I am a literary giant in Europe

Chapter 510 A Beautiful Life Shines in Cannes
My mother soon received the news that Liu Jin was 'critically ill'.

Then, Liu Jin received a long-distance call from his mother from overseas...

"I'm really fine!"

He was a bit dumbfounded.

Just because he didn't attend the premiere, how did it become 'critically ill'?
Looks like I'll have to go out and show my face tomorrow!
"Is it really okay?"

"I just had a cut in my ribs. I took a picture and showed it to you. It's really nothing."

"It's alright, it's alright... Your dad has something to tell you."

A moment later, Dad's voice came through the phone.

"Xiao Jin, are you alright?"

"Oh? Everything's great!"

"So, you planned this?"

Liu Jin was startled and did not answer for a moment.

"Alright, Dad won't ask anymore. It's good that you're okay... Everything's fine at home, so don't overthink it."

When a house gets big, there will always be some mice hiding there.

However, we recently caught a few of them, so it's much quieter now. Take good care of yourself over there, study hard, and focus on your writing. When you have some free time, have your mother visit you. If you have time, come back and visit too.”

Liu Dasheng was silent for a while, then said with a smile.

After exchanging a few more casual words, we hung up the phone.

Liu Jin gave a wry smile.

Sure enough, there are smart people in the family!

But he knew all along that this kind of thing couldn't really be kept secret.

There are no such coincidences... Just when things are about to go wrong, an assassination attempt occurs.

This assassination also attracted global attention.

Unfortunately, while Cannes may not be considered a global focal point these days, it is still one of the three major platforms in Europe.

If trouble were to break out in such a setting, not only would the international community be watching Cannes closely, but France alone would be keeping a close eye on the situation.

It will be very difficult for ordinary people to play tricks in daily life.

This can be seen as clearing the way for Liu Jin to achieve something at Cannes.

Do you really think there's no shady dealings at Cannes?

There are many more.

Putting aside other things, just take "Farewell My Concubine" for example. If it hadn't involved certain sensitive groups, the poet Chen might not have achieved any success.

As I mentioned before, if you want to win awards abroad, you definitely need public relations.

If you win an award without public relations, it's either because it involves some kind of ideology or because you cater to the judges' preferences.

It's not that "Farewell My Concubine" is bad.

But... it's not that good either!
A work that doesn't involve universal values ​​is merely a matter of the jury's interests, coupled with the encouragement of certain groups.

Anyway, Liu Jin never thought he was particularly outstanding.

It is only because of its uniqueness that it has such a high status.

Yes, it is like that.

This is just my personal opinion, please don't criticize!
……

The next day, Liu Jin put on makeup.

She appeared in public with a pale face.

He accompanied Ren Dong to the premiere of "Shanghai Dreams".

He spoke with great energy when being interviewed by reporters.

When asked why he looked pale and why he did not attend the premiere of "Life Is Beautiful", Lau Chun gave the following answer.

"The main problem is that the wound hasn't healed yet, making it difficult to move around."

In addition, the fact that this happened so suddenly made me a little scared.

However, this is France, the place where I grew up and became famous.

I have many friends here, and they certainly won't stand by and watch me suffer a second attack... This is France, a civilized and democratic land. I believe that incident was an isolated case, and I also believe that the Cannes police will protect my life.

If anything were to happen to me, it would be a loss to French literature!

The last sentence caused an uproar.

But it seems there's nothing wrong with it. Liu Jin's works in recent years, especially "The Old Man and the Sea" and "The Hunchback of Notre Dame," are indeed two of the most brilliant pearls in the French literary world.

Why can't there be a third pearl?
If something were to happen to him, it would indeed be a loss to French literature…

"This guy is too arrogant!"

Li Bin, the male lead in the Qinghong drama crew, couldn't help but complain to Gao Yuanyuan next to him.

"It doesn't feel right to say you're a spokesperson for French literature on French soil."

Wang Xiaoshuai glanced at him and said softly, "If you're not cultured, read more books. Just look at the reactions of those reporters, and you'll know his status in France."

As he spoke, he greeted them with a broad smile.

"Is this guy awesome?"

Winner of the Pulitzer Prize, the Renaudot Prize, and the Katz Prize.

The first Chinese person to win the Pulitzer Prize for Literature since its inception... His works have sold nearly 100 million copies.

"Brother Bin, watch your mouth later. His influence in France, especially in the French film industry, is enormous—in short, 'unrivaled.' And he's also a screenwriter and investor… Come on, come on, don't be impolite."

Qin Hao said softly, and then jogged over with Wang Xiaoshuai.

Li Bin wanted to say a few more words to Gao Yuanyuan, but he found that Gao Yuanyuan had already walked towards Liu Jin with her eyes shining.

"Director Wang, I'm sorry, I'm not feeling well, so I probably won't be able to stay for too long."

Don't worry about me, we're all family here, just focus on taking care of others..."

Wang Xiaoshuai repeatedly expressed his understanding.

Then, with Gao Yuanyuan by his side, he walked into the audience.

There are quite a few guests today.

