Reborn, my online friend is the real me.

After the opening ceremony, Han Sanping gathered the crews of the three Chinese-language films for a meal.

The restaurant was a Chinese restaurant in downtown Berlin. The owner was from Zhejiang. The food wasn't authentic, but it was much better than Western food. Su Yu went there with David.

There was a large table in the private room. At Su Yu's table were Han Sanping, Liang Jiahui, Yu Nan, Fan Binbin, and two middle-aged men he didn't recognize, who were introduced as producers from China.

David sat next to Su Yu, with chopsticks and a knife and fork placed together. He first tried to pick up a piece of Kung Pao Chicken with his chopsticks, but failed twice, so he switched to using a spoon.

Han Sanping sat in the main seat, smiled at David, raised his glass to Su Yu and said, "Su Yu, please introduce this friend to us."

Su Yu put down his chopsticks, took a sip of tea to moisten his throat, and said in a tone that was as calm as possible but important: "This is my North American investor, David, the president of Time Pictures."

David put down his spoon and shook hands with Han Sanping.

Han Sanping sized up David, his gaze flickering back and forth between Su Yu and David, mentally assessing their true relationship. He smiled, raised his glass, and said something to David.

Fan Binbin walked over from the other side with a wine glass in his hand, stood in front of Su Yu, glanced at David, and then glanced at Su Yu.

She raised her glass, smiling broadly at Su Yu, and said, "Director Su, congratulations on your nomination. I heard your film is amazing; you acted in it all by yourself, without even changing locations. When we were filming 'Apple,' at least we could change rooms."

Su Yu clinked glasses with her. "Ms. Fan, you're too kind. I haven't seen 'Apple' yet, but the brochure looks very powerful. I'll go see the premiere another day."

Fan Binbin smiled so hard his eyes crinkled: "Okay, come and give me your comments after you've finished watching. Just be gentle with your criticism."

After she finished speaking, she glanced at David and said in English, "Nice to meet you."

David stood up, shook her hand, and said, "Your dress is beautiful."

Towards the end of the meal, Han Sanping stood up, raised his wine glass, and said a few polite words, roughly wishing everyone could win awards and that Chinese films would get better and better.

......

February 10th is the premiere date of "Buried".

Su Yu woke up at six in the morning and couldn't fall back asleep.

He lay in bed staring at the ceiling, mentally reviewing the day's schedule: a final check of the copy and subtitles in the morning, a meeting with David and Lionsgate's distribution team at noon, a screening at 3 p.m., a post-screening discussion, and then a cocktail party.

After sorting everything out, he lay down for a while, then got up to shower, shave, and put on his dark gray suit.

There were quite a few media outlets at the premiere. When a reporter called his name and asked him to look at the camera, he cooperated and stood still for a moment.

David followed behind him, all smiles, as if he were walking the Oscars red carpet.

Su Yu whispered to him, "Don't laugh so exaggeratedly, people will think you're the lead actor."

David immediately stopped smiling, but soon broke into a smile again.

The main screening room of the cinema was packed. Su Yu glanced around when he entered and saw that the occupancy rate was about 90%, which was better than he had expected.

He saw several familiar faces; several Chinese film crews and jury members were present.

The lights dimmed, and the screen lit up.

Su Yu sat in his seat, his palms sweating.

Buried Alive has begun.

The screen was completely black.

Then came heavy breathing, growing more rapid and increasingly agitated.

The sound of a lighter, click, and a flame appeared.

Donnie's face emerged from the darkness, his eyes wide and his lips trembling. He found himself buried alive in a coffin, with only a cell phone, a lighter, and a pen in his hands.

The screening room was so quiet that you could hear the airflow from the air conditioning vents.

.....

Ninety minutes later, the screen went black.

As the end credits began to roll, the lights in the theater didn't immediately come on. In the darkness, someone sniffed, and someone else cleared their throat.

Su Yu didn't know who started clapping. It could have been a judge in the front row or an ordinary audience member in the back. In any case, at that moment, the applause went from sparse to dense, like raindrops hitting a tin roof, and finally turned into a huge wave of sound.

