Have you ever been a celebrity? Why are you writing about entertainment?

Chapter 134 International Nomination
When the organizing committee first received the official email from the Lu Wen Award organizing committee, the secretariat assistant even mistook it for a scam.

After all, the organizers are used to using fancy but obscure French formats.

[Louvain 2025: Meilleur Court Métrage en Sélection Officielle]
The title was crudely translated by AI as "Lu Wen Selected Shorts," and its authenticity was only confirmed by the external liaison specialist after comparing it with the format of previous years' nomination lists.

"The Tuner" has been officially shortlisted for the short film competition at the 50th Louvre International Film Festival. Although it is only a nomination, it is definitely good news for the organizing committee.

After all, they keep talking about "cultural export," but which of the micro-films they send out are just cannon fodder? This is the first time they've been shortlisted.

Yu Wei has some skills!

While it may not be on par with Venice, Cannes, and the Oscars, the Leuven Film Festival is undoubtedly quite prestigious in the field of short films, making this nomination highly valuable.

A near-explosive cheer erupted inside an office building on Beijing's East Fourth Ring Road, nearly knocking over the coffee cups on the conference table.

"Let's contact Yu Wei first, then we'll promote it."

The organizing committee quickly realized that this was definitely a good thing that should be promoted, not only for Yu Wei, but also for the micro-film competition.

On a smaller scale, this is Yu Wei's personal success; on a larger scale, it marks a leap forward in the level of the Chinese-language micro-film industry.

To put it more nicely, this also reflects their work ability, and they have made contributions to the film industry.

This time, Yu Wei really carried me to success...

So what if they're nominated? If they don't open champagne at halftime, are they going to open it only after they lose?
When Qi Luoan registered, she filled in her contact information. When she received the call, she was stunned. More than surprised, she was taken aback.

To be honest, she didn't know what the Lu Wen Award was, but if Yu Wei could win it, it would be an international award; if he couldn't, it wouldn't be prestigious.

Yes, she is indeed hypocritical.

"I'll give you the phone, you can talk to him."

Qi Luoan felt that it was better for a professional to tell Yu Wei such important news in person. If she were to convey it on her behalf, the sense of accomplishment would definitely be greatly reduced.

She still hoped that Yu Wei could enjoy more flowers and applause...

When the organizing committee called, Yu Wei was sleeping in the car. He had adopted his strategy of sleeping in the car while writing at night, and this time he slept relatively soundly, but he was woken up.

"Congratulations, Mr. Yu Wei! Your film 'The Tuner' has been selected for the Short Film Section of the Louvre Film Festival."

"Okay, I understand. Thank you, thank you."

Listening to Yu Weiping's calm and composed remarks, everyone in the conference room fell silent. Why did he not seem very excited?
The staff member recording this moment with a camera felt like they'd been set up. The department head had told him to edit a three-minute video for publicity, but Yu Wei just said one thing: "Get your head in and start cutting..."

Yu Wei wasn't particularly excited. He knew about the award; it was quite prestigious, but he'd heard it was a bit exclusive, with the top prizes mostly reserved for its own people.

Someone like Yu Wei, who is clearly an outsider, will probably only get a nomination.

The success of any work is inseparable from the factors of its time. "The Tuner" may have been a masterpiece back then, but it may not necessarily be able to succeed in the end in a new environment and new occasion.

However, considering it's only his first film, getting a nomination is already quite good; it's a great start.

The short film organizing committee wanted to make a record of it, and the "Music Blind Box" program team was no exception. They immediately called Lao Zhang and asked him to follow up.

Yu Weike is recording their program, which is a perfect opportunity to benefit from being in a good position.

How does it feel to be nominated?

Old Zhang took on the role of reporter and hurriedly arranged an exclusive interview with Yu Wei during the recording of the program.

"Quite unexpected."

"Aren't you excited?"

"Fortunately, among so many short films shortlisted, 'The Tuner' is just one of them."

The amazing thing is that this movie isn't about him, so there's nothing to get excited about.

Old Zhang frowned; it seemed there was no need to get so worked up...

No, this is the first time a domestic micro-film has been shortlisted for the Lu Wen Award, which is still worth celebrating. He almost managed to get it done by just going through the motions.

Are you confident that your work will win an award?

"Fortunately, all shortlisted works have a chance of winning an award."

Yu Weizhen wasn't just slacking off; in fact, he didn't have high hopes. However, since it was an interview, he couldn't appear too pessimistic.

Old Zhang wasn't a professional journalist after all, and after being choked up twice, he didn't know what to say for a moment, so he simply asked Yu Wei to talk about the advantages of this movie.

Why make it so professional?
Old Zhang had no choice; he had to fill the interview time, otherwise it wouldn't be an interview at all. Those two sentences were just casual conversation.

Netizens have already analyzed this quite thoroughly, but since it was an interview, Yu Wei still had to bite the bullet and say a few things.

European judges have a strong preference for "psychological thriller + social critique," and "Andhadhun" does a good job in this regard, so its nomination is not surprising.

The identity of a piano tuner embodies the essence of Western classical art, while the setting of pretending to be blind touches upon a crisis of trust—all of which are well-suited to the Western context.

The essence of international awards is to cater to their preferences. Sometimes not winning an award doesn't mean you're not good enough; it just means they don't like it.

Especially in recent years, the prestige of many major awards has been decreasing, since in addition to the work itself, its correctness also needs to be considered.

In this respect, reality is not as good as fiction. In fiction, good movies can win awards, but in reality, you're lucky if you don't get attacked by certain groups...

Yu Wei was more than capable of handling a short interview, but he suddenly realized something: after being selected, was he supposed to go to the event?

