Best Director in Literature Department of Huayu

Chapter 130 Resignation Letter

Late at night in Toronto, less than an hour after the film festival's closing ceremony, the homepages of major media outlets were updated almost simultaneously.

Variety featured photos from the event on its front page: "Dallas Buyers Club wins People's Choice Award, adding another twist to the awards season landscape."

"In the past few years, films such as American Beauty, A Beautiful Mind, Crash, and Brokeback Mountain have won audience support in Toronto and ultimately gone far in the Academy Awards season. Now, this new film from young director Ryan Lam is taking up the same baton."

The Hollywood Reporter: "The biggest winner has emerged. Dallas Buyers Club had already garnered excellent media reviews before the festival closed, and the People's Choice Award officially propelled it from an outstanding film to an Oscar contender."

Meanwhile, GoId Derby, North America's largest odds website, updated its rankings almost immediately.

In the predicted list of nominations for the 79th Academy Awards, Best Picture, Best Actor, and Best Supporting Actor have all surged into the top five, while Best Director has also risen to seventh.

Some media outlets even dug up Lin Ruiyang's previous achievements, including the Silver Lion at the Venice Film Festival and an award at the Berlin Film Festival, as well as his resume from the past two years, compiling his career trajectory into a timeline.

In just two short years, he went from a student director to a Toronto People's Choice Award winner—a curve that is almost unbelievably steep.

At almost the same time, the domestic internet, halfway around the world, also became extremely lively.

Sina Entertainment updated its news at midnight: "Chinese director Lin Ruiyang won the People's Choice Award at the 31st Toronto International Film Festival for 'Dallas Buyers Club'."

Sohu, NetEase, and Tencent followed closely behind.

Although the general public in China was far less familiar with the Toronto International Film Festival than with the three major film festivals at that time, many people immediately realized its significance when the article mentioned that "Brokeback Mountain and Crash have both won this award" and "It is hailed as an Oscar bellwether".

On Tianya Forum, the article "Is the Literature Department of Beijing Film Academy Really Going Against the Grain?" was quickly pushed to the front page.

"First Jia Zhangke won the Golden Lion, then Lin Ruiyang won the People's Choice Award. Is the literature department on a roll this year?"

"Waiting for an expert's explanation! What exactly is the significance of the Toronto People's Choice Awards? How does it compare to the Venice Lions?"

"Upstairs, these two categories are different. One is a judges' award, and the other is an audience award, with the latter also considered a bellwether for the Oscars."

The post became increasingly heated, and the number of replies skyrocketed.

Soon, enthusiastic netizens compiled a list of the People's Choice Award winners' subsequent achievements and posted it online, with rows of replies that were dazzling to read.

"I hadn't paid attention before, but now that I've looked it up, I'm surprised to find that this award is so closely related to the Oscars?"

Is it possible that we might actually witness history next year?

"Whether it's historical or not is hard to say. Let's wait for the nomination list before making any predictions, lest we ruin it with our jinx."

Amid the debate, some people steered the conversation toward Lin Ruiyang himself.

"In your early twenties, right? At that age, many directors in the country are still working as assistant directors on film sets."

"Did the Literature Department of Beijing Film Academy secretly unlock some kind of hidden talent?"

"I suggest the school revise its admission brochure as soon as possible; the cutoff score might increase by ten points next year."

The Douban Movie Group has also started discussing "Dallas Buyers Club," which has not yet been officially released.

Many netizens commented, "My biggest worry now is that I won't be able to see it in the future."

"We hope to import it."

"Based on the People's Choice Award and its reputation, I'm already looking forward to it."

In Yenching, the Beijing Film Academy campus also saw a long-awaited surge in late-night phone calls.

The phone in the duty room kept ringing; many media outlets wanted to interview Liu Yibing and school teachers to learn about Lin Ruiyang's time at the school.

The story.

One reporter even jokingly asked, "Does the literature department have some secret formula for cultivating internationally renowned directors?"

Liu Yibing was both amused and exasperated, and could only answer repeatedly, "There's no secret formula; it's just about honestly writing scripts and making movies."

After hanging up on what felt like the umpteenth entertainment reporter's call, Liu Yibing yawned, then picked up the now-cold enamel mug on the table and gulped down a mouthful.

Liu Yibing put down his teacup, looked out at the dark campus, and couldn't help but shake his head with a smile.

Two years ago, when Lin Ruiyang brought back the Silver Lion for his short film from Venice for the first time, the school was mostly surprised; now, the news of the Toronto People's Choice Award has been met with overwhelming attention back in China.

The office door was pushed open a crack, and Professor Zheng poked his head in: "Still not gone?"

"I can't leave." Liu Yibing pointed to a stack of interview invitations on the table. "I'll probably be on duty tonight."

Professor Zheng chuckled and casually pulled up a chair to sit down: "Speaking of which, the Literature Department has really become famous this time. The admissions office just called to try and capitalize on this buzz to promote both the Photography and Literature Departments."

"Promotion is fine, but don't mythologize it." Liu Yibing maintained a neutral stance.

Despite saying that, he carefully tucked the newly printed overseas reports into a file folder, put it in a drawer, and locked it.

These things may become a piece of evidence in the school archives many years later.

Meanwhile, in his hotel suite in Toronto, it was past midnight. Lin Ruiyang took a quick shower and finally had time to turn on his computer.

The number of unread emails in my inbox is still fluctuating.

In addition to media interviews and collaboration invitations, I've also received many letters from strangers.

Lin Ruiyang swiped the mouse and glanced at it briefly.

These emails included collaboration proposals from small and medium-sized independent film production companies in Hollywood, screening invitations from selectors at some avant-garde film festivals in Europe, and several contact letters from the North American Asian Filmmakers Association.

Amidst the cacophony of social correspondence, he patiently unearthed a few familiar salutations—congratulatory messages from several senior students and classmates in the Literature Department of Beijing Film Academy.

Lin Ruiyang read it, gave a brief reply, and then continued flipping through the pages.

Compared to those lengthy business cooperation plans, these emails from the school felt surprisingly relaxed.

Then he noticed a letter from an unfamiliar address.

There was no self-introduction, no indication of collaboration, only a single sentence: "My father died from AIDS-related complications. Thank you for encouraging more people to talk about this instead of avoiding it."

Attached is a photo of a movie ticket stub, which is the ticket for the last screening at the Ryerson Theater.

Lin Ruiyang stared at the screen in silence for a moment, ultimately not typing any reply, but simply adding the email to his bookmarks. Often, what movies can do is far more meaningful than awards themselves.

Late at night, the meeting room where the searchlights were borrowed was still brightly lit.

The phones rang incessantly among members of the marketing, public relations, and distribution departments, and the whiteboard on the wall had been updated with new schedules.

Peter Rice listened to everyone's reports with a smile on his face. Now all they had to do was go as far as possible on the track to the championship.

In a corner of the conference room, someone suddenly spoke up: "Also, there's something else. We got word from CAA that there seem to be some internal changes."

Peter looked up: "What change?"

The man opened the fax in his hand and read it aloud: "It is said that Roger has officially submitted his resignation."

The air fell silent for a moment, then the executives exchanged meaningful glances.

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