Chinese Entertainment: Academic Director

Chapter 15 Screening
After getting off the plane, we said hello to Wang Xiaoshuai and the others, and we took a taxi to the booked hotel.

Cao Yang didn't have to worry about these things, the school had arranged everything well.

According to the previous agreement, the school only needs to provide equipment and personnel, and there is no need to pay for it.

But since the Cao Yang movie was made and the school teachers and leaders saw it, he no longer has to worry about anything.

He didn't have to take care of the film submission for review, the film festival registration, the international flight tickets, or the food and accommodation in Berlin.

No one mentioned the previous agreement.

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

Although Lao Tian has never won a major European award, part of the reason is that he was banned from directing, which resulted in no new works in ten years. Otherwise, considering his connections in Europe, I wouldn't say he could win the highest award of the three major awards, but he still has a good chance of winning other awards.

The Berlin Film Festival starts on February 2th and lasts until the 7th. During this period, it is a large-scale screening and sales platform that brings together filmmakers from all over the world, and many distribution companies also come here to "pick up bargains."

At the opening ceremony on February 2, Cao Yang took Lao Tian, ​​Li Xiaoran and Zhao Tiantian to walk a red carpet where no one paid attention to them. They were just unknown and no one knew them at all.

This year, three Chinese-language films were shortlisted for the main competition unit, one from Taiwan and two from mainland China. Normally, the domestic media should be excited about this, as it is a great event.

But the situation is a bit special. Wang Xiaoshuai's film did not pass the review and he participated in the competition privately.

As for Cao Yang's film, Tian Zhuangzhuang, who was still banned from directing, appeared in it. The media were unsure whether this was a film shot by Tian Zhuangzhuang "using a shell company". After all, it was too easy for a student in his twenties to be a director to give rise to wild imaginations.

The media hasn't reported much yet, probably waiting to see what happens on the 18th.

Over the next few days, Cao Yang socialized with Lao Tian and got to know a lot of people.

He had wanted to watch a few screenings, especially "The Beautiful Legend of Sicily", which was also a film in the main competition unit. Monica at the peak of her beauty was still worth watching, but unfortunately he never had the time.

It wasn't until the 12th that things came to an end and Cao Yang finally had some free time.

In the afternoon, as soon as Cao Yang arrived at the hotel lobby, he saw Li Xiaoran.

"Xiao Ran, you want to go out?"

"Director Cao..., there's a screening of Intimacy at 2:30 pm. People are saying this movie is good these days and it's one of the favorites for the Golden Bear Award. The rating in the program book is also good. I want to go and see it."

Cao Yang looked at Li Xiaoran, who was wearing a white round-neck sweater that was slim-fitting and highlighted her curvy upper body.

She wore a brown pleated skirt that was about ten centimeters below her knees, a pair of grey thigh-high boots, and a brown windbreaker.

Although she doesn't have the style of a queen in later generations, she is young. This is probably the beauty of bone structure, and her shelf life is very long.

"I'm going to see the screening too, let's go together."

Li Xiaoran did not refuse and followed Cao Yang to the screening venue.

The screening room for "Intimacy" was very large. When the two came in, there were already quite a few people inside. The occupancy rate was about 80%, which was very high.

After finding a seat slightly to the left of the center, Cao Yang saw that Li Xiaoran's face was red from the cold, so he said, "It's still quite cold in Berlin. You're wearing too little. You'd better change your coat into a down jacket."

The average temperature in Berlin in February is around -2 degrees Celsius, which is still quite cold when there is a slight breeze.

"Down jackets are a bit bulky and not good-looking."

Cao Yang had nothing to say. If he wanted grace but not warmth, he would have to bear the punishment of "temperature".

At 2:30, the lights went out and the show began.

Then, just over four minutes in, the hero and heroine rolled together. Seeing this, Cao Yang knew that he was in trouble. According to the nature of European art films, the next part would definitely be a big one.

It’s okay to come alone, since there are strangers around and no one knows each other, so there’s nothing to be embarrassed about.

The key point is that Li Xiaoran is right next to him, which is a bit embarrassing.

Cao Yang didn't know what education was like in Europe and America, and whether people would feel ashamed about this kind of situation. But in China, even the most open-minded people would still feel ashamed to watch porn in front of acquaintances.

These European artists are really awesome. This scene lasts about three minutes.

Cao Yang glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. Li Xiaoran had her head down, and it was unknown what she was thinking.

There's no way. It would be even more embarrassing if I got up and left now. I'll just keep watching.

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

I kept watching it, are you sure this isn't a porn movie?
It was very difficult to finish watching it. Putting aside the erotic elements, the theme of the movie discusses the transition from sex to love, and it also involves extramarital affairs, etc.

The French are so fucking romantic, they are so extravagant and really avant-garde.

In fact, Cao Yang could also see that hidden under the erotic appearance, the film actually wanted to express human loneliness, but in a large number of large-scale plots, what the director wanted to express was too subtle.

Perhaps only the judges of the film festival can dig into the depth of the film. Ordinary audiences will definitely regard it as a erotic film.

Love, loneliness, extramarital affairs...

Hey, this theme looks so familiar!

Doesn’t “Alone on the Beach at Night” reflect these themes?
What a coincidence, except that the two films have completely different entry points.

Seeing Cao Yang still sitting in the chair in deep thought, Li Xiaoran pinched Cao Yang's arm, pulled him up and left.

This is an awkward afternoon.

On the 13th, Wanwan's "Love You Love Me" began to be screened. Cao Yang took Li Xiaoran and Zhao Tiantian with him. When they are out together, everyone is considered a family and supporting each other is a matter of course.

I also met the director and the young Zhang Zhen.

At this moment, Zhang Zhen looked like a person who was into arts and literature. His characteristics were very obvious. Like Liang Chaowei, he looked very melancholy, didn't talk much, and was a little shy.

Since we weren't very familiar with each other, we just said hello and got to know each other. After watching the movie, we complimented each other a few words and left.

It has to be said that Wanwan's Jiao Xiongping is really powerful. Not only is she the producer of Wang Xiaoshuai's film, she is also the producer of this film. It is not easy to "send" two films with similar themes into the main competition unit at the same time.

On the 16th, Wang Xiaoshuai's "Seventeen Years Old Bicycle" premiered. The organizing committee allocated a screening room that can accommodate a hundred people. As usual, Cao Yang brought Li Xiaoran and Zhao Tiantian to the stage to support the film, and Lao Tian also came.

As the screening approached, there were less than forty people in the hall, including reporters and film critics.

"The attendance rate is not very good." Zhao Tiantian muttered softly.

Cao Yang smiled helplessly, "We are all unknown people, and we don't have the blessing of movie stars. This attendance rate is considered good. I will be satisfied if our movie can have this attendance rate tomorrow."

Zhao Tiantian shrank her head and stuck out her tongue.

There was suddenly a lot of noise at the door. Cao Yang looked and saw Jiao Xiongping and Wang Xiaoshuai walking in, one on the left and one on the right, accompanying Xie Fei.

Wang Xiaoshuai's serious face was now filled with smiles.

(End of this chapter)