Su Yu stood up, turned around, and looked at the audience behind him. Many people were still clapping, some were waving at him, and some were giving him a thumbs up.

After the premiere, word-of-mouth began to spread.

A Variety film critic wrote: "This is a breathtaking allegory. With a coffin, a cell phone, and a man, Sue constructs an anti-war manifesto that is more impactful than any grand spectacle. Downey delivers one of the most explosive performances of his career."

Another film critic wrote in Screen: "After watching Buried, I took a deep breath of the cold Berlin air as I walked out of the cinema. It was the air of freedom, the air of life. It was Sue who made you realize how precious these things are."

The news reached China faster than Su Yu had anticipated; Sina Entertainment issued a breaking news report: "Su Yu's new film 'Buried Alive' premiered in Berlin to rave reviews, with foreign media praising it as a 'masterpiece'."

The comments section was filled with reactions like "Why is it Su Yu again?" or "Does this guy never sleep?"

Some people even compared Su Yu and Ning Hao, asking, "Which of these two cinematography majors is better at writing screenplays?"

Someone answered, "Ning Hao wrote 'Crazy Stone,' while Su Yu wrote 'Our Times' and 'Buried Alive,' so it's not a fair comparison. But Su Yu also wrote over a dozen hit songs, so Ning Hao lost in that respect."

Su Yu didn't have time to read these comments. In the following days, in addition to attending the screening and discussion of "Buried Alive", he also went to see two other Chinese films.

He watched the afternoon showing of "Apple" on the second day. The theater was about half full, not too many people, and the atmosphere was very focused.

Fan Binbin's performance on screen was very uninhibited; the character exuded a ruthless aura from the inside out.

After reading it, Su Yu sat in his seat for a long time before getting up and saying to himself, "Fan Binbin is a ruthless person."

He watched the third evening showing of "Tuya's Marriage," and the theater was packed.

Wang Quan'an's camera language is very steady, and his use of wide shots is particularly outstanding, blending the desolation of the Inner Mongolian grasslands with the resilience of the characters.

Su Yu sat in his seat, barely daring to breathe. When he saw the scene where the female lead, Tuya, was looking for a husband with her disabled husband, a foreign female audience member next to him cried quietly.

Su Yu leaned back in his chair and sighed inwardly. He knew that this movie had won the Golden Bear in his previous life, but he only understood why it had won it after watching it with his own eyes.

The technique, the emotion, and the social significance are all impeccable; Tuya's story is more tear-jerking than the man in the coffin.

"A formidable rival!" Su Yu muttered to himself.

David, not hearing him clearly, leaned over and asked, "What did you say?"

Su Yu shook his head. "It's nothing."

......

With all twenty-six films in the main competition screened, various speculations and gossip began circulating in Berlin.

Which film is the most popular? Which film has sparked heated internal discussions? Which film has caused a heated argument among the judges?

Su Yu heard a piece of gossip that "Tuya's Marriage" received a high score from the judges, and that Paul Schrader liked it very much; another piece of gossip said that "Buried" caused a quarrel among the judges, with some saying it was a work of genius and others saying that form outweighed content.

Su Yu was eating instant noodles in his hotel room when David relayed these gossips.

He picked up a noodle with his chopsticks, blew on it, and put it in his mouth. He mumbled to David, "Let them argue, I'll eat mine; awards aren't won through arguments."

David chuckled, then pulled out a stack of business cards and placed them on the table. "Sue, the film distributors are pressing us again. They can't wait for the awards ceremony to end. The French company raised their offer by 20%, the German one followed suit, and the Italian one is also inquiring."

Su Yu put down his instant noodle bowl and said calmly, "Wait, I'm very confident."

David nodded and put the business card away.

"Su, what do you think the chances of 'Buried' succeeding?"

Su Yu leaned back in his chair, staring at the crystal chandelier on the ceiling.

"I don't know. But I can tell you this is the best film I've ever made in my career. I don't know if I can make anything better in the future. But so far, this is the best."