New Age Artists

Chapter 681 Turbulent Waves
The venue suddenly became quiet.

You can hear the needle drop.

Before Ning Hao opened his mouth, no one took him seriously, whether he walked up to the podium silently or stood in a daze.

There were also sporadic chuckles from the audience, which gave encouragement.

It is understandable that people are very excited to win such a big award.

However, after Ning Hao opened his mouth, there was sudden silence.

A little bit shy.

The jury members on the stage were stunned, and the King of Sunglasses, who was presenting the award, did not move at all, as if he was under a spell of immobilization.

After they reacted a little, the award presenters and the audience went from being stunned to being excited and buzzing.

Reporters in the press area stood up, either excited or angry.

Xu Guangtou below had sweat on his shiny forehead. He didn't know how Ning Hao was doing now, but his palms were wet with sweat and he couldn't help but clench them hard.

Guangtou Xu recalled the words they had discussed before. Ning Hao did not follow the procedure, but it didn't matter anymore.

This is the Berlin Film Festival!

The movie clip just now flashed through my mind, the tanker truck burning in the yellow sand, the lawyer holding up a lighter to illuminate the darkness, and the hawk flying across the bloody setting sun.

In a trance, Guangtou Xu seemed to hear Ning Hao's roar.

Kind of!

Dongda people have always been particular about giving others a way out, and this is especially true in the entertainment industry.

Guangtou Xu asked himself if he were him, he probably wouldn't have the courage that Ning Hao had.

It’s just an idea, but when you really do it, it makes your scalp tingle.

What does Ning Hao feel like on the stage?
My mind goes blank.

The light from the crystal chandelier on the dome of the Berlin Film Palace fell on the back of Ning Hao's neck, like falling fine snow, bringing a hint of chill.

Ning Hao subconsciously used his fingers to straighten out the non-existent wrinkles on his suit, his fingertips trembling slightly.

In addition to the nervousness, there was also a surge of excitement.

Ning Hao thought of the movie "Crazy Stone" filmed many years ago, in which there is a line: "Is this a public toilet? Come as you like, leave as you like!"

It seems that it can also be used at the Berlin Film Festival.

Is the Berlin Film Festival a toilet? Come as you please, leave as you please.

It can also be.

Another second passed.

More and more people reacted, and there were gasps from the whole audience.

The King of Sunglasses subconsciously asked Ning Hao in Cantonese: "What are you doing?"

The tone was neither anger nor shock.

It was more of confusion, or rather astonishment.

I was a little slow to react and didn't understand what "I refuse" meant. What does "I refuse" mean?
Who would refuse a good thing?

And this is the Golden Bear Award at the Berlin Film Festival.

Ning Hao gave the King of Sunglasses an apologetic look. Although the other party was still wearing sunglasses, Ning Hao could sense the confused look behind the sunglasses.

Ning Hao actually felt a little happy when he really took this step.

A director who can’t act is not a good actor.

Entering the drama!
Ning Hao took out a crumpled speech from his inner pocket. The papers rustled as he unfolded it. He then unbuttoned his suit, revealing his shirt collar, and breathed a sigh of relief.

Only one second passed, but Ning Hao felt like he had been waiting for a long time.

He thought maybe someone would stop him, but no one did.

The spotlights interweaved into a sea of ​​stars on the dome of the Berlin Film Palace. Ning Hao looked at the dark crowd below the stage and said, "Thank you for the jury's recognition of No Man's Land."

Ning Hao thoughtfully delivered his speech in English.

There is a speech for the award winners!
There should be rejection too!

The heavily accented English sounds particularly clear under the Baroque dome.

The noisy crowd quieted down again.

Restored dignity.

Everyone thought they had heard it wrong.

"But this golden bear should not belong to us. Please allow me to decline as the creator."

The audience began to surge with tiny waves of sound.

The crowd exploded again.

This time we can be sure and affirm that this director from the University of Tokyo rejected the Golden Bear Award at the Berlin Film Festival!
Shock!