Johnnie To and Hou Hsiao-hsien both came. Hou Hsiao-hsien even sought out Liu Jin to express his gratitude.

After all, Xu Feng said that Liu Jin played a significant role in helping him win the Asian Cultural Exchange Award at Venice last year.

It is said that the award was proposed by Liu Jin to Mark Müller and was specially established.

Although it wasn't a major award, it was still a rare achievement for Director Hou.

How could he not specifically thank Liu Jin?
This made Gao Yuanyuan look at Liu Jin with even more exploration and curiosity.

……

As Liu Jin said, he was not in good health, so he left after watching half of the show.

No one criticized them, since they had said from the beginning that they would leave early.

Anyway, Ren Dong, Leslie Cheung, and others stayed, which is already very satisfying for Wang Xiaoshuai.

After "Shanghai Dreams" was released, "Election" followed.

However, Liu Jin did not reappear, claiming that his wound had reopened when he attended the premiere of "Shanghai Dreams".

A very good and powerful reason.

But at least his appearance this time dispelled the rumors in China that he was 'critically ill'.

Jiang Wen launched a tirade in the media, claiming that someone was deliberately cursing Liu Jin.

Aunt Xiaotang, vice president of the Film Association, said in an interview after a meeting: "Our media workers have somehow learned the methods of foreign news media. In order to attract attention, they do not hesitate to spread rumors and fabricate stories."

Can't we just calm down and check it out?

A perfectly healthy person was suddenly declared "critically ill," and this was an outstanding writer who had won numerous awards abroad and brought honor to the Chinese people...

I will suggest to the relevant departments that they conduct a thorough overhaul.

……

Liu Jin learned of this news from Tianxian.

I met with Liu Yifei at the beginning of the year, and we added each other on QQ.

Although Liu Jin doesn't use it much, he still goes up to check it out when he has nothing else to do.

I have a feeling that Tianxian is gloating a little.

"Old Jiang, once our niece joins the crew, she should hone her acting skills a bit..."

Liu Jin made a phone call to Jiang Wen.

Old Jiang happily agreed over the phone.

Time passes quietly.

On the eve of the closing ceremony, Liu Jin received a call from the organizing committee asking them to stay.

Liu Jin knew then that the harvest season had arrived!
Security was noticeably increased on the red carpet at the closing ceremony the following day.

Not only was security strengthened on both sides of the red carpet, but twelve additional police cars were also deployed around the Palais des Festivals to maintain order.

Cannes is a small city.

All told, the population is only about 70,000 to 80,000.

However, during the film festival, the number surged to over 200,000.

The pressure on the Cannes police has increased significantly.

If it weren't for Liu Jin's incident, the police wouldn't have deployed officers to maintain order.

This was due to two factors: firstly, the attention from Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy, and secondly, Liu Jin's private donation of 100,000 euros to the Cannes police.

This also spurred the Cannes police to intensify security patrols.

There were far fewer people and film crews attending the awards ceremony.

The crews from the non-competitive sections have all left, leaving very few crews behind.

The cast and crew of "Triad" from Hong Kong Island, "The Best of Times" from Taiwan Island, and "Sin City" have all left!
This left Liu Jin with some regret.

The host of this year's film festival awards ceremony was Cécile de France, a Belgian actress and renowned presenter.

It's a name that sounds unfamiliar, isn't it?

However, many people may know about the works she has starred in.

The actress who played Monique in "Around the World in Eighty Days" has worked with Leslie Cheung.

She is Belgian, but most people consider her a French actress because she studied acting in France.

This year's awards ceremony was somewhat subdued.

There are many reasons for this.

The assassination of Liu Jin was one factor; on the other hand, with the increasing number of immigrants to France, the conflict between the indigenous people and the immigrants became more and more serious.

Several immigrant protests took place during this year's Cannes Film Festival.

This morning, a small-scale conflict broke out on the seaside promenade not far from the Palace of Cinema.

This also made the French government feel very embarrassed.

Similarly, it also affected the atmosphere of the awards ceremony.

However, Cecil is an excellent orator and knows how to lighten the mood.

It is said that she often used comedy to practice her speaking skills and give speeches when she was in middle school.

With her mediation, the atmosphere gradually warmed up as the awards for Best Short Film and Best First Short Film were presented.

Soon, it was time for the Golden Camera Awards to be presented.

This year's film festival has received nominations for the Camera d'Or for "Three Funerals in Escada" (Chris Menges), "The Child" (Alain Marcoen), a Belgian-French co-production, "Hidden Camera" (Christian Berger), and "Life Is Beautiful" (Zhao Xiaoding).

Zhao Xiaoding was unable to attend due to filming commitments.

After a few jokes, the award presenter opened the envelope.

"Winner of the Camera d'Or at the 58th Cannes Film Festival..."

She smiled and surveyed the entire room, saying, "Beautiful life, Zhao Xiaoding, congratulations Zhao Xiaoding!"

Liu Jin sat in the audience, a smile on his face.

Jacob spoke of justice... and this is about to begin!

……

(End of this chapter)