Chinese Entertainment: Academic Director

Chapter 457 Concerns
第59届柏林国际电影节在2月5日开幕，到2月15日闭幕。

In most previous years, the Berlin Film Festival coincided with the Chinese New Year, so most people in China did not pay attention to the film festival.

Compared to the Spring Festival, most people, except for professionals, won't pay much attention to this film festival.

But this year is different; at least the dates are different.

This year's Spring Festival is on January 26th, not in February, so it's a bit earlier. Cao Yang won't have to spend the Spring Festival in Berlin this year.

In fact, even if the Berlin Film Festival coincides with the Spring Festival this year, as in previous years, Cao Yang will most likely not spend the Spring Festival in Berlin.

The president of the Berlin Film Festival, Dieter Koslick, called Cao Yang in advance and talked at length, but it all boiled down to two words: low-key.

The so-called low profile means that Berlin deliberately downplayed the fact that Cao Yang's film entered the main competition. Some official media outlets were all analyzing other films that entered the main competition, but they didn't mention Cao Yang's "Like Father, Like Son".

Dieter Koslick also specifically instructed Cao Yang not to go to Berlin in advance, and not even to attend the opening ceremony of the film festival... It all came down to two words: keep a low profile.

This is also one of the ways Dieter Koslick tries to relieve stress.

Actually, spending the Spring Festival in the country is not easy for Cao Yang.

Official matters, school matters, family matters, and even relationship issues... these are all unavoidable if you spend the Chinese New Year in China.

Things were fine before, but matters of the heart were troublesome and complicated—yes, complicated, and very headache-inducing.

Even during the Lunar New Year, we shouldn't show favoritism.

Fortunately, whether it's because everyone understands that Cao Yang is too busy during the Spring Festival or there's an unspoken understanding, everything is alright.

"Can't I go to Berlin with you? I'm also the female lead in 'Like Father, Like Son'!"

Li Xiaoran lay in Cao Yang's arms, pouting as she asked.

“You are also the female lead in ‘Mei Lanfang’. Since Director Chen called you specifically, he must hope that you can go with him and Sister Hong.”

Cao Yang gently stroked Li Xiaoran's hair and said.

"But I just want to go with you, to walk the red carpet together."

Li Xiaoran blinked and said again:
"I don't know what's wrong with Director Chen. The Berlin Film Festival has scheduled the premiere of 'Mei Lanfang' for the evening of the 10th. Last time he said that he could go on the 9th, but for some reason, he suddenly changed his mind. He not only wants to go earlier, but also wants to walk the red carpet at the opening ceremony."

“You are the Best Actress at the Berlin Film Festival. To outsiders, you are a true member of Berlin’s inner circle. Since you are going to participate in the Berlin Film Festival, even if Director Chen goes to Berlin on the 9th, you have to go in advance. You must walk the red carpet at the opening ceremony.”

Cao Yang patted Li Xiaoran's bottom and said with a smile.

"But I just want to go to Berlin with you and walk the red carpet together."

Li Xiaoran shook Cao Yang's arm and said coquettishly.

“You definitely won’t be walking the red carpet with me. I’m not attending the opening ceremony of the film festival this year. I’ll most likely be going to Berlin the day before the premiere of ‘Like Father, Like Son.’ I’ve already told you the reason.”

Cao Yang said, "Be good, stop fooling around."

Li Xiaoran seemed not to hear Cao Yang's words, or rather, after hearing Cao Yang say "stop fooling around," her movements became even more exaggerated.

Her big thunderbolt rubbed against Cao Yang's arm intentionally or unintentionally.

The key point is that the calves below weren't idle either.

Only after noticing Cao Yang's change did he chuckle and deliberately change the subject:

"If both 'Mei Lanfang' and 'Like Father, Like Son' receive notice to stay, and Chen Hong and I are the female leads in both films, where do you think we should sit? How will the authorities arrange our seating?"

Cao Yang imagined this situation happening, and it was quite interesting.

There are two female leads in the film "Mei Lanfang": Meng Xiaodong, played by Li Xiaoran, and Fu Zhifang, played by Chen Hong.

"Like Father, Like Son" is also a drama with two female leads, Li Xiaoran and Chen Hong.

Huh?
Cao Yang suddenly remembered what Li Xiaoran had just said. Old Chen hadn't originally planned to attend the opening ceremony of the Berlin Film Festival. Could it be that he went to Berlin early because he felt there was a comparison this time and wanted to "manipulate" things a bit?
It's really possible.

When "Joker" was released, didn't he want to compete with "Mei Lanfang"?

Now, "Joker" has been replaced by "Like Father, Like Son," both of which are Chinese-language films, just like "Forever Enthralled."

The two films also have many similarities. The male leads are Lai Ming and Ng Kei-wah, both from Hong Kong, and their influence in mainland China is roughly the same.

And the female leads are both Li Xiaoran and Chen Hong.