Shocked!

No one laughed at Ning Hao's accent at this moment, because it was not funny!
The King in Sunglasses came back to his senses, but he didn't know what to do, so he could only ask again: "Ning Hao, what are you doing?"

"Director Wang, there are some things I must say." Ning Hao gradually became more and more excited, and the more nervous he became, the calmer he became.

"damn it!"

Art director Dieter Koslick finally reacted, his face pale: "Stop him! Cut the camera, get the signal! Quick!"

It had never happened before, and I had never even thought about it happening before. I didn’t know what to do for a moment.

Ning Hao's English is very rough and halting, but he is still outputting.

"I have always respected such an important award as the Berlin Film Festival. But the facts have shattered my beautiful imagination time and time again. A gentleman told me that as long as I criticized Shen Santong, a director who has a significant influence in our country and the world, he would give me the award."

Everyone in the venue was suddenly shocked!

Serious accusations!

Regardless of the ripples in the audience, Ning Hao felt that he had regained control of his body. The desire to perform drove his emotions and he unbridled his passion.

I'm addicted to acting.

Ning Hao held the trophy high, and artistic director Dieter Kosslick rushed out from the side curtain, his bow tie tilted to his collarbone, and hurried to the stage.

Dieter Koslick thought back at this moment and realized that Ning Hao had planned it all along!
When I found out I had won the award, I wasn’t excited, I was so nervous I wanted to cause trouble!

I cursed Commissioner James inwardly again, saying that black people can’t be trusted!

In the past, it was impossible to give big prizes to people like Ning Hao who could not be fully controlled, and loyalty had to be cultivated slowly.

They are all shitty Americans.

Dieter Koslick racked his brains to figure out how to end the situation, but Ning Hao pointed his finger and said loudly, "This is the one, the artistic director of the film festival, who made a deal with me behind the scenes using the Golden Bear Award!"

"I didn't believe it at first, but it's true! So I have to refuse!"

The venue was in an uproar again!
Dieter Kosslick only felt that the lights were extremely dazzling and his face turned pale, as if he saw the end of his career.

Ning Hao's voice spread through the microphone.

He is still killing.

"When Red Sorghum won the Golden Bear Award here more than 20 years ago, my predecessor Zhang Yimou thought he had opened up a new world."

"But the facts tell me that the West is only willing to give awards to Dongda with pigtails. The northern Shaanxi cotton jacket in "Qiu Ju Goes to Court" and the demolished ruins in "The Good Man of Three Gorges" are of course real, but just like Mr. Mo Yan's Gaomi Township, they should not become specimens of the entire Chinese civilization."

“The three major film festivals always like to award two types of films from the University of Tokyo: either pre-modern folk spectacles or scar narratives.”

“It’s like the Nobel Prize in Literature only recognizes Mo Yan’s magical realism, but ignores the boiling city described by Wang Anyi. This is not an artistic judgment, but the aesthetic hegemony of postcolonialism. You are forcing us to act out the imaginary Dongda.”

The term “postcolonial cultural hegemony” appeared, and the audience had little reaction.

But it is like a bomb among film and cultural professionals.

Like a sword piercing the dome.

German director Wim Wenders knocked over the wine glass at hand, and the amber wine spread along the white tablecloth.

French film critic Marguerite Lacan in the back row couldn't help but stop writing and drawing on her notebook, the tip of her pen almost piercing the paper.

Italian director Nanni Moretti took off his glasses and wiped them repeatedly.

Some directors also exchanged complicated glances with each other.

In the broadcast control room, five monitors lit up red at the same time. The live broadcast signals of 27 TV stations around the world fluctuated violently and were urgently cut off.

"No Man's Land is a film full of black crime film style, but we didn't make the film to satisfy the West's voyeurism of the 'mysterious East', nor to cater to ignorant rural and political metaphors, and to depict stereotypes about us with so-called real conditions."

