Director of Photography Department of Huayu

Chapter 513: Program Report, Closing Ceremony Film
The next morning, there were only two days left until the closing ceremony.

The morning sky in Berlin was just beginning to lighten, and the cold wind still carried a light layer of snow.

The judges' session has ended, but the outside world remains completely unaware of it.

The true details of the images were firmly sealed within that small hall.

Overnight, several program books were quietly published, leaving the world with a few lines of vague yet weighty comments.

The Screen: "An innovative narrative experience, a dual challenge of technology and emotion."

Berlin Special Edition: "It refuses to compromise or explain. The film itself is a test, and the audience must follow along from beginning to end."

Daily Film Review: "1939 is reminiscent of classic war films, but it is by no means a repetition; rather, it is another creation."

Since the closing ceremony hasn't arrived yet, the program booklet can't reveal the actual plot, but these "adjectives" are already making the outside media and audiences very curious.

On the streets of Berlin, film fans queuing to buy the program booklet turned a page, their eyes lingered for a moment, and they couldn't help but look up and exchange glances with their companions.

"Unprecedented?"

"Technology and emotion? What exactly did they see?"

For example, while the audience was wondering what was going on, several European journalists were squatting on the outdoor seats of a café, rubbing their hands to keep warm, but they were still exchanging information with each other.

Someone whispered, "I heard it's a fake one-shot war film. Do you think it's just a gimmick?"

The other immediately shook his head: "This isn't a gimmick; Wu Chen is a master of long takes."

Further afield, a Japanese media outlet tried to join the conversation, but when they mentioned their own "Caterpillar," it was met with an awkward silence.

Although the actors performed quite well, the movie was a bit perverse.
The news quickly reached China, linking together the ambiguous comments from these event publications and pushing them to the front page.

The comments section exploded.

"That sounds exciting! Is the Golden Bear about to win?"

"Is the program booklet just trying to whet people's appetites? That sounds far-fetched; it might just be a gimmick."

"."

While people back home were still discussing the matter, the Berlin jury had already quietly begun their closed-door discussions.

In the jury meeting room of the Berlin Film Palace, heavy curtains blocked out the cold light from outside, and film materials were spread out on the table.

The steam from the coffee rose gently, but the air felt noticeably heavy.

“Next, we need to make a preliminary sort,” Herzog began briefly.

One of the judges mentioned the film "A Simple Noodle Story," which was screened last night. Yu Nan hesitated for a moment before speaking first:
"It can yield some results."

The other judges were vague and clearly did not take this opinion seriously, simply giving the evaluation: "Zhang's film is a film that brings joy to people."

“OK, let’s discuss Wu Chen’s ‘1939’ then,” Yu Nan suggested.

As soon as those words were spoken, the air on the table suddenly became tense.

The judges looked up, exchanged glances, and began to give their evaluations.

Meanwhile, at Tegel Airport on the other side.

Her tall figure was easily recognizable in the crowd.

Liu Yifei, wearing a light-colored wool coat and with her long hair down, walked briskly towards the exit. Before she could even put down her small suitcase, she had already thrown herself into Wu Chen's arms.

"Hehe, do you miss me?" She looked up, her eyes sparkling with undisguised joy.

"think."

Wu Chen answered truthfully.

This made her smile even brighter. She held his arm tightly and kept asking him, "Did the program and the judges really not say anything?"

"It was written by a reporter in the program book and has already been published. The judges would never say it beforehand, as that would be a leak."

"Okay." Liu Yifei nodded, her eyes shining brightly. "But with reviews like those in the program booklet, it certainly can't be too bad."

She had an optimistic attitude, and her tone was full of confidence.

Han Sanping and Ming Zhenjiang arrived in the evening, asking the exact same question as Liu Yifei. "Then we'll see about tomorrow," Ming Zhenjiang laughed heartily. "Actually, whether we win an award or not is secondary; the closing ceremony tomorrow is going to be a big event."

"Well, winning an award would be great, but not winning one isn't a big deal."

Han Sanping echoed, saying that the significance of this film outweighs everything else.

As night deepened, the cold wind of Berlin swept across the street corner.

The scenes shift rapidly—highlights on the red carpet, shots of the jury, and a huge poster for "1939" fluttering in the cold wind. The background music is fast-paced, and the narration is solemn.
"The final countdown to the 60th anniversary closing ceremony of the Berlin Film Festival has begun – only 24 hours remain until the Golden Bear is announced."

On the hotel's television screens, German public channel PBS was broadcasting a news special about the Berlin Film Festival.

Then the scrolling text at the bottom of the screen appeared one by one:

The official schedule for the closing ceremony has been confirmed, and the jury will announce the winners tomorrow!

[The closing ceremony featured a surprise film, "1939," which was unveiled to the audience for the first time!]

The atmosphere at the Berlin Film Festival is gradually rising, and this is also happening domestically.

"What a pity, the awards ceremony is in the early hours of the day after tomorrow, which means we'll have to stay up all night."

"We'll know about '1939' tomorrow, but we can only rely on media photos and texts. We don't even know when it will be released in China."

"It should be soon, probably in the first half of the year."

"."

The next day, the day of the closing ceremony, the air was still chilly.

Outside the Berlin Film Palace, however, it was already bustling with activity.

At the entrance to the main venue, a long cordon was set up, and the square was filled with spectators and media waiting to enter.

Down jackets, scarves, and woolen hats were all mixed together, and the white breath they exhaled swirled in the cold wind, but it couldn't hide the excitement in their eyes.

The big screen is playing highlights from this year's film festival—from silhouettes of the opening red carpet to screenings of films in the main competition, finally settling on a giant poster:

1939.

The black and white design, with its interplay of war and human figures, and the fluttering posters in the wind, seems to be pushing this highly anticipated film towards its final moment.

The queue was filled with people speaking German, English, and Chinese.
"I started waiting for tickets early yesterday morning, just so I could see the closing ceremony film in person."

"I heard that '1939' is a film entirely in long takes, that's insane, Wu Chen is definitely a photography fanatic."

"This is the most anticipated closing film of the Berlin Film Festival in over a decade."

"Please, have you been here for over ten years?"

"."

Outside the venue, broadcast vans were lined up, with teams from Germany's ARD TV, Japan's NHK, BBC, CNN, and China's CCTV all setting up their equipment.

Staff members were moving back and forth inside the venue, checking seats, adjusting lights, and confirming the closing ceremony red carpet and awards ceremony in the evening.

The closing ceremony film enjoys full screening in all theaters on the day of the closing ceremony, since all the films in the exhibition and main competition have already been shown.

Secondly, enjoy the re-screening of the Golden Bear-winning films after the awards ceremony.
Meanwhile, in the main theater, the crews of "A Simple Noodle Story" and "Reunion" had already arrived and taken their seats. Ming Zhenjiang and Han Sanping glanced back and saw that the entire main theater was packed.

The judges, having nothing else to do, also came to watch the film again.

Film critics, media, distributors, and excited audiences.

Leonardo DiCaprio and Ben Kingsley also came along with Martin Scorsese, sitting in the back row and waiting quietly.
Some audience members arrived late and found that there were no tickets left for the main hall.

"Damn it, I should have come earlier to queue up. Now I'll have to go to another theater."

"The viewing experience is the same in other theaters!"

"It's different. This creative team is here, and I'm a fan of Wu."

"You fake fan! You knew the film was showing at the closing ceremony today, why didn't you come to line up earlier?"

At the same time, seeing that it was almost time, Wu Chen led the main cast and crew to stand up, and after receiving applause from the audience, the doors closed, and the lights slowly dimmed.

The image appeared on the screen.
(End of this chapter)