

Amidst the applause, Cao Yang saw a female actress from the Taiwanese crew stand up; not bad, a good start.

"The winner of the Best New Actor award is, Chang Chen, 'Love Me, Love My Money'."

Everyone on the Taiwanese side was stunned; Best New Actor? Chang Chen? Was there a mistake?

Chang Chen debuted at the age of fifteen, participated in Wong Kar-wai's "Happy Together", Ang Lee's "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", etc., and had been to Cannes and the Oscars; how did he become a newcomer?

When Chang Chen went on stage to receive the award, the expressions of Jiao Xiongping and director Lin Cheng-sheng were not good; by giving away both the Best New Actor and Actress awards at once, the other awards were now in jeopardy.

What are the Best New Actor and Actress awards?

They aren't permanent awards; these are compensatory awards with a touch of human sentiment — if you have wide connections, you have to be given some face, but the awards are limited; if you've eaten the meat, there's none left, so let you drink some soup.

Who said Germans don't know how to be flexible?

Next, the first major award arrived.

The host and the presenter chatted on stage for a while, and the presenter announced that they were about to present the Best Actress award.

Cao Yang saw Li Xiaoran's hands trembling with nervousness beside him, muttering to herself, staring fixedly at the stage.

He nudged Li Xiaoran's arm and reminded her, "Don't be afraid, if you can't remember the English, just give your speech in Chinese."

"What?"

"...... Li Xiaoran, 'On the Beach at Night Alone'."

"Clap, clap, clap......"

The applause rose like a tide.

Thank you to the friends who voted with monthly tickets and recommendations, thank you.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 18 =====