"My photographer suffered from heatstroke in the Gobi Desert, and my lighting engineer didn't leave the set even when his daughter was born. If the work we have created with our blood and sweat eventually becomes a specimen that confirms Western prejudice, then all suffering will lose its dignity."

"This is the second reason why I refused the award."

Applause suddenly broke out in a corner, but was immediately drowned out by more boos.

The sound waves hit the gold-inlaid columns and shattered into sharp tinnitus.

The venue is in chaos!

On stage and off stage, everything was in chaos!

The reporters' shutter clicks kept rang as they tried to capture the moment Ning Hao left.

The champagne glass in the British actress's hand suddenly tilted, Japanese director Hirokazu Koreeda's glasses fell off in fright, and French director Olivier Assayas on the jury opened his mouth, unable to speak for a moment.

Finish a few words.

Ning Hao didn't wait for anyone to scold him, he just left quickly.

A dramatic moment occurs.

When Ning Hao turned to leave, he stuffed the trophy into Dieter Kosslick's arms, and the cold metal base poked him in the arms.

A reporter captured this moment. Although Ning Hao stepped down from the stage, he held his head high and walked forward.

Dieter Kosslick walked toward the stage, with his head lowered and a dazed look in his eyes.

The elderly award presenter tried to stop Ning Hao, but was gently brushed away.

The three people in the picture are in sharp contrast, but the Golden Bear trophy is insignificant!
The crew of "No Man's Land".

Huang Bo said nothing.

Li Ming had a complicated expression and understood why Ning Hao was in a hurry to sell the copyright.

Yu Nan's fingers were clenched around the shawl, and her knuckles were white.
“You’re destroying your career!”

Jia Zhangke stood up suddenly, his knee knocked over the seat with a loud noise, his eyes were full of anger, and he wished he could eat Ning Hao.

"Ning Hao, what are you doing?"

Wang Quanan also questioned.

Domestic reporters also rushed over to the press area, yelling and cursing wildly.

Ning Hao frowned.

Most people were more shocked, as foreigners had never seen such a violent reaction.

Looking at the excitement of Jia Zhangke and others, Ning Hao suddenly smiled with relief.

Shen Santong won again, and he won so hard!

The Dalit foremen were more radical than the Japanese in their efforts to uphold the sanctity of the Japanese caste.

There are some words that normal people would not feel, but the Dalit foreman would immediately become hysterical.

Ning Hao ignored them and sat down.

"Haozi, you are going to fly to the sky. Let's withdraw from the award ceremony first."

Li Ming still had doubts in his mind, but since things had come to this, he could only run away.

Ning Hao has trampled on the face of the Berlin Film Festival. He will probably be blacklisted by foreign film festivals in the future, and even affect domestic art directors.

But, that's it.

Nowadays, domestic film and television companies take their films to foreign film festivals mainly for the domestic box office. With the reputation of refusing the Golden Bear, "No Man's Land" is definitely popular, even a little bit excessive.

Li Ming is already thinking about how to hype this matter and make the "No Man's Land" which has been delayed for many years popular.

Winner of the Golden Bear Award at the Berlin Film Festival, available in China.

Ning Hao was the first one to refuse the award!
Dieter Kosslick had to take control of the situation himself. The metal surface of the trophy that Ning Hao handed back seemed to still retain the residual heat of his body temperature.

The artistic director usually does not go on stage. He has to give the impression that the jury is in charge of everything in order to maintain the style, fairness and openness of the film festival.

For example, the grand prize of the main competition unit is awarded by the jury. People who don’t understand it will mistakenly think that the jury decides everything and do not know the real operating logic of the award.

Even if there are problems, the jury and the film festival can still make a cut.

Dieter Kosslick grabbed the microphone too quickly, and the whistling sound made the audience in the front row frown collectively.

However, he didn't care. Ning Hao's refusal of the award in such an occasion was no different from making a scene in a diplomatic occasion.

