Director of Photography Department of Huayu

Chapter 666 One after another, they appeared on the golden signboard.
The hustle and bustle of the red carpet was shut out as the heavy doors of the Palais des Festivals closed.

The main screening room was brightly lit and packed with people.

Filmmakers, judges, media, and guests from around the world gathered to witness the official opening of the 68th Venice International Film Festival.

This year's opening film is "March 15th," directed by and starring George Clooney.

This film, dubbed a "Washington political conspiracy film," tells the story of a campaign manager, played by Ryan Gosling, who, in order to save a key voting district before the presidential election, is forced to confront various temptations and conspiracies related to sex and interests on his political path.

The film has a solid production quality, and the actors' performances are all excellent.

But in Wu Chen's opinion, it was still a bit dull.

It's more like a well-structured, textbook political thriller, lacking anything that can truly touch people's hearts and evoke deep resonance.

The following day, films from the main competition sections began to hold their respective premieres in Venice.

The Venice Film Festival's film scheduling is always very deliberate.

The organizing committee usually arranges for several of the most talked-about films to be shown in the pre-festival, mid-festival, and post-festival stages to ensure that the film's popularity remains high throughout the entire festival.

This gave Wu Chen and his group plenty of time to enjoy the sunshine of the water city and, incidentally, to support the Chinese films that were also participating in the exhibition.

In public, unless there is some deep-seated hatred between people, people will naturally give each other face in such international settings.

Wei Te-sheng's "Seediq Bale" is the first Chinese-language film to be screened in the main competition.

Wu Chen attended its premiere with Liu Yifei and Li Qin.

When Wei Te-sheng saw Wu Chen and the crew arriving at the theater entrance, his face showed obvious joy.

"Welcome, Director Wu! Welcome! Please come in!"

After all, at such an international film festival, the audience that a film's premiere can attract largely reflects the film's appeal.

Wu Chen's reputation overseas is unmatched by them, and in Taiwan, only Li An can be compared to him.

Wu Chen walked into the theater and looked around.

The screening room, which can accommodate hundreds of people, was only sparsely populated with about half of the audience.

He estimated that the venue wouldn't be full before the show started.

It is clear that most of the media and international audiences in Venice did not show enough interest.

There weren't many reporters in the media section.

"Director Wu, over here."

Just as I was about to sit down, Yu Dong's voice came from behind me.

He walked in with director Ann Hui, and upon seeing Wu Chen, he immediately greeted him warmly and extended an invitation:
"Director Wu, our film 'A Simple Life' premieres the day after tomorrow. If you have time, you'd be happy to come and join us."

I'll go when I have time.

Wu Chen nodded with a smile, not giving a definitive answer.

The movie will start soon.

The two-and-a-half-hour film tells a tragic, bloody, and complex history.

Mona Rudao's eyes and the Seediq people's resolute charge towards the "Rainbow Bridge" both carry a primal and fierce power.

But when the lights came on, and the applause rose and fell sporadically before quickly subsiding, Liu Yifei's delicate eyebrows furrowed slightly.

As she walked down the corridor leading to the exit, the surrounding noise gradually faded away, and she murmured, "I don't think I understand it very well."

“Sister Yifei, me too!” Li Qin nodded immediately, chiming in softly, “It just feels very tragic, but it doesn’t seem to have anything to do with me, I can’t relate to it.”

"It's normal. It was originally a 'specially made' work for the audience in Taiwan, so it's normal that you can't resonate with it."

Wu Chen smiled slightly.

As the group was chatting, just as they stepped out of the cinema's gates, a familiar voice filled with surprise rang out.

"Director, Crystal"

The three looked in the direction of the sound and saw Keira Knightley waving at them with a big smile.

She was wearing a simple white dress, and standing next to her was a slender man with an artistic temperament.

“Kayla!” Liu Yifei was also very happy and went up to give her a gentle hug.

"Why didn't I see you at the opening ceremony yesterday?" Liu Yifei asked curiously.

She remembered clearly that "Dangerous Method," starring Keira Knightley, was also in the main competition this year, and the main cast and crew should have attended the opening ceremony on the red carpet.

"Oh, I had a little trouble with my schedule, and I only got here late last night," Kayla explained, then affectionately took the arm of the man beside her and introduced him.

"Let me introduce you, this is my boyfriend, James Layton, he is the keyboardist for Coldplay."

Wu Chen politely shook hands with the other party.