In addition, Old Chen felt that he was no less capable than anyone else in his life...

The more Cao Yang thought about it, the more likely this guess seemed.

Old Chen went to Berlin early because he wanted to "make some connections." After all, this was Old Chen's first time attending the Berlin Film Festival. Unlike Zhang Yimou, he was not only not a member of Berlin's inner circle, but he wasn't even considered a "person" in Berlin.

Furthermore, he is not the kind of director who can ignore the existence of "close associates" or "nepotism," meaning that his fame and influence are not enough for film festivals to disregard "unspoken rules."

But there is also an advantage for him.

Old Chen has won the Palme d'Or at Cannes. For a director like him who has won the highest award at one of the three major European film festivals, it is the easiest to be accepted by other film festivals as long as he shows goodwill.

Another advantage is that Xie Fei was once Lao Chen's mentor and taught him.

Although Xie Fei was only a member of the judging panel, he had won the Golden Bear, so his voice carried considerable weight.

“Darling, if Mei Lanfang hadn’t received the notice to stay, I definitely would have stayed. I just don’t know if Chen Hong would stay.”

Li Xiaoran paused here, then considered repeating the procedure until she sensed Cao Yang's breathing becoming somewhat abnormal. Only then did she whisper in Cao Yang's ear:

"If Chen Hong stays, what do you think about the two of us...?"

As she spoke, Li Xiaoran chuckled, patted Cao Yang's face, and spat.

"Pah, what are you thinking? Don't think I can't sense your subtle changes, hmph!"

"Clap!"

Cao Yang flipped Li Xiaoran over and slapped her bottom twice without any hesitation.

"Isn't this all your fault? You're the one who talked nonsense. I'm going to teach you a lesson you'll never forget."

"what……"

……

Old Chen, along with Sister Hong and Li Xiaoran, arrived at the Berlin Film Festival five days before its opening, which shows that he attached great importance to the festival.

Cao Yang arrived quite late.

The premiere of "Like Father, Like Son" was scheduled for February 13th. Cao Yang arrived in Berlin on the 12th, about ten days later than Lao Chen.

Therefore, he missed the Berlin premiere of "Mei Lanfang" on the 10th.

Cao Yang arrived discreetly and didn't have Dieter Koslick send a car to pick him up.

Because he arrived too late, he is currently unaware of the situation in Berlin. To obtain relevant information, he has two options: Xie Fei or the jury chair, Tilda Swinton.

As for Dieter Kosslick, the president of the Berlin Film Festival, Cao Yang felt it would be better to first understand the general situation and whether there were any changes before making contact.

Of course, Cao Yang had another option: to learn about the situation through Li Xiaoran. However, while Li Xiaoran was the most trustworthy, her information channels were limited, and she had no access to inside information.

Between Tilda Swinton and Xie Fei, Cao Yang still trusted Xie Fei more.

Xie Fei should also be well aware of why he became a member of the judging panel.

Cao Yang was actually quite surprised when he met Xie Fei.

It's only been a short time since we last met, but how come this old man, who used to be so energetic, now looks listless and preoccupied, appearing exhausted?

This year's Berlin Film Festival has a total of nineteen films selected for the main competition. For the jury, the workload is not actually that heavy, at least not enough to make them this exhausted.

"Teacher Xie, are you alright? I feel something is wrong with you..."

Cao Yang stepped forward, helped Xie Fei sit down, and asked with concern.

Xie Fei first let out a long breath, then waved his hand and said with a wry smile, "It's nothing, it's nothing. I'm old, I'm too old to be of any use anymore."

Cao Yang poured Xie Fei a glass of water and placed it in front of him, seemingly sensing that Xie Fei's words had a hidden meaning.

"Teacher Xie, actually, this matter shouldn't have involved you and caused you trouble. Before you came, I told you that you didn't need to go out of your way to help me, just treat it as a vacation."

Xie Fei waved his hand again and said, "It's not your business, don't overthink it. I... sigh."

He picked up his water glass, took a sip, and then continued, "We've discussed a lot of movies lately. Although we still have some disagreements on some movies, they're not that big anymore."

As for the Golden Bear, it's also within the scope of our discussion.

At this point, Xie Fei glanced at Cao Yang, forced a smile, and said softly, "Of the seven of us, including the chairman of the judging panel, five of us have reached a consensus and support you."

The remaining two are, one, supporting the Peruvian film *The Milk of Sorrow*, and the other, supporting the German film *The Perfect Second Couple*.

Cao Yang frowned subconsciously. Hadn't he instructed Tilda Swinton not to publicly support him on the judging panel?

What if Dieter Koslick feels that the jury is not following his intentions, which might trigger his rebellious attitude?
Did Dieter delegate the decision-making power for the Golden Bear to the jury?

Cao Yang thought to himself.

