This director loves making friends.

The Chinese delegation came to Berlin for the film festival as a group of at least a dozen people.

However, only two people from the "Woman Sesame Oil Maker" crew, which was shortlisted for the main competition, attended the event: director Xie Fei and one of the leading actresses, Siqin Gaowa.

In other words, He Qing, the other female protagonist, was probably excluded from the delegation and did not come to Berlin with the group because she was young and lacked experience.

Qin Keqing felt sorry for He Qing. For He Qing, this was definitely a great opportunity to become famous in the world, but it was a pity.

This is also a characteristic of this era.

If Qin Keqing were still in China, given his qualifications and status, he would absolutely have no chance of coming to Berlin with the delegation.

Even if one wanted to come in an individual capacity, there would be numerous difficulties, and many things would likely be impossible to accomplish.

For him, coming from Hong Kong to Berlin would be much more convenient.

"I've arranged a room for you at the hotel with the organizing committee. Go down and register, explain your identity, and someone will take you there."

After chatting with Qin Keqing about Hong Kong movies for a while, Xie Fei said this to him.

"Haha, I never thought I'd get a free hotel stay and benefit from the organizing committee," Qin Keqing joked with a smile.

What does it mean to take advantage of the organizing committee?

Xie Fei pointed at Qin Keqing and laughed, "You brat, what nonsense are you talking about? You're the assistant director of 'Woman of Fragrant Souls,' a member of the crew. It's only right that the organizing committee arranges accommodation for you."

"If it weren't for your film being shortlisted for the film festival and becoming a hot favorite, the organizing committee wouldn't have arranged accommodation for me," Qin Keqing said with a smile, flattering Xie Fei.

"Alright, alright, stop joking around. You just got off the plane, go and get some rest."

Although Xie Fei verbally tried to stop Qin Keqing, he was clearly pleased and added, "Oh, and don't forget to come to a party with me at eight o'clock tonight."

Qin Keqing thought he would meet many influential figures from the film festival at the 8 p.m. party, but he was wrong. The party Xie Fei took him to was full of European directors and filmmakers, as well as people from European film companies.

This is a gathering of film industry professionals.

Xie Fei introduced Qin Keqing to several directors and the heads of several well-known European film distribution companies.

Qin Keqing thought about it for a while and ultimately did not choose to "make friends".

We don't have enough points right now, so there's no need to rush to "make friends" with European directors and distribution companies. We should use our points wisely and wait a bit longer.

If you can't find a suitable person before leaving Berlin, it's not too late to "befriend" someone else—after all, you've already met them, so there's no need to worry about not being able to find them again after "becoming friends."

"Yi Mou is one of the jury members at this year's Berlin Film Festival. Due to his position, it's inconvenient for us to meet now. Let's get together after the awards ceremony tomorrow."

On the way back, Xie Fei said to Qin Keqing.

Qin Keqing's heart skipped a beat. Zhang Yimou was a judge? Zhang Yimou was Xie Fei's student. No wonder "Woman Sesame Oil Maker" won the Golden Bear.

Many people may not know that, despite Zhang Yimou's quiet demeanor and seemingly weak appearance, his record at European film festivals is well-documented.

Qin Keqing once read a report about the data on films from Mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong that won awards at the three major European awards.

Surprisingly, almost every film from mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong that won awards in the three major European film competitions had a Chinese judge on the seven- or nine-member jury that year.

In other words, you still need someone to "tear down" the award for you within the judging panel for you to have a chance to win.

Of course, there are a few exceptions.

On three occasions, Chinese-language films won major awards without any Chinese judges present.

One instance was at the 38th Berlin International Film Festival in 88, where Zhang Yimou won the top prize, the Gold Bear, without any Chinese judges present.

One instance was at the 46th Cannes Film Festival in 93, where Chen Kaige won the Palme d'Or, the highest prize, without any Chinese judges.

One instance was at the 63rd Venice Film Festival in 06, where Jia Zhangke won the top prize, the Golden Lion, without any Chinese judges present.

In fact, unless the judges are exceptionally talented, it is very difficult to determine who will receive the top prize.

Zhang Yimou has served as a jury member at the three major European film festivals twice: once at this year's Berlin Film Festival and once at the 07 Venice Film Festival.

At this year's Berlin Film Festival, Xie Fei's "Woman Sesame Oil Maker" and Li An's "The Wedding Banquet" both won the top prize, the Golden Bear, while Gong Li "incidentally" also won the Camera d'Or.

At the 07 Venice Film Festival, Li An's "Lust, Caution" not only won the Best Technical Contribution Award, but also the highest award, the Venice Golden Lion.

It's important to understand that both Zhang Yimou, who served as the jury president, and Marco Müller, the president of the Venice Film Festival, faced immense pressure at the time—the Golden Lion was awarded to Li An's *Brokeback Mountain* in 05, to Jia Zhangke's *Still Life* in 06, and then to *Lust, Caution* in 07…

This marks the third consecutive time that the Venice Film Festival's top prize has been awarded to a Chinese person!

They've practically turned Italy's Venice Film Festival into China's Venice Film Festival.

Zhang Yimou was extremely stubborn when he was young. Once he made up his mind about something, it was very difficult to change it.

Jiang Wen is quite a "drama tyrant," but even he couldn't do anything about Zhang Yimou. He said in an interview that when filming "Red Sorghum" and "Keep Cool," he felt that some lines and plots were "boring" and he wanted to change them.

So he tried to persuade Zhang Yimou, but Zhang Yimou didn't say anything. He just stared at him expressionlessly and let him talk until he was hoarse. Zhang Yimou still didn't say anything, so he eventually gave up in frustration.

The following day, the 43rd Berlin International Film Festival held its awards ceremony.

Qin Keqing accompanied Xie Fei to the awards ceremony. As expected, the Best Film award, also known as the Golden Bear, was shared by "Woman Sesame Oil Maker" and "The Wedding Banquet".

In other words, this year's Golden Bear Award is a tie.

There's nothing surprising about a tie; not only at the Berlin Film Festival, but also at the other two of the three major European film festivals, the top prize has been awarded to two films quite a few times, even multiple times.

Chen Kaige's "Farewell My Concubine," which won the Palme d'Or, was co-winning with Australian director Jane Campion's "The Piano."

Many people may doubt that Zhang Yimou, as an ordinary jury member, could influence the Berlin Film Festival to have "Woman Sesame Oil Maker" and "The Wedding Banquet" both win the Golden Bear.

There's really no need for such doubts.

Zhang Yimou won the Berlin Golden Bear in 88 and the Venice Golden Lion last year, making him two of the three major European gold medalists. The key is that he is only 42 years old, which is the golden age of his creative career. Who can say for sure that he will not become the next European Grand Slam winner of three gold medals?

His influence has actually reached its peak.

As for the reason, it's because he's young!

Because we are young, we have the greatest hope, and everything is possible.

That evening, Qin Keqing attended the official celebration banquet with Xie Fei. He not only met Zhang Yimou and Li An, but also the person who made him eager to accumulate points.