1978: Female educated youth, don’t want an illiterate husband

"What? Say it again!"

When the call from the Shanghai Film Studio was connected, the studio director, Xu Sangchu, was so shocked by the news that he stood up abruptly, his eyes wide with disbelief.

Xie Jin, who happened to be in the office, also looked extremely surprised and bewildered.

He vaguely heard the other end of the phone mention the 'Bolin Film Festival', which surprised Xie Jin and filled him with even more confusion.

The Bolin International Film Festival? Could I have misheard?
It should be noted that since the founding of our country, international film festivals have never sent invitations to China.

The films we produce have never been submitted for consideration or shown on the big stage of international film festivals.

What's the matter?

It's neither a holiday nor a festival, yet the Berlin Film Festival was mentioned on the phone, which surprised Lao Xu so much.

This prompted Xie Jin, who was sitting next to him, to quickly stand up and lean over to the phone, but he couldn't hear very clearly.

All that could be seen was Lao Xu, who was answering the phone. His throat was moving and his voice was trembling, clearly showing his excitement. Xie Jin was so anxious that he wanted to snatch the phone from his hand and answer it himself.

At this moment, Xu Sangchu was indeed extremely excited, because the person on the other end of the phone was Hu Jian from China Film Group.

Hu Jian said on the phone that this year's Bolin Film Festival, for the first time ever, sent us an invitation.

Ding Daming from China Film Group immediately approved the film "Romance on Lushan Mountain," which their Shanghai Film Studio had just submitted to Beijing for review!
Good guy!
Xu Sangchu and director Xie Jin were still worried about whether "Romance on Lushan Mountain" could pass censorship and be released on schedule.

They never expected to receive such news.

So excited!

Xu Sangchu has been making films for three or four decades, but he never expected to go abroad, let alone to an international stage like the Bolin Film Festival.

"General Manager Ding said time is tight and he wants you to finalize the delegation list as soon as possible." Hu Jian's voice came through the phone line, filled with barely suppressed envy. "Old Factory Director, this is fantastic news!"

"Great, great, great! This is truly fantastic news! Okay, okay, I'll decide on the delegation right away!" Upon hearing the definite news, Xu Sangchu excitedly slammed his fist on the table and nodded repeatedly in agreement.

Just before hanging up, he added, "By the way, Xiao Hu, please give my regards to Daming. I really want to thank him this time!"

The first invitation the Bolin Film Festival sent to China was directly approved by Ding Daming of China Film Group, who, out of a sense of kinship, decided to produce "Romance on Lushan Mountain" by his Shanghai Film Studio. How could Xu Sang, a new director of the studio, not appreciate it?

I definitely need to thank them.

"Old factory director, what's wrong? What great news? They need to select a delegation?" Xie Jin, who was standing next to him, was extremely anxious. Seeing that Xu Sangchu had hung up the phone, he quickly asked, "Why did I hear about the Bolin Film Festival? What's going on?"

"Old Xie, great news! Huge good news!" After hanging up the phone, Xu Sangchu paced back and forth, saying to Xie Jin, "Hu Jiangang from China Film Group called and said that the Bolin Film Festival sent us an invitation to participate in the film festival at the end of this year!"

"Ding Daming from China Film Group, seeing that the film festival was about to start and time was tight, didn't notify the other production companies and directly approved our newly submitted film, 'Romance on Lushan Mountain!'"

"Congratulations, Lao Xie! Your film 'Romance on Lushan Mountain' is going abroad, representing all of us in the country's literary and artistic film industry, to participate in the Bolin International Film Festival!"

"Old Xie, this is great news, this is fantastic news!"

"Ding Daming wants us to quickly finalize the delegation and submit the list so he can report to Haizi as soon as possible!"

Xu Sangchu became more and more excited as he spoke, constantly rubbing his hands together. He never expected that such a great thing would fall into the lap of their Shanghai Film Studio.

If Wang Yang, the old guy from Yan Film Studio, knew this, who knows what his reaction would be?
At this point, Lao Wang probably still doesn't know, right?!

Hu Jian just secretly revealed on the phone that he immediately shared the good news with his team, but hasn't notified the other film studios yet.

It was specifically mentioned that Wang Yang of Yan Film Studio was unaware of this.

So, if Lao Wang finds out that they missed out on the opportunity to be in a good position, he might really get furious and storm into China Film Group to confront Ding Daming.

"The Bolin Film Festival sent us an invitation? China Film Group has booked our film 'Romance on Lushan Mountain'?"

"seriously?"

