Director of Photography Department of Huayu

Chapter 520 Lowering your head?
In the early morning in Berlin, the sky was still shrouded in a light mist.

The hotel's thick curtains couldn't block out a sliver of cold light. Wu Chen opened his eyes to find his phone already overflowing with missed calls and text messages.

I put it on silent at night, otherwise I probably would have been woken up by the noise.

Just as I was about to call back, a new call came in.

The note flashing on the screen is from the bureau.

Wu Chen answered the call.

"Director Wu, on behalf of the Film Bureau, we congratulate your film crew. Winning both the Golden Bear and the Silver Bear awards is a new historical moment for Chinese cinema."

Director Zhang and Director Tong both asked me to convey their gratitude to you for winning honor for Chinese cinema.”

"Thank you, leader."

Wu Chen leaned against the headboard and replied with a smile.

"Director Wu, when are you returning to China?"

"It should be tomorrow."

"Then we'll wait for your triumphant return."

Tong Gang's secretary received the confirmation but did not disturb him further.

He hung up after a few brief words.

Inside the room, Liu Yifei was sitting by the window, casually tying her hair up with a black rubber band.

With a serious expression, she carefully placed the two trophies she had brought back the night before on the table.

"What are you doing?" Wu Chen asked, looking at her actions with curiosity.

"Take photos of them. It was too late last night, so I didn't have time. I'll make up for it now."

Liu Yifei answered with a smile. She held up her phone, made a peace sign, and posed for a photo with the Golden Bear and Silver Bear.

After taking the picture, he looked down at it, then wrinkled his nose, seemingly not quite satisfied.

"Come here." She suddenly beckoned to Wu Chen, "Same as me."

Wu Chen was taken aback for a moment, but did not refuse, and extended his finger in the same way.

"Click——"

In the still frame, the two trophies are placed side by side in the foreground, and their gestures are captured in the shot.

Liu Yifei was very satisfied and immediately opened Weibo to upload it.

Caption: "Hehe, two trophies, a gold and a silver 'bear'."

In less than ten minutes, the comment section was buzzing with activity.

Shu Chang and Zhang Liangying left comments immediately: "It looks great!" "Xixi, Xiongxiong is so cute!"

Huang Xiaoming then joked, "These two... the other one must be Director Wu, haha, the fingers look a bit alike."

Zhou Xun was even more direct: "Amazing! The youngest director in history to be paired with two top directors!"

Liu Yifei kept laughing while holding her phone, and even reached out to refresh the page while washing up.

The message pop-ups kept ringing, and I barely had time to reply.

Wu Chen glanced at the comments briefly and was shocked. The number of fans was enormous, and the comments were thousands, multiplying in length. He couldn't possibly read them all, and he wondered how long it would take Liu Yifei to finish.
Meanwhile, the Beijing Film Academy's Class of 02 group was also in an uproar.

Zhou Yang specifically tagged Liu Yifei: "Qianqian, take more detailed photos and post them in the group. I've never seen the real thing before, and the replica in the school history museum always feels different from the real one."

"Sissi, this trophy is heavy, it can't be pure gold, can it?"

"It's not pure gold. If it were pure gold, Wu Chen would probably have had trouble holding it last night."

Wu Chen had no special schedule today, so he was quite relaxed. Although the commotion from the previous night had subsided, "1939," as the Golden Bear winner and closing film, continued to be screened in various theaters. Outside the theaters, there were still audience members queuing to buy tickets, asking questions in a mix of German and English.

"Is it that war movie that was filmed in one continuous shot?"

"He won the Golden Bear Award."

"Everyone says it's very good and immersive, so we brought our kids here specifically to see it today."

Wu Chen smiled upon hearing this, then went into the conference room and sat for an hour, listening to the initial discussions between the China Film Group's professional team and the film distributors.

The price lists on the table were scattered about, with figures from several major European publishers ranging from two million to five million euros.

France and Germany showed the most interest, while Northern and Southern Europe were less enthusiastic.

Countries that are enthusiastic about this type of subject matter are actively bidding, while those that are not are more cautious.

Meanwhile, it was noon in the capital.

A commentator's article appeared on the People's Daily's front page that day. The headline was striking, and the commentary was solemn:

"Sixty years ago, the Berlin Film Festival was born from the ruins of the post-war era; early this morning, a Chinese anti-Japanese war film, '1939,' was awarded its highest honor on the stage of its sixtieth anniversary."

This marks the third time a Chinese film has won the Golden Bear Award, following "Red Sorghum" in 1988, "The Wedding Banquet" and "Woman Sesame Oil Maker" in 1993, and "Tuya's Marriage" in 2007.

The award won by this film is not only a personal achievement of young director Wu Chen, but also a reflection of the respect that Chinese films are gaining on the international stage.

Berlin on its 60th anniversary remembers the resilience and courage of Chinese cinema.

Following the People's Daily's release, Xinhua News Agency quickly followed suit with its own press release, and Guangming Daily and China Film News also issued their own statements.

CCTV News Channel even inserted a three-minute special segment into its midday rolling news broadcast, accompanied by footage from the closing ceremony, with the caption: "Chinese young director Wu Chen wins two awards at the Berlin International Film Festival."

Meanwhile, the film association was in a rather difficult position. While they were sending out congratulatory messages, which were still circulating online, everyone had already sat down for a meeting.

The meeting fell into a complex and somber atmosphere.

"The bureau already had objections to 'Black Peony' last time. This time, '1939' is also about the War of Resistance against Japan. If the Golden Rooster Awards can't get Wu Chen, what will the higher-ups think?"

Upon hearing this, everyone exchanged glances, all feeling helpless.

"That's because he refused to hand it over, what does that have to do with us?"

“That’s not how it works,” a middle-aged board member said. “Of course there are connections.”

Last time with *Black Peony*, the bureau probably turned a blind eye and let Wu Chen choose freely. But this time it's different. It's the Golden Bear Award, and it's a war film. Do you think the Huabiao Awards will let it go? The organizer is the bureau.

After saying this, a series of sighs followed.

Damn it, this is a dead end!

What should be done if they manage to invite the Huabiao but not the other way around?

The problem is stuck here for the time being.
"He just likes to do the opposite of what others do, how can he be so shameless?" someone muttered, but the words gradually faded into the air.

"Stop talking about this, let's think of something to do. Why don't you lower your head?"

At this point, the atmosphere became somewhat silent.

Last time they seemed to have said, "Are we supposed to beg him?"
Now it seems the situation has taken a sharp turn for the worse, forcing us to back down this time.

This feeling of frustration made everyone present frown.

Normally, they can easily deal with those Golden Bears and Golden Lions, but when it comes to the Golden Rooster, even the Palme d'Or and the Oscars have to bow down.
However, the Huabiao Awards next year happen to be held before the Golden Rooster Awards, which could create a very awkward situation.

"Let's see what he actually filmed after it's released. Right now, it's all overseas media praising it, but we don't know what it turned out to be."

The leader eventually settled down.

The day after the 60th Berlin International Film Festival concluded, the three production teams boarded their return flights together.
(End of this chapter)