It's pointless to do this, even if afterwards he tells those who disagree that the Golden Bear was decided by the jury and it had nothing to do with him.

But we're all industry insiders, so how could we not know who has the power to decide on the top prize?

That's just something you can fool laymen with.

Cao Yang still doesn't understand how Dieter Koslick made his choice.

However, regardless of what Dieter Koslick thinks, Xie Fei should be happy that five out of the seven judges supported his film, "Like Father, Like Son." Why is he looking so worried?

Has something gone wrong? Has Dieter Koslick already had a problem with the jury?

"Teacher Xie, you seem to have something on your mind. Could it be that something has changed in the judging panel?"

Cao Yang asked directly.

"That's not it."

Xie Fei shook his head, picked up the water glass again and put it down, opened his mouth as if he was having some difficulty speaking, and finally sighed.

"It's not your problem, it's Chen Kai's problem."

Now that he had brought it up, Xie Fei put aside his reservations and said with a wry smile, "You have no idea how I've been these past few days..."

Just before coming to Berlin, Chen Hong visited me. She didn't say anything, only that she was there to visit me. How could I not know what she meant?
Upon arriving in Berlin, I was surprised to find that Kai and his team had also arrived earlier. He even met with many film festival officials, as well as people from cinemas and film companies...

Sigh, of course I know what he's trying to do.

The Berlin Film Festival has always insisted that films reflect reality, and the theme of this year's festival is to make new discoveries and new expressions of human emotions.

For example, your film "Like Father, Like Son," as well as "Sad Milk" and "Perfect Second Couple," all offer new discoveries and expressions of human emotions, perfectly aligning with the film festival's theme.

These realistic films also showcase new problems and dilemmas in reality, including explorations and reflections on morality and ethics.

The problem is that "Mei Lanfang" is not realistically portrayed; it has too many concerns and only shows the good aspects of the character. It cannot be considered a masterpiece. As a biographical film, it fails to reflect Mei Lanfang's spirit and temperament, nor does it reflect the spirit of that era.

After saying all this in one breath, Xie Fei picked up his water glass again, drank more than half of it in one gulp, then sighed and asked with a wry smile:

"Cao Yang, tell me, even if I'm willing to swallow my pride and 'ask' for an award, I can't just give up everything, can I?"

Cao Yang didn't know how to respond at this point, so he could only nod and say "Mm".

"But that's not the most annoying thing. What really gives me a headache is that one of the judges said he wanted to give 'Mei Lanfang' a Best Director award, saying that he dared to express BL in the film and that it's a rare biographical film! I'm so pissed off..."

Xie Fei immediately swore.

"Huh? How did it become BL?"

Cao Yang was dumbfounded; where did this come from?

"Ugh!"

Xie Fei sighed again.

"Everyone has a different understanding. It's understandable that he understood this, but the key is that some judges support 'Mei Lanfang' for Best Director. What am I supposed to do? What can I do?"
My initial plan was to swallow my pride and try to get him a consolation prize, but who knew he'd be so ambitious? Best Director! Even if I did… sigh.”

Cao Yang felt a pang of sympathy for Xie Fei.

However, Xie Fei came to Berlin because of me, so I still need to find a way.

"Teacher Xie, what exactly are you thinking?"

Xie Fei was silent for a moment, then said, "Best Director is impossible, but if he insists on being the best director, then nothing is possible."

“Teacher Xie, then you should go directly to my senior brother and tell him that you can help him get the Silver Bear Award for Outstanding Artistic Contribution. Just say that you are confident about winning this award.”

If he doesn't think it's a good fit, don't reject him directly. Instead, say that you'll try your best for Best Director, but you're not confident at all. Ask him if he wants the Silver Bear for Outstanding Artistic Contribution, which he's more certain of winning, or if he wants to give it a shot at Best Director.

Tell him not to rush to reply, give him one night to think it over.

Xie Fei considered it for a moment and thought it was a very good idea. He pushed the problem to Chen Kaige. If Chen Kaige insisted on wanting the Best Director award, he wouldn't be able to blame anyone else if he didn't win it.

But there is a crucial issue here.

"Cao Yang, I mean, what if, what if Brother Kai wants the Silver Bear for Outstanding Artistic Contribution? This award aims to recognize individuals or teams who have made outstanding contributions to the field of film art, including artistic creations such as cinematography, art design, and sound effects."

This isn't a consolation prize; it's a technical award unique to Berlin, and quite important.

Xie Fei said with a wry smile.

He wasn't really confident he could "snatch" this award; the time was just too tight.

Cao Yang said with a smile, "Don't worry, Teacher Xie. As long as my senior wants to win this award, I'll find a way."

The story of "Mei Lanfang" is insufficient. As Xie Fei said, as a biographical film, it does not reflect the spirit of Mei Lanfang or the spirit of that era.

However, judging solely from the lighting, cinematography, and art design, it's still quite good.

(End of this chapter)