Although the chances of winning are slim, it would be disrespectful to the judges not to show up. There are still two weeks until the awards ceremony, so we'll see then.

When he was interviewed, news of "Andhadhun" being nominated for the Louvre International Film Festival had already spread online. If it were any other small team that was nominated, the response might not have been so great, but this person is Yu Wei.

He's been at the center of attention the whole time, and this short film seems to have hit the nail on the head, with related terms quickly rising in popularity and soon entering the top of the trending list.

Most netizens are unaware of the Louvre Film Festival, but receiving an international nomination is certainly a good thing.

Film critics and media were quick to follow suit, stating that this was not only a victory for one film, but also a sign of the improvement in the overall production level of domestic short films and their international artistic expression.

With several media outlets taking turns appearing, even netizens who weren't experts understood that Yu Wei had handled this matter very well.

"The Pianist deserves the nomination. It feels like a Western film, so it's no surprise that it was nominated."

"Yu Wei is really strong. He got an international nomination for his first acting role. Don't forget that he also wrote the script."

"Oh no, if I don't win the award, I'll definitely be targeted by haters and fan groups. The strongest idol during the off-season, that's terrifying."

"Being shortlisted is better than staying at home, sound engineer, let's go!"

"Does anyone have a good introduction to the Louvre International Film Festival?"

While netizens were chatting enthusiastically, Yu Wei also received messages from director Lü Zhou and agent Liu Ning immediately.

Yu Wei is rather laid-back, while Qi Luoan doesn't care about these things. If you were to ask who was most excited about "The Tuner" receiving a nomination, it would definitely be Lü Zhou, the down-on-his-luck MV director.

Taking on Yu Wei's music video project was the best decision he ever made in his life. He, a struggling director, suddenly became a nominated director at an international film festival...

If he wins another award, he'll instantly gain real influence from the sidelines. He'll be carried to new heights by Yu Wei!
"Teacher Yu, from now on I will follow your lead. If there's anything I can help with, I'll be there whenever you call, and I won't charge you anything!"

That's great. Yu Wei will probably be short-handed when filming "Goodbye Mr. Loser", especially in terms of leadership.

Honestly, there's a reason why Qi Yunming's movies have flopped so many times; he still needs to have his own team.

Liu Ning's words represent the company's intention: Firefly Chinese will help Yu Wei get involved. If he plans to attend the film festival, they will speak with the program team on his behalf.

Yu Wei still underestimated the value of this nomination. According to Liu Ning, the company received many calls that afternoon, all from people who wanted to collaborate on "Goodbye Mr. Loser" and "Kung Fu Jungle".

A screenwriter who can gain recognition from international film festivals, regardless of their quality, is at least commercially successful; investing in them is a worthwhile investment.

The former is out of the question, but the latter is still worth discussing, though we'll have to wait until he writes the movie's release plot into the novel first.

He couldn't take care of himself these past few days. The other guests spent two days experiencing life and three days practicing singing, but Yu Wei spent three and a half days traveling to and from the hotel. He was the one who should have been practicing the most.

Time is running out for him and Liu Wang...

Just as Yu Wei was about to sing the song twice in the car to Liu Wang to get a feel for it, his phone rang again. It was Qi Yuan calling.

Is this... a spy mission?
Congratulations on receiving an international nomination.

Qi Yuan's tone carried seven parts sincerity and three parts loneliness. "The Tuner" was definitely his biggest pain. He knew nothing about the film, but the people around him were involved.

He was already feeling resentful, and now look what happened—he got a nomination at the Louvre International Film Festival, and even Zhang Lingye, who played the corpse, benefited from it…

He's a meritorious corpse, a nominated corpse, much better than me, who's only ever acted in period dramas.

"Thanks, bro."

With the competition just around the corner, it's truly rare for someone to call and congratulate you at this time.

To be honest, after Qi Yuan lost the live singing competition, I comforted myself by thinking that at least he could act, while Yu Wei couldn't.

Who knew that a movie called "The Tuner" would come out next, in which Yu Wei's acting as a blind person was astonishing, and he certainly couldn't have acted at that level.

Now, even in acting, he has been far surpassed by Yu Wei...

"I will definitely win."

Qi Yuan's tone was clearly somewhat lacking in confidence, because just now, he suddenly realized that even if he won, it wouldn't prove anything.

Does his winning with his grandfather's song mean he's better than Yu Wei? No, Yu Wei was just starting out, but this was Chen Ping's peak work.

Qi Yuan knew this was unfair to Yu Wei, but he just wanted to win, even if it was an ugly victory...

These dark thoughts tormented him.

"Good luck, give it your all!"

Yu Wei's encouragement was sincere. He didn't want Qi Yuan to disgrace the name of the senior Chen. If he couldn't sing well, no matter whose song it was, it would be useless.

Qi Yuan agreed. He didn't want to think about anything else now, he just wanted to have a good match with Yu Wei and put an end to his dissatisfaction.

After all, he had no real grudge against Yu Wei; ultimately, it was just his own mind playing tricks on him.

"This song of mine is no ordinary song."

Qi Yuan tentatively probed, "Write this song well."

Yu Wei smiled but didn't say anything. He was being isolated again... Zhang Lingye and Qi Luoan had already spoken to him.

You know nothing about networking!
“This song is really different. I might as well tell you. It’s a song by Chen Ping. You must have heard of him before.”

Seeing that Yu Wei had no reaction, Qi Yuan became a little anxious, so he simply introduced himself so that Yu Wei could be mentally prepared and seriously prepare for the competition.

Despite his suspicions, hearing those words in person still excited him. He wondered what the work from another world would be like.

"That's great, you should hurry up."

Qi Yuan: ?
(End of this chapter)