He knew this band; they were rising stars in the British indie rock scene.

“By the way,” Kayla’s blue eyes looked at Wu Chen and Liu Yifei, “what day is your film showing?” “The 5th, in the afternoon.”

"OK! I will definitely go see it! I'm outside, and I've already seen your posters. They look so warm and romantic."

After exchanging pleasantries for a while, the group waved goodbye.

In the days leading up to their film's premiere, the group found a rare moment of relaxation in their lives.

During the day, you can stroll around Lido Island or feed pigeons in St. Mark's Square, and in the evening, you can selectively watch a few competition films.

Ann Hui's "A Simple Life" premiered as scheduled.

With its delicate, restrained yet deeply affectionate cinematography, this film tells the story of a special "mother and son" in their later years.

Deanie Ip's performance was devoid of artifice; every glance and every movement was full of the texture of life, immediately winning high praise from the media and film critics after the screening.
However, apart from the films in the main competition, the Chinese-language films participating in the festival are also actively promoting themselves.

Among them, the most dedicated was Juli Film & Television's "The Legend of the White Snake".

Yang Zi is very good at utilizing resources.

When promoting his work overseas, he mainly uses Jet Li's name.

After all, in the international market, the name "Jet Li" is worth far more than the name "Huang Shengyi".

"International superstar Li Lianjie stars in the epic fantasy film, *The Legend of the White Snake*!"

When they learned of this slogan, everyone in the Chinese-speaking community in Venice was completely dumbfounded.

Liu Yifei was very puzzled, her face full of doubt.

"Li Lianjie is the lead actor in 'The Legend of the White Snake'? I remember he was just making a cameo appearance as Fahai. How did he become the lead actor?"

"Can't you allow someone else to play the lead role?"

Wu Chen couldn't help but chuckle upon hearing this.

It has to be said, the production company is really ruthless;

It's only because Li Lianjie remembers Cui Baozhu's kindness from back then that he's willing to be exploited like this.

However, after this whole ordeal, those favors have probably been pretty much used up.

Finally, time flew by, and September 5th arrived.

The premiere of "The Warmest Thirty Days of My Life" was scheduled for the afternoon.

The afternoon sun, unlike the scorching midday sun, cast a soft golden glow on the square outside the cinema.

But the atmosphere at the scene was much hotter than the weather.

An hour before the premiere, a long queue had already formed in front of the cinema, with crowds stretching almost to the street corner in the distance.

"Wu's movies are still so popular; this line is longer than any movie line from a few days ago."

"Of course! Don't you know whose movie this is? I've been waiting for his 'Interstellar' for ages, and there are still a few months left."

By the way, I heard from a journalist friend that Marco Müller personally flew to China to secure the rights to "30 Days of Warmth."

“Alas, Marco Müller really did too much for Venice.”

It's a pity, I heard his term is almost over, and Venice is currently suffering from a talent shortage, unable to find a suitable successor!

Among the group, several men, clearly seasoned Italian film buffs, were walking slowly, whispering amongst themselves with a hint of regret.

The red carpet ceremony officially began at 4:00 PM.

When Wu Chen, hand in hand with Liu Yifei, and Li Qin stepped onto the red carpet, the media reporters and audience members who had been waiting on both sides burst into thunderous applause and cheers.

The flashes of light created a silvery sea, and the enthusiastic atmosphere was in no way inferior to the opening ceremony a few days earlier.

In the distance, Ann Hui and Johnnie To, who had just arrived, stopped in their tracks upon seeing this scene.

"Director Wu's appeal is truly unmatched overseas," Ann Hui remarked, watching the scene from a distance.

Although her film "A Simple Life" received high praise after its release, its occupancy rate was less than 50% at its premiere.

However, this is normal.

She knew that this was, after all, her first time bringing a film to the main competition of one of the three major European film festivals, and that the media and audiences were unfamiliar with it.
"really!"

Johnnie To nodded in agreement.

He and Wu Chen have met too many times at various film festivals.

Wu Chen was all too aware of the extraordinary treatment he received at the three major European film festivals.

Soon after, Marco Müller and the members of this year's jury arrived together.

Jia Zhangke attended with Zhao Tao.
Following that, David Cronenberg's crew, including Keira Knightley who kept her promise, also came to show their support.

As one of the most anticipated films in the middle of the Venice Film Festival, and with the added prestige of Wu Chen, its appeal is undeniable.
(End of this chapter)