Huayu: Serious director, who's eavesdropping on your thoughts?

Early the next morning.

On the Beijing Film Academy campus, volunteers in red vests were busy making arrangements, and several huge banners were hung from the top of Building A.

Today is the day the shortlist for ISFVF was announced.

The bulletin board in front of Cafeteria No. 1 in Building A was crowded with onlookers.

"I've got it! I've made it to the finals!"

A third-year university student excitedly hugged the person next to him tightly, his voice hoarse from shouting.

"My film, 'The Last Bookstore,' was nominated! Haha!"

The event immediately drew envious glances from those around them. Although the ISFVF has only been held twice, based on past experience, this event is highly prestigious.

Being on this list, even without winning any awards, can still earn you a significant amount of academic credits and resources.

Someone stared at the list, looking at it from top to bottom several times, and squeezed out of the crowd in disappointment: "Damn, it's hopeless. All those months of hard work were for nothing."

It can be said that some people are happy while others are sad.

Zhu Yawen was also in the crowd, accompanied by a beautiful girl who appeared to be a student from the performing arts department.

"Yawen, are you kidding me?"

The girl was somewhat suspicious, clearly not believing it: "We're only freshmen, and your film has already been nominated?"

"Huh? Why would I lie to you?"

Zhu Yawen raised an eyebrow, suppressing a smug smile, and put on a nonchalant expression:

"I already told you, this is just a small assignment. I didn't even intend to tell you. It's just that the director took a liking to me and insisted on having me act in it. I couldn't refuse at all! I just acted casually, and who would have thought I would be shortlisted."

As he spoke, he casually pointed to a lower position on the list, much like Versailles.

"Look, that sound engineer is the one I acted in in the short film. I'm the male lead, you know."

The girl looked in the direction he was pointing.

Although the list didn't include the cast, only the director's name, Zhu Yawen's confident demeanor convinced her of it to be about 70-80%.

"Huh? Zhao Huaiyuan, isn't that the person who went up on the podium the other day?" The girl covered her mouth in surprise.

"Yes, it was him. I didn't want to act, but he insisted on dragging me into it. I just couldn't do anything about it," Zhu Yawen sighed.

"Wow, Ya-wen, you're amazing! You've already made a film and it's on the ISFVF chart right after you enrolled? I never even dared to dream of that!" The girl was completely convinced.

"Keep it low-key, keep it low-key," Zhu Yawen waved her hand.

Just as he was feeling smug, he spotted Cao Yu in the crowd.

Cao Yu was standing on tiptoe checking something on the list. After confirming that it was correct, he took out his phone and started typing away at a text message, a silly grin on his face.

Zhu Yawen squeezed through and slapped Cao Yu on the shoulder. "Hey, Lao Cao! What are you doing? Why are you grinning like that?" She then glanced at Cao Yu's phone.

Cao Yu was startled and quickly put away his phone. "Nothing, hey? Why are you alone? Where's Xiao Zhao?"

He looked around but didn't see Zhao Huaiyuan.

"Did you drink yourself into oblivion yesterday? Didn't Director Zhao say when the show ended that he couldn't come today because he had something to do?"

At this point, Zhu Yawen grinned mischievously and winked at Cao Yu, "But you, you cried your eyes out in Director Zhao's arms that day, snot and tears all over him, have you forgotten all about it?"

Cao Yu's face turned bright red, and he scratched his head awkwardly: "Don't mention it, don't mention it. Now that I've made it to the finals, I'll head out first. I was thinking of bringing some lunch to Xiao Chen."

Zhu Yawen shrugged and said to the girl next to her, "See this? This is our photographer, a senior. Let's go get some donkey meat sandwiches."

..

Zhang Jian is a senior majoring in directing at the Beijing Film Academy. This year, his work "He Just Sit There Eating Noodles" was also shortlisted.

He immediately contacted his advisor.

"Mr. He, I'd like to ask, which theater will our film be shown in? Has the internal screening schedule been released yet?"

The shortlist is posted on the bulletin board, but the list is not ordered in any particular order; it is simply arranged alphabetically. However, there is usually another sorting list in secret, but this list must never be made public.

Teacher He looked around to make sure no one was there, then took out a neatly folded square form from his bag:

"Xiao Zhang, I was just about to tell you this, you need to be mentally prepared."

"What's wrong?" Zhang Jian's heart skipped a beat.

"Your film is scheduled for Wednesday at 10 a.m. in Lecture Hall 302, Building C."

"what?"

Zhang Jian's face instantly turned green, and his voice became somewhat off-key: "A lecture hall, and it's Wednesday morning? Everyone's in class then! Who can come and watch? Besides, that classroom only has a projector for teaching, and the speakers are just small loudspeakers for lectures, so it's all static. How are we supposed to watch?"

"Be content! At least you made it to the finals, right? It's not the best, but it's not the worst either. Take it easy." Teacher He patted him on the shoulder to comfort him.

Holding the film schedule, Zhang Jian felt a mix of emotions.

He reluctantly turned his attention to the limited list of standard screening rooms.

really.

At first glance, all the names are in English.

"Cyber ​​Space", "The Maze"...

"Huh? Teacher, why are there two domestic short films here too?"

Zhang Jian was surprised, and he pointed to the "standard screening room" section to show his teacher.

