This director loves making friends.

"This is Moritz de Haderden, the artistic director of the Berlin Film Festival."

Xie Fei chatted and laughed with an older white man for a while, then waved to Qin Keqing, who was not far away, and asked him to come over.

"Mr. Moritz, this is Qin Keqing, the assistant director of 'Woman Sesame Oil Maker,' a very capable young man. He is not only the assistant director of 'Woman Sesame Oil Maker,' but also an important member of 'The Story of Qiu Ju.'"

Moritz de Haderden chuckled and shook hands with Qin Keqing. "Being able to participate in two films that won top awards is a remarkable achievement."

Qin Keqing simply smiled at Moritz de Haderden's somewhat exaggerated and perfunctory words and didn't say much.

That makes sense. Why would the actual people in charge of the Berlin Film Festival be interested in a young assistant director? To gain the attention and respect of these older white European men, you need to produce a sufficiently convincing work.

Xie Fei was clearly aware of this as well.

But he didn't really have any good solutions.

All I could do was try my best to promote it: "Mr. Moritz, don't let his youth fool you, he's already filming his first movie, and it's being invested in by a major Hong Kong company, with an investment several times higher than my 'Woman Sesame Oil Maker'."

Moritz de Haderden then became interested. He had originally intended to call Qin Keqing by his name, but unfortunately he hadn't paid attention earlier and hadn't remembered it at all.

So he had no choice but to give up, and nodded with a smile to Qin Keqing, "You are indeed a very remarkable young man. If you have the opportunity next year, bring your film to the Berlin Film Festival, and I will arrange a spot for you in the forum section."

Xie Fei smiled happily, "Thank you, Mr. Moritz."

He turned to Qin Keqing and explained, "The forum was established in 1971 and is the core platform for supporting new directors, experimental films and avant-garde works. It focuses on the exploration of new cinema and visual language, without restricting themes or forms."

After parting ways with Moritz de Haderden, Xie Fei patted Qin Keqing on the shoulder and laughed.

"You're in luck, kid. Don't underestimate the forum section. The works of young directors or those making their directorial debut, of course, are the most outstanding works, and they are mainly arranged in the forum section. Only a small number of particularly excellent and stylized works can enter the panorama section."

"Can't they be directly selected for the main competition?"

Qin Keqing asked with some curiosity. He remembered that Zhang Yimou's directorial debut, "Red Sorghum," was directly selected for the main competition at the Berlin Film Festival and won the Golden Bear.

This is definitely a start for someone destined for greatness.

Debut is the pinnacle.

Even in novels, you wouldn't dare let the male protagonist win one of the top three European awards in his very first film, or readers would criticize him for being brainless.

Xie Fei glared at Qin Keqing. "What are you thinking? How could a young director's first film be directly selected for the main competition? The Berlin Film Festival has some unspoken rules about this."

It's not just the Berlin Film Festival; all three major European film festivals have similar unspoken rules.

The Venice Film Festival will feature the works of exceptionally talented young directors during Critics' Week.

The Cannes Film Festival, on the other hand, places the debut or second feature films of young directors in the Un Certain Regard or Critics' Week sections.

Afterwards, Xie Fei looked around and whispered to Qin Keqing, "Don't be too ambitious. Since Moritz said he would reserve a place for you in the forum section, it means that as long as you have the ability, the Berlin Film Festival will take you into their circle and groom you as their protégé."

Qin Keqing nodded knowingly.

The direct descendants, I understand, I understand.

The three major European film festivals all have their own affiliated directors, in order to strengthen the festival's team of directors, enhance its strength, and expand its influence.

Under normal circumstances, if a young director has the opportunity to enter the inner circle of one of the three major European film festivals, it would be considered an incredible stroke of luck, or even a great stroke of luck.

As long as you can become a member of their inner circle, even if you're not very capable, you'll at least become a regular in the main competition section of film festivals, and occasionally you might even receive a consolation prize.

It's important to understand that when the three major European awards still wielded immense influence, even a consolation prize was enough to make a director achieve fame and become a renowned international director.

But Qin Keqing is clearly not an ordinary case.

Qin Keqing wasn't very interested in the opportunity to become a regular member of the Berlin Film Festival; he certainly didn't want to gradually "upgrade" from the forum section.

"Zhang Yimou's 'Red Sorghum' seems to be his directorial debut. How did it get selected for the main competition and even win the Golden Bear?"

Qin Keqing wasn't trying to sabotage him; he was just genuinely curious.

"His is different."

Xie Fei waved his hand, "At the time, Berlin valued Kai Ge's 'King of the Children,' which was also originally going to participate in the Berlin Film Festival... In short, it was a bit complicated. In the end, 'King of the Children' went to Cannes, and 'Red Sorghum' was just a last-minute replacement."

Qin Keqing nodded thoughtfully. In other words, Zhang Yimou was just lucky?

Of course, besides luck, you also need ability; otherwise, you won't be able to seize the opportunity when it comes.

Xie Fei introduced many more people to Qin Keqing. His purpose in introducing these people to Qin Keqing was simple: he didn't want them to immediately become Qin Keqing's network of contacts, as that was unrealistic.

Instead, they wanted Qin Keqing to become familiar with these people so that they would have something to talk about next time they met, and gradually build up their network.

After Xie Fei went to socialize with others, Qin Keqing held a wine glass and was considering who among them would be suitable to be her "friend".

He already had a target in mind: Moritz de Haderden, the artistic director of the Berlin Film Festival.

The Berlin Film Festival is different from the Venice Film Festival.

The artistic director of the Berlin Film Festival wields immense power—just how much?

Moritz de Haderden is not only the artistic director of the Berlin Film Festival, but also its president, chairman of the selection committee, and chairman of the organizing committee…

In other words, he is the absolute head of the Berlin Film Festival, wielding absolute power, a position he has held since taking office in the 80s.

The Berlin Film Festival president does not have a fixed term and must be replaced, which is completely different from the Venice Film Festival president who serves a four-year term.

If he can be associated with Moritz de Haderden, Qin Keqing believes that if he comes to the Berlin Film Festival next year, he might be able to "skip a level" and directly compete for the main competition, skipping the Forum section or even the Panorama section.

Suddenly, Qin Keqing felt a tap on his shoulder, which startled him.

"Teacher Xie, you're busy? I heard you have a movie that's almost finished filming. Come on, I'll introduce you to someone who might be helpful."

Qin Keqing turned around and saw that it was Zhang Yimou.

As Zhang Yimou led Qin Keqing along, he said, "That man is Pierre Lissent, a Frenchman. He is a senior film selector and recommender at the Cannes Film Festival."

He has long been dedicated to discovering Asian directors through the Cannes Film Festival, having facilitated the inclusion of King Hu's "A Touch of Zen" at the festival, and having Chen Kaige's "King of the Children" and several of Hou Xiaoxian's films screened at Cannes.

Qin Keqing suddenly felt that something was wrong.

Is it appropriate for a seasoned Cannes Film Festival selector and recommender, someone who has long been dedicated to discovering Asian directors through the Cannes Film Festival, to attend the Berlin Film Festival's after-party?

They certainly weren't there simply to celebrate the award-winning film.