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

Chapter 954 The Golden Palm (13)

In fact, most of the films submitted to film festivals like Cannes are art films. Art films are relatively niche compared to commercial films and cannot be screened all over the world.

What should I do?
Leveraging the influence of Cannes!
Generally, films that have already been screened can have the Cannes label affixed when they are later released in theaters…

Even if it doesn't win an award, it can still be labeled as a Cannes premiere!

For many viewers, since it's featured at the Cannes Film Festival, they'll naturally go see it, which serves as excellent publicity.

Cannes can still maintain some artistic style for now, but let's wait a few more years...

Cannes has completely degenerated into a race for foreign language-focused public relations Oscars, a film festival that can even proclaim "Road to Oscar" on its official website…

Road to Oscar.
Since you've blatantly written that sentence, don't call yourself a temple of art...

During the film festival, staying in Cannes isn't exactly restrictive; you can watch any film you want. However, if it's a film in the main competition, you have to go through the hassle of changing into an evening gown to enter the Lumière Hall…

Shen Yan chatted idly with the arriving reporters for quite a while…

Alan from the magazine "Movie View" recounted an incident: "Once, at the beach near the market, I saw a famous Hollywood star. Several reporters from other countries rushed over, but were stopped by bodyguards. One of the American reporters, who had reportedly interviewed him four or five times and called his name, said that the star turned around, looked at me, and continued walking away."

That evening, on my way back to my lodgings, I walked along the beach. I saw him again on a yacht. He was talking to a big shot on the yacht, bowing and scraping—it was utterly distasteful.

"What's there to be upset about?"

"It feels like a sacred film festival and respected artists have been destroyed!"

Shen Yan was speechless…

Even he, when meeting many people, has to bow and scrape...

It was destroyed?

By the way, the most interesting film he saw at this year's Cannes Film Festival was "Happy as Lazzaro"...

Based on neorealism, it blends elements of religion and magical realism…

Light and elegant, it perfectly blends reality and surrealism into one.

The plot is simple: Lazzaro is unclear and confused about everything in the world, but he is never confused or bewildered.

His simplicity and kindness became evidence of his stupidity, yet they also served as a mirror to reflect the ugliness of others.

The state of enslavement does not change with time and place; it only changes from one person to a group of people who enslave others…

It's a story about a group of people killing an angel!

Honestly, if Jia Zhangke wants to play with magical realism, he might as well learn from this film. Why does he have to pay homage to himself? Isn't that embarrassing?

The closing ceremony is at 8 PM on the 14th…

Compared to the opening ceremony, the closing ceremony featured a much smaller number of celebrities, with only special guests and cast members who were persuaded to stay.

On the red carpet, Parasite undoubtedly had the biggest presence, thanks to Hollywood stars Matthew McConaughey and Sandra Bullock!
Shen Yan remained calm, waved in greeting, and then walked into the cinema.

"Congratulations!"

"You're amazing!"

Congratulations, Shen!

As Shen Yan took his seat, he received many people's advance blessings...

It's widely believed that *Parasite* deserves the Best Director award! Shen Yan offered a polite thank you and congratulated the others as well…

Spike Lee with *BlacKkKlansman*, Hirokazu Kore-eda with *Shoplifters*, and films including Paul Pawlikowski's *Cold War* and Matteo Garrone's *Doghouse*...

Black Ops – Zhao Tiezhu defeats the KKK!
A dark comedy and biographical film, it tells the story of a black police officer who infiltrates the KKK as an undercover agent and ultimately thwarts the KKK's plot and prevents a tragedy from occurring.

It's actually a way of criticizing the KKK to attack the current president.

Spike Lee, a leading Black director in Hollywood…

From his first short film in 1980 to 2015, a span of 35 years, he never had a single blockbuster film, not even a minor one. Well, he's in the independent film scene, so box office numbers are irrelevant.

During those 35 years, he didn't win any significant awards for any of his works: the three major European awards, the Golden Globe, the Oscars, at most he was nominated, and the awards he received were all frivolous ones like Jaeger-LeCoultre and Catholic awards.

But he is an advocate for equality, speaking out for Black people since he started his career. His works objectively reflect the problems of Black people's survival and development at that time. In reality, he also actively participates in and even initiates Black equality activities, and enjoys a very high reputation among the Black community.

Yes, his works are more political than artistic. The villains are always evil and stupid, and the heroes are always great and righteous. The characters are stereotypical, like a black propaganda film.

But there was nothing they could do; he was a Black fighter!
Natural political correctness…

Therefore, "BlacKkKlansman" won the Jury Prize!

Along with Shoplifters…

Double yolk egg!
After these two films won the Jury Prize, the only film left that didn't win an award was "Parasite"... and the only other award left was the Palme d'Or!

As expected, Cate Blanchett delivered her acceptance speech: "OK, the 71st Cannes Film Festival, we are the jury... We have opinions on many awards, but regarding the Palme d'Or, we are in unison and have unanimously decided to award it to Parasite, Shen Yan!"

As they spoke, Kate opened the envelope, and sure enough, it read "Parasite"...

Shen Yan smiled as he stood up, hugged each of the actors in the crew, then stood up, buttoned one of his suit jacket buttons, and strode up the stairs…

At this moment, the Chinese entertainment industry was in an uproar!

Weibo trending topic: #ShenYanGoldenPalm#
……

Shen Yan won the Palme d'Or...

Looking at his award-winning career, it's quite normal: he's already won two Golden Lions and an Oscar for Best Director...

In other words, he's already at a level where he could have won the Palme d'Or!
But... everyone was still shocked!

Because Parasite didn't receive much promotion, especially compared to Ashes of Time...

The press releases for "Ash Is Purest White" were practically everywhere on the internet...

The moment it was selected for the main competition, hype began: "Jia Zhangke's 'Ash Is Purest White': An ambitious work aiming for the Palme d'Or at Cannes again!" and "'Ash Is Purest White' selected for the Cannes main competition, Jia's fifth attempt at Cannes!"

After its release, it received positive reviews, with a 2.9 rating in the festival's program!
Then came headlines like, "Zhao Tao's performance and film achievements win widespread acclaim," "Jia Zhangke's 'Ash Is Purest White' receives enthusiastic reception at its Cannes premiere, Zhao Tao becomes a hot favorite for Best Actress," and "Cannes Film Festival scores released, Jia Zhangke's 'Ash Is Purest White' receives no negative reviews, Zhao Tao's Best Actress award is a sure thing!"

Finally, I didn't receive an invitation to the closing ceremony and went back to China...

Press releases continue: Despite not winning an award at the Cannes Film Festival, the masterpiece "Ash Is Purest White" returns with accolades and will be released in September!

Regarding "Parasite," there are only a few manuscripts, mostly describing it as "a fable-like stage play where Shen Yan once again discusses the gap between the rich and the poor!"

While it's generating buzz, it certainly can't compare to the currently showing "Avengers: Infinity War"...

(End of this chapter)