In the core feature film screenings on Saturday night, amidst a sea of ​​foreign text, two Chinese names stood out:

19:00 - "Thursday, Wednesday" Director: Ning Hao

19:40 — "The Tuner" Director: Zhao Huaiyuan

"Which school did they go to? Why? Why do their films get shown in standard theaters, and even during prime time on Saturday nights? That's better treatment than most foreigners."

Teacher He frowned, puzzled. He pushed up his glasses and said, "Ning Hao is from our school. I heard he's in the vocational college class. As for the other one, he's also from our school; he's a freshman."

"What?! Vocational school students and freshmen?? Are these two related? Are they doing something behind the scenes??" Zhang Jian could hardly believe his ears.

"Probably not, there's still some fairness in this respect." Teacher He shook his head.

Zhang Jian gritted his teeth in hatred, his eyes filled with jealousy: "A ragtag bunch who isn't even from the directing department managed to beat all the regulars from the directing department, and even got the best spot, plus a freshman!! What kind of international joke is this! I don't believe there's nothing fishy going on here!"

This is an utter disgrace!!

..

With the release of the preliminary list, the online forum Tianxia was in an uproar.

The original poster of the previous hot post has reposted, this time directly posting the shortlist and launching an indiscriminate attack:

"Look! Is this the list of films representing the highest level of Chinese students this year?"

Look at these titles: "He Just Sat There Eating Noodles," "After Being Laid Off," "Searching for My Second Uncle," "The Silent Wheat Field," "The Tuner"...

Seriously, I can guess what they're showing even without watching the plot. The first one is definitely a farmer with a headscarf, looking disheveled, eating noodles in front of the camera. The second one is definitely a laid-off worker smoking in the rain. Now you guys take the next one!

The replies below started a chain reaction:

"The third one is definitely an artsy young man carrying a camera back to his hometown, filming his taciturn second uncle repairing electrical appliances, and finally adding a narration of his reflections on life."

"The fourth one must be a child in an old school uniform squatting on the edge of a field, with the background being left-behind children and the distant horizon."

"The fifth one is definitely a blind old man playing the erhu under the overpass. The camera zooms in on his trembling hands and the empty bowl, but the narration insists on saying that he is tuning the city or something."

"Those guys upstairs are really talented, they're hilarious."

"It's truly a pity for their misfortune, and an infuriating reminder of their lack of ambition. Look at the film lists of other countries, like 'Cyberspace,' 'Maze Runner,' and 'El Elegy.' You can tell at a glance that they are exploring genre films! We are always standing still."

"There's nothing we can do; that's just how things are. If you don't film the hardships, you can't graduate."

..

Outside the campus.

A No. 52 bus, which had come from the West Station, slowly came to a stop.

Three girls, carrying large and small bags, struggled to squeeze out through the back door.

Zhao Xiaoyu is 21 years old this year. She did not take the college entrance examination, but went directly to Yanjing to work after graduating from high school.

It's been three years since I got out.

She currently works at a chemical plant. Over the years, Zhao Huaiyuan has considered himself an artist and has never lifted a finger at home. Although her older sister is not very old, she has been the pillar of the family for the past few years.

The two more fashionably dressed women next to her are her colleagues, about the same age as her, and are her girlfriends from the factory.

After learning that Zhao Xiaoyu had a younger brother studying at the Beijing Film Academy, he insisted on getting her tickets to the screening through her brother's connections.

"Wow, this is the Beijing Film Academy!"

Guo Lili, Guo's roommate, had her eyes shining as she looked at the handsome men and beautiful women coming and going at the school gate, as well as the Audis and BMWs parked on the roadside.

"Xiaoyu, your brother is so lucky to study here. He gets to see celebrities every day!" Roommate Peng Xiaohua also expressed her envy.

Looking around, everyone was dressed smartly and brightly, their colors dazzling.

Zhao Xiaoyu felt a little uneasy, as if this wasn't a place for someone like her, and she instinctively clutched the snakeskin bag tighter.

To be honest, my family has practically sold everything we own to send my younger brother to this art school.

She came mainly to bring some food to her younger brother, and also because her parents were worried and wanted her to check on him to see if he was going astray or wasting money.

"Xiaoyu, stop daydreaming! Call your brother and tell him to come out! I want to see if he's really handsome! Hehe," Peng Xiaohua urged, her face full of excitement.

"I saw online that the film festival is really popular, but the admission passes are a bit hard to get. They're all sold out already. But since your brother is from the Beijing Film Academy, getting a few tickets shouldn't be a problem, right?" Guo Lili asked.

Zhao Xiaoyu looked troubled.

She knows her younger brother too well.

He's always been a quiet, reserved person; you can't get a word out of him even if you beat him three times.

Although he was admitted to Beijing Film Academy, he is only a freshman and comes from a family with no money or connections. At most, he will be a nobody at school.

Where would he get these rare tickets that only insiders can get his hands on?

"My younger brother just started school and probably doesn't know anyone. I already told you not to come along. If you can't get tickets later, don't blame me." Zhao Xiaoyu thought she was giving her two colleagues a heads-up in advance to avoid embarrassing them later.

"Hey, let's give it a try, what if we can get our hands on it?"

The group was talking.

A figure carrying half a jianbing guozi (a type of Chinese crepe) strolled out of the school gate.