Shadow of Chinese Entertainment

Chapter 245 Heading to France

On the second day of the Lunar New Year, major entertainment news outlets began reporting that the film "Sissi's Dog" had been shortlisted for the Berlin Film Festival and received three nominations.

In this day and age, foreign awards still hold considerable weight in the hearts of Chinese people.

Or, to put it another way.

It's not that foreign awards are more prestigious, but rather that awards and individuals who gain international recognition tend to carry more weight in the minds of Chinese people.

Hu Xiaobei had anticipated that the film would be nominated for the main competition and had made considerable preparations in advance.

For example, visas are a very simple matter, nothing much to say about them.

The costumes for the Berlin Film Festival and the Luoshen costume for the Spring Festival Gala were ordered together in December and were all made before the Lunar New Year.

In addition to the Luoshen costume, two other beautiful Hanfu were used for the film festival's opening and closing ceremonies.

In addition, there are several sets of everyday Hanfu that An Xiaoqian is prepared to wear at the film festival.

These Hanfu were all designed by Hu Xiaobei based on his memory, reference to Hanfu from the future, and various documents and materials, and were tailor-made for An Xiaoqian.

He also designed Hanfu for himself, but only made one set.

Because he doesn't need to worry about being criticized for wearing only one set of clothes.

After all, he's a grown man, so he only needs to wear this at the opening and closing ceremonies, and maybe match it with An Xiaoqian on the red carpet. He doesn't need to wear it at other times.

As for the others, they are not needed.

Besides An Xiaoqian, there are only four other actors. They are either too old to move around, or they feel it's unnecessary to show their faces.

At that time, the Berlin Film Festival only had awards for Best Actor and Best Actress, and did not have awards for Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress.

In addition, since the movie is mainly about dogs, An Xiaoxi's role is not particularly large.

Their roles and lines are so few, and they didn't win any awards. Given their current status and position, it's really unnecessary for them to go out of their way to gain exposure.

Therefore, although the film "Sissi's Dog" received three nominations, only Hu Xiaobei and An Xiaoxi actually went to the Berlin Film Festival.

In addition, there was the film's producer, Liu Xiaoli, as well as four employees and assistants from Qianbeifeng Entertainment.

Most importantly, they booked their hotels in advance, so they didn't have to worry about not being able to find suitable accommodations when they went to the film festival.

After all, this is how it's written in many Chinese entertainment novels, so Hu Xiaobei had to prepare in advance.

On the second day of the Lunar New Year, just as the news of the Berlin Film Festival nominations broke, Hu Xiaobei and his two companions boarded a plane to France on the third day.

The four employees of Qianbeifeng Entertainment, however, will fly directly to Berlin to make various preparations in advance.

Actually, they didn't need to go so early.

However, Hu Xiaobei had other work assigned to them, so they had to arrive in Berlin early in order to complete the task as quickly as possible.

Hu Xiaobei and his two companions went to France, firstly to visit Professor An, and secondly to take the opportunity to travel around the surrounding area for a few days.

Of course, the main reason was to avoid domestic reporters.

After all, they've received three nominations, so if they set their expectations too high at this point, they might end up not winning any awards.

Domestic public opinion will immediately turn against us, and then it won't be praise anymore.

The pressure of failing the expectations of the entire nation is something that most people cannot bear.

One injured athlete experienced this firsthand, and the backlash was severe!

For now, let's suppress domestic media reports and let things develop for a while. Even if we don't win the award, three nominations are still an honor.

The exit of Paris airport was bustling with people.

An Xiaoqian spotted Professor An standing not far away at a glance, and her eyes instantly lit up with surprise.

"father!"

She cheered and dashed off like an arrow.

Her hair flew wildly as she ran, her lips curled into a wide smile, and she crashed directly into Professor An's arms.

"Dad, it's been so long since I've seen you!" Her voice was full of joy and relief at finally arriving after a long journey.

Professor An, in the prime of his life, withstood the brutal impact and caught his daughter steadily.

Although she was knocked back a step, she couldn't hide the smile on her face, and even the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes revealed a gentleness.

He raised his hand and gently patted An Xiaoqian's back again and again, his eyes full of affection.

Immediately, their gazes involuntarily turned to Hu Xiaobei and Liu Xiaoli, who had approached.

Liu Xiaoli watched this scene quietly, a faint smile appearing on her lips, but the smile contained a complex emotion that was hard to describe.

She subconsciously tugged at the hem of her clothes, nodded slightly to Professor An, but said nothing more.

The restraint in his demeanor suggested a deliberate attempt to maintain distance.

Hu Xiaobei wore a polite and gentle smile, bowed slightly, and said in a clear and steady voice, "Professor An, it's been a long time."

Professor An smiled and nodded: "Xiao Bei, you've grown taller and stronger than before."

The group drove to a hotel near Professor An's residence.

The hotel was booked in advance by the assistants; it wasn't that they didn't want to stay with Professor An.

However, Professor An's current residence is not large enough to accommodate so many people.

Therefore, staying in a pre-booked hotel is not considered impolite.

It's Chinese New Year now. Although Professor An couldn't go back to China to celebrate with his family because of work, his work here isn't too busy right now.

Because Hu Xiaobei had given prior notice, Professor An had already adjusted his rest schedule and could spend the next few days traveling with the group.

The living room of the hotel room was filled with the warm atmosphere of a family gathering.

As they chatted, the conversation turned to Professor An's job.

An Xiaoqian blinked curiously and said, "Dad, you must have had a lot of interesting things happen to you while you're working here. Tell us about them!"

Professor An transferred to the Chinese Embassy in France in 2004, where he served as First Secretary of the Education Section and Head of the International Student Management Group.

If all goes well, I will begin serving as the Chinese director of the Confucius Institute at Paris Diderot University in 2008.

During my time working in France, quite a few things did happen.

Professor An smiled, picked up his teacup, took a small sip, and drifted into memories.

“Back in February and March last year…” Professor An said slowly, his expression becoming somewhat serious.

"The 'Franco-Chinese Language School' in Paris was investigated and punished for allegedly issuing false certificates, affecting as many as four or five hundred Chinese students."

When our education department saw those children, their faces were filled with helplessness.

Hu Xiaobei frowned and asked with concern, "So how was it handled later?"

Professor An's gaze was firm: "Our staff in the Education Department were extremely busy during that period."

Actively negotiate with the French Ministry of Education, the Ministry of the Interior, and the Paris Education Bureau, among other parties.

He would call every two or three days to ask how the children were doing, offer advice to the four or five hundred children, communicate with them about their situation, and try to find solutions to their problems.

However, given the potentially illegal nature of this issue, our only recourse is to mediate as much as possible to better protect the students' legal rights.

Liu Xiaoli nodded slightly, a hint of approval flashing in her eyes.

An Xiaoqian rested her chin on her hand, nodded slightly like her mother, and then asked, "Dad, did anything else happen?"

Professor An sighed, his expression turning serious: "In the early morning of November 3rd of the same year, a fire broke out in the student dormitory of the Besançon Language Institute."

A housing manager died, and 15 students were injured, including one student from Beijing and three from Taiwan.

Hearing this, An Xiaoqian couldn't help but cover her mouth, her eyes filled with worry: "How could this happen..."

(End of this chapter)