Xie Jin was stunned for a moment after hearing what the old factory director said, and then he was overjoyed.

That's the Bolin Film Festival, one of only three A-list international film festivals, alongside the American Oscars and the French Cannes Film Festival. It's hailed as the highest hall of international cinema.

To be honest, Xie Jin had been making movies for most of his life, but he never imagined that his movies would one day be featured in those three highest halls of fame.

Given our current national situation and the attitudes of international film festivals towards us.

They never sent us an invitation, so we couldn't go even if we wanted to; they simply didn't welcome us.

it's good now!

The Bolin International Film Festival not only extended an unprecedented invitation to us—the first international film festival invitation in decades—but also...

And, by sheer coincidence, this invitation fell right into Xie Jin's lap!

How could Xie Jin, who had spent half his life making movies, not be overjoyed and excited beyond measure?

"How could this be fake? They say Ding Daming made the decision directly. It just so happens that they reviewed our 'Romance on Lushan Mountain' movie and thought it was well-made, and that it might win a big award!"

Xu Sangchu is now completely carried away, already dreaming of Xie Jin taking Lushan Love to the Berlin Film Festival and dominating the competition, bringing back a major award.

It’s exciting just thinking about it!

"Really!?" Xie Jin was now certain, knowing that his Lushan Romance was indeed going to go abroad to compete on the Bolin International Grand Stage and win a big prize!

For a moment, the two old men were so excited that they paced back and forth, almost dancing with joy.

"Yes, yes, Lao Xie, you're right!"

"The selection of this delegation must be done carefully. Those who lack ideological awareness should definitely not be allowed to go!"

"If I let him go, I, as the factory manager, will be extremely uneasy!"

Then, while the iron was hot, we quickly finalized the list of representatives to run for office in Bolin.

China Film Group told them to make the decision quickly, without specifying the number of slots. However, Xu Sangchu should understand that there can't be too many people, and those with questionable class backgrounds or political consciousness cannot be selected.

In this case!

Director Xie Jin will definitely have a spot, and Xu Sangchu himself is also eager to try, after all, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to go abroad.

Having missed this opportunity, Xu Sangchu knew he might never have another chance like it! But even if Xu Sangchu really wanted to go, it wasn't appropriate for him. As an old factory director, he had to have the awareness of an older comrade and give more opportunities to younger people.

So after Xie Jin was chosen as the director, the male and female leads were selected from the main creative team.

The female lead, Gong Xue, is a young female comrade. Not only is she highly ideologically aware, but she is also a member of the General Political Department. This spot should definitely be given to her.

And then there's the male lead!

This is why Xie Jin just repeatedly emphasized the importance of awareness and ideology. The filming of "Romance on Mount Lu" took place on Mount Lu and went through many ups and downs.

Not to mention the repeated obstacles imposed by the censorship team, even the male lead, Guo Kaimin, staged a strike on Mount Lu, almost causing the "Romance on Mount Lu" to be aborted and never finished filming.

Letting someone like that, who has no ideas or awareness, go out will only bring enormous trouble to Yanying Film Studio.

Therefore, the male lead, Guo Kaimin, was directly rejected.

Therefore, the screenwriter and Cheng Xuemin, who stepped in to save the day, are the biggest contributors to the opportunity for "Romance on Lushan Mountain" to go abroad to participate in the selection.

Everyone else could skip the trip, but Cheng Xuemin was the only one who had to go with the group.

"We really have to thank Comrade Cheng this time!" Xu Sangchu nodded. Choosing Cheng Xuemin's name was indeed justified. Without Cheng Xuemin's script, there would be no movie, Lushan Romance.

Without Cheng Xuemin's dedication to art on Mount Lu and his rescue of the "Romance on Mount Lu" project, the film might not have been finished yet, let alone have had the opportunity to be shown at the Bolin Film Festival!

So anyone else can skip it, but Comrade Cheng Xuemin absolutely must go.

"By the way, Lao Xie, this is a perfect opportunity!"

"Didn't Xiao Cheng make a pledge to Old Wu? I've been wondering how to sell his Tai Chi videos after they're finished filming?"

"Now's the perfect opportunity!?"

"Let's take advantage of the trip to the Bolin Film Festival and have Xiao Cheng bring his Tai Chi along. We don't necessarily need to compete for awards, but we can at least do some publicity on the sidelines. It shouldn't be a big problem, right?"

“Hey! Old factory director, you’re right. This is indeed an opportunity to promote Xuemin’s Tai Chi!” Xie Jin nodded repeatedly upon hearing this. In fact, he was also worried about how to distribute and sell the Tai Chi movie after Cheng Xuemin finished filming it.

