Who are you calling "little fresh meat"? I'm the king.

Chapter 614: A Place in Film History (23)

"Thank you, thank you to the jury." Shen Yan didn't intend to give a long speech, and tried to keep it brief. "Thank you, thank you to everyone in the 'Burning' crew! This Golden Lion Award means a lot to me!"

“Last year, the festival director, Alberto Barbera, said, ‘Chinese films are not very suitable for film festivals!’ So I made ‘Burning’... as a kind of response!”

"I know 'Burning' is very good, but I didn't expect that you would not only give me Best Actor and Best Director, but now you've also given me the Golden Lion... I dare say this year's judges are the boldest people ever!"

At this point, Shen Yan laughed: "Prepare to face attacks from the world's media tomorrow!"

"Thank you again, Venice! Thank you!"

Shen Yan bowed, and then... followed the staff backstage to give a media interview.

……

At this point, major domestic portal websites had gone crazy!
Venice time is 6 hours behind Beijing time…

That means the closing ceremony and awards presentation will start at 8 PM, which is 2 AM Beijing time…

However, even in the early morning, it's easy to handle...

Generally, once the on-site reporter sends back their report, we simply fit it into the prepared template and fill in the content...

But this time, "Burning" made history in Venice—winning three major awards!
All the templates I prepared beforehand are now useless.

Who the hell would have thought that Shen Yan would be so awesome?
Even if he's just bragging, all he's ever done is boast about winning the 'Golden Lion Award'...

Unexpectedly, besides the Golden Lion, he also won Best Actor and Best Director this time...

One movie is worth more than Jia Zhangke and Jiang Wen combined!

We had to rush to finish the work...

This is just news; next, we'll look back at the past, envision the future, conduct themed interviews, and ask friends and family for their impressions of the person involved, blah blah blah.

For at least five days, there won't be any shortage of entertainment news.

Yes, nowadays audiences don't seem to pay much attention to the three major European clubs...

Many viewers didn't even know which three were the "Big Three" of Europe...

But for filmmakers, the three major European film festivals are a goal for many.

To be honest, from "Red Sorghum" to "Farewell My Concubine," from "A City of Sadness" to "In the Mood for Love," the international influence of Chinese-language films has been gradually built up thanks to these films.

In recent years, the mainland market has been booming, and the audience's biggest impression of Cannes is the red carpet, or rather, Fan Bingbing!
However, the three major film festivals themselves don't garner that much attention...

Unless a Chinese-language film wins an award…

Or it could be due to brilliant marketing—back then, Jia Zhangke's "Ash Is Purest White" had all sorts of marketing, making it seem like the Palme d'Or was a sure thing.

Look at these headlines: "Jia Zhangke's 'Ash Is Purest White,' Zhao Tao's Best Actress Award Secured?", "Los Angeles Times Reviews 'Ash Is Purest White': A Strong Contender for the Palme d'Or", "'Ash Is Purest White's' Cannes Premiere Was a Huge Success, Audience Applauded for Five Minutes, Palme d'Or Secured!"

Later, they were just there to accompany each other throughout the entire race...

But Cannes' profile has indeed expanded!

Oh, by the way, later on, Jia Zhangke learned to keep a low profile, and "The Romantic Generation" no longer mentioned competing for the Palme d'Or...

Of course, it's not as good as Lou Ye and Wang Xiaoshuai, who weren't even reported on!
Do you know the name of Lou Ye's 0-point movie?
Do you know the name of the movie Wang Xiaoshuai made in remembrance of his landlord grandfather?

Because their movie didn't pass censorship!

Some circles are quite interesting; they believe that eroticism + gore + violence + anti-government + bleakness = a great movie, and they firmly believe that China has no great movies.

Then they insisted on accepting censorship and cuts, desperately trying to release the film in mainland China, only to suffer a crushing defeat…

The conclusion is: the censorship system is flawed + the creative environment is inadequate + this generation of audiences is unsuitable. Ahem, let's get back on track!

Currently, there are only 14 Chinese-language films that have won the three major European film awards, including 7 at Venice ("A City of Sadness", "The Story of Qiu Ju", "Vive L'Amour", "Not One Less", "Brokeback Mountain", "Still Life", and "Lust, Caution"), 1 at Cannes ("Farewell My Concubine"), and 6 at the Berlin Film Festival ("Red Sorghum", "The Wedding Banquet", "Woman Sesame Oil Maker", "Sense and Sensibility" (Ang Lee's English film), "Tuya's Marriage", and "Black Coal, Thin Ice").

Shen Yan's "Burning" is his 15th film, and he won both the Best Director and Best Actor awards!

This is a historic moment at the Venice Film Festival!
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that this will be recorded in history.

Keep in mind, he's only twenty-six years old!
……

During the backstage group interview, Shen Yan, holding the Golden Lion Award trophy and certificate, posed for a bunch of photos.

I sat down, unscrewed my thermos, and said to the staff member, "Could you please pour me some hot water?"

"...OK!"

Then... the staff actually added hot water for him...

Italians are similar to Chinese people in this respect; although they drink iced water, they also drink hot tea…

Therefore, when watching "Malèna", I always felt a vague sense of déjà vu. Only after watching the film and reflecting on it did I realize that the whole story would not be out of place at all if it were placed in a Chinese context. There is even an old saying (proverb) that can summarize the heroine's predicament: "There is always trouble at the door of a widow's house!"
Shen Yan picked up the teacup, took a sip, and moistened his throat: "Let's begin!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the impatient reporters, as if they had been injected with chicken blood, blurted out seven or eight questions at once, causing a headache.

My head really hurts...

Different languages, chattering away...

"Take it one at a time, don't rush!"

When asked how she felt, she replied, "I was very excited on stage, but I'm much calmer now. I had some expectations beforehand because the media hyped it up so much... I was definitely going to be surprised, after all, I never dared to dream of winning three major awards!"

Then an Italian media outlet asked: "Why do you think you were able to win three major awards?"

"The jury is bold, and the chairman is bold too... And another thing, Venice needs news... Of course, my film is indeed excellent, in a league of its own at this year's festival!"

"Do you really think it's in a league of its own? Don't you think 'The Silent Image' and 'The Postman's White Night' are regrettable?"

Shen Yan retorted: "...But you have to admit, compared to 'Burning,' these two movies aren't good enough!"

"The Silent Image" and "The Postman's White Nights" received good reviews from the media, and were previously predicted to win the Best Director award or the Grand Jury Prize...

However, the Grand Jury Prize went to "The Sparrow on a Cold Branch," while "The Image of Silence" and "The Postman's White Night" received no awards...

Shen Yan wasn't being modest.

He needs to step up – Venice gave him three awards, which must mean they think highly of the film itself!

Then "Burning" is the best, at least the best in this year's competition!

"Besides 'Burning,' do you think there are any other movies worth watching?"

"The poem 'The Sparrow on the Cold Branch' won the Jury Prize!"

"Do you have any plans for the future? Will you pursue a career in Hollywood or stay in the country?"

“I have three film projects planned, one of which I’ll be directing myself—an English-language film called *La La Land*, slated for next year’s Venice Film Festival!” After a pause, Shen Yan continued, “The other two will star me; one will be directed by Han Yan, and the other we’re still looking for a director for…”

"Commercial film?"

"Correct!"

(End of this chapter)