He managed to calm himself down, not mentioning the under-the-table deal at all, and took the moral high ground: "The Berlin Film Festival has always respected and always respected artistic freedom."

His English was thick with a Berlin accent, and his forehead was shiny with oil in the spotlight.

There is no need to speak German anymore, just use English.

The German audience couldn't help but frown. Many of them didn't speak English at all and couldn't understand what Ning Hao was saying. They could only guess some of the content through interaction.

It's fine that Ning Hao uses English since he's a student at Dongda University, but what kind of English do you, Dieter Kosslick, use? Who are you explaining to and who are you responsible to?

Isn't the Berlin Film Festival German?
Dieter Kosslick was preoccupied with how to smooth things over: “But we must also point out that art should not be hijacked by political narratives. We regretfully point out that Mr. Ning Hao misunderstood the professionalism of the judges. At the same time, we would like to apologize for the errors in the procedure.”

Dieter Kosslick saw the crew of "No Man's Land" leaving the stage and gradually calmed down.

The Golden Bear must be awarded.

The Berlin Film Festival must not be used to perform for Ning Hao.

As he was directing on the spot, the big screen suddenly switched and the director hurriedly replayed the film festival promotional video.

Dieter Koslick urgently consulted with the jury, and directly gave the title to the Romanian film "Child's Pose".

It took less than ten minutes for the prize to be drawn again and order was restored in the venue.

When the crew of Child's Pose re-delivered their acceptance speeches, they received warm applause.

Won both the Silver Bear and the Golden Bear for Best Director.

Supreme glory!

After the storm was calmed down, Dieter Kosslick breathed a sigh of relief and cursed in Bavarian slang in German backstage, but he knew it was not over yet.

Before the awards ceremony was over, the official statement of the Berlin Film Festival appeared on the festival's website: "We do not agree with the politicization of artistic discussions."

The word "regret" was used seventeen times in a row in the public statement, but no specific incident was mentioned.

However, the trending search on Twitter has exploded.

#Golden Bear Award rejected for the first time# is climbing at a rate of 20,000 per minute.

The atmosphere after this year's Berlin Film Festival awards ceremony was quite strange.

Li Ming said: "Let's leave overnight."

Ning Hao shook his head: "If we leave, won't the celebration banquet we prepared be wasted?"

Guangtou Xu was shocked. Ning Hao, are you so brave?

Ning Hao looked at everyone and said, "Have we done anything wrong? It would be wrong if we ran away. Not only should we not run away, we should also invite domestic journalists and colleagues to have a celebration banquet together."

“The first person in history to refuse the Golden Bear Award.”

Ning Hao also wanted to run away at first, but after refusing to accept the award, he changed his mind.

Is it possible to kill them?

The midnight celebration party prepared by the crew of "No Man's Land" turned into a reception.

"You have started a wildfire, be careful not to burn yourself." Wang Xiaoshuai also came to eat and drink, and did not forget to sneer and warn: "The international community is laughing at us. Do you know how many views we have on Twitter?"

After the Berlin Film Festival awards ceremony, the Golden Bear Award-winning films or other selected works are usually screened. There are also media conferences where the winners and the main creative team are interviewed, and the festival ends with the Film Market (EFM) and forum activities during the festival.

The process still followed as before, but because Ning Hao refused to accept the award, the atmosphere was very subtle.

Ning Hao said: "Eat if you like, otherwise get out."

Jia Zhangke suddenly remembered something and asked, "Who ordered you to do that?"

Ning Hao frowned: "The Berlin Film Festival didn't condemn me, why do you care? I just figured it out. The Gobi Desert has the barbaric desolation of the desert smoke, but it also has communication base stations."

“I don’t want to just point the lens at the former.”

As the night deepened in Berlin, a new day began at the University of Tokyo.

The popularity of "The Monkey King: Hero is Back", coupled with Ning Hao's refusal of the Golden Bear Award, is creating an unprecedented cultural storm!
(End of this chapter)