I really didn't expect that this opportunity would come to me on its own.

"Alright, alright, the old studio is under a long time pressure, and the film festival opening is just around the corner!"

"We'll go all out and tentatively set these four spots, since China Film Group will definitely allocate a few more!"

The final spot was decided in no time, and Xu Sangchu and Xie Jin were settled.

The main creators of their "Lushan Romance" project were director Xie Jin, screenwriter and male lead Cheng Xuemin, and female lead Gong Xue, plus a deputy factory director in charge of complex publicity, making a total of four people.

As Xie Jin said, the number of spots available for going abroad might not be too many. They have four spots, but China Film Group will definitely allocate more.

Therefore, they need to be sensible. If they set too many quotas, they might end up being directly screened out and rejected. It's better to simply streamline the team.

"Okay, okay, let's report it directly to China Film Group then!" Xu Sangchu nodded, then instructed Xie Jin, "As for Xiao Cheng and Xiao Gong, Lao Xie, you're in charge of communicating with their respective units!"

"Okay, okay, old factory director, there's no time to lose, I'll call their unit right now!" Xie Jin didn't even leave, preparing to use the telephone in Xu Sangchu's office to make the call.

"Let me call Lao Wang first..."

"Forget it, I'll give the list to China Film Group first. We'll talk to them after they officially announce it!"

"Anyway, they're all in Yanjing, so they can actually gather there faster than we can! We still have to go to Yanjing to gather!"

Xu Sangsang originally wanted to call Wang Yang at Yan Film Studio first, to inform Cheng Xuemin on his side, and to show off a bit.

But then I realized it wasn't right; we couldn't open the champagne halftime!

We can only brag to Lao Wang after China Film Group has officially made a decision and sent a formal document to their factory.

Otherwise, if he alerted Lao Wang before China Film Group had finalized the decision, he would have gone directly to China Film Group in Beijing to cause trouble.

What if, in the end, they manage to take away the only spot to go abroad for the competition?
Even if Lao Wang's Yanying Film Studio can't cause trouble, his actions will inevitably alert other brother units, and they will surely start making trouble as well once they hear the news.

In the end, they'll definitely ruin their relationship.

In fact, Hu Jian had subtly implied on the phone that even Lao Wang from Yan Film Studio didn't know about this happy event. This was a clear indication that the matter should be kept secret.

"That's true!"

"Then I'll go tell Lao Zhao to get ready, we might have to head north at any time!"

Xie Jin nodded in agreement. Cheng Xuemin and Gong Xue were all in Yanjing. If it was really settled, they could go to China Film Group that day to meet up. They would have to take the train there!
The Shanghai Film Studio acted quickly, and Ding Daming from China Film Group acted even faster, as if afraid that things might go wrong if they delayed!
After the delegation was finalized in Shanghai, he added Hu Jian's name to the delegation list, adhering to the principle of avoiding extravagance and waste.

Ding Daming was at ease letting Hu Jian lead the team to Bolin, but the others were not so sure.

Moreover, the invitation letter did not explicitly limit how many people the invited teams could send, but adhering to the principle of not exceeding the limit, it is better to have fewer people than fewer.

After all, this is not like a regular film exchange, where the delegation can send as many people as they want.

This is for entering a competition; usually, a person in charge leads the main creative team of the film there...

Ok!

For Ding Daming, the more people who go, the greater the risk for him as the general manager of China Film Group, if he himself doesn't go.

If any members of the delegation leave the group and stay in Bolin without returning, he, as the general manager, will bear joint responsibility!
Therefore, the fewer people who go, the safer it will be for Ding Daming.

Another issue is that the list has already been finalized, so how can we give that old guy Wang Yang from Yan Film Studio a good talking-to and make him angry?

What a coincidence!

Ding Daming was just about to call Wang Yang at Yan Film Studio to tell him that the Bolin Film Festival had sent an invitation and that China Film Group had directly booked their "Lushan Romance" project as a surprise.

As luck would have it, Wang Yang happened to be at China Film Group at that moment and had just heard about the Bolin Film Festival. He rushed into Ding Daming's office without even knocking and asked urgently:
"Is it an invitation from the Bolin Film Festival?"

"Quick, quick, give it to us! This is for our Yan Film Studio's film 'Tai Chi.' Cheng Xuemin asked his aunt in America to pull some strings with the jury at the Bolin Film Festival, and they made an exception and sent us this invitation!"

……

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