This director loves making friends.

"Now, we are getting closer and closer to our goal; we just need one last spark."

This is what Pierre Lissent said in a mysterious manner as he was leaving.

The 46th Cannes International Film Festival opened on May 13. This year's festival is quite favorable for Chinese-language films, with three Chinese-language films nominated for the main competition.

"According to this newspaper, a major piece of good news has come from the 46th Cannes International Film Festival currently being held in France: one Chinese-language film from each of Mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong has been successfully selected for the main competition this year."

The simultaneous appearance of three films at a top international film festival is unprecedented in the history of Chinese-language cinema, a momentous occasion worthy of celebration by all filmmakers.

This nomination not only showcases the creative strength of Chinese cinema in recent years, but also signifies that the film production achievements of Mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong are gaining widespread attention and recognition from the international film community…

This is how most mainland media outlets report it.

Actually, this statement has some flaws.

Strictly speaking, "Farewell My Concubine" is a co-production between Hong Kong and mainland China. The funding came from Tomson Group in Hong Kong, while the production team was from mainland China, making its classification quite awkward.

In mainland China, "Farewell My Concubine" is currently banned from screening, promotion, and participation in awards such as the Golden Rooster and Hundred Flowers Film Festival due to its depiction of Wen Ge.

In Taiwan, "Farewell My Concubine" was originally scheduled to be released in Taiwan during the Lunar New Year of 1993, but it was cancelled because it did not comply with the "half-person rule," which stipulates that no more than half of the screenwriters, directors, and actors in films shot in mainland China can be from mainland China.

If more than half of the main creative team members are from mainland China, the film will be classified as a mainland Chinese film, which will not be able to obtain a screening permit in Taiwan and will not be eligible to participate in the Golden Horse Awards.

Currently, Taiwan has not added the amendment to the existing 50/50 system, which allows films that win Best Picture at the five major film festivals (Cannes, Venice, Berlin, Oscars, and New York Film Festival) to be released without restrictions.

This amendment will not appear until the end of 93. However, there are still restrictions. It is still necessary to further verify that the film's funding must be from Hong Kong and Taiwan and not jointly invested with the mainland in order to fully comply with the regulations.

In Hong Kong, "Farewell My Concubine" is not considered a Hong Kong film and is ineligible for the Hong Kong Film Awards.

The Hong Kong Film Awards have a strict rule that only Hong Kong films can be nominated. Among the main creators of "Farewell My Concubine," only Cheung Kwok-wing and screenwriter Lee Pik-wah are from Hong Kong, so it does not meet the standard for Hong Kong films and is therefore ineligible for the Hong Kong Film Awards.

Therefore, even though mainland media outlets were reporting extensively on the unprecedented simultaneous selection of three Chinese-language films for the main competition at the Cannes Film Festival, they conspicuously omitted the name "Farewell My Concubine"...

Chen Kaige's embarrassment was palpable.

Furthermore, his former cinematographer, Zhang Yimou, has won two of the top prizes at the three major European film festivals.

This gives us an idea of ​​how Old Chen was feeling.

If "Farewell My Concubine" fails to win an award this time, Chen will most likely never recover.

This is why Qin Keqing saw Old Chen's melancholy face when they met at the film festival, a far cry from the spirited and confident Old Chen of later generations.

Qin Keqing greeted him, but he only managed a forced smile.

It's just like a melancholy, artsy young person... or a middle-aged person.

Gong Li, on the other hand, was very enthusiastic when she met Qin Keqing. She even mentioned that Zhang Yimou had often talked to her about Qin Keqing, this outstanding young man, and expressed his hope to have the opportunity to work with him in the future.

She has high emotional intelligence and is very good at speaking.

This is the impression Gong Li gave Qin Keqing.

Zhang Guorong's behavior was a bit strange. His speech and unintentional movements sometimes made Qin Keqing feel awkward, as if... as if he was still in character and hadn't come out of character yet.

The key point is that the role he plays is somewhat special, and once he gets into character, it can be quite troublesome.

No wonder Pierre Lissent told Qin Keqing that Zhang Guorong was a strong contender for the Best Actress award at Cannes; at first, Qin Keqing thought he was joking.

Now it seems that what he said is very likely true.

Could this be one of the reasons why "Farewell My Concubine" was able to win the Palme d'Or, besides the extensive publicity and promotion?

Many people are probably aware that, whether it's the three major European film festivals or the Oscars, films that deal with profound same-sex romantic themes, gender identity distortions, and historical tragedies are very likely to win awards.

Moreover, this film contains all of the above elements.

Qin Keqing also met Hou Xiaoxian from Taiwan.

Hou Xiaoxian is much more famous than Chen Kaige and Qin Keqing. He won the Venice Golden Lion Award in 89 and is very influential in the European arts and culture circle.

However, according to Pierre Lissent, Hou Xiaoxian's success in the European film industry is inseparable from his contributions, which is why he is considered Hou Xiaoxian's mentor.

Of course, the older white European man probably didn't know who the talent scout was, but that's exactly what he meant.

Qin Keqing didn't know if that was true, but when he was exchanging pleasantries with Hou Xiaoxian, he always felt that Hou Xiaoxian's gaze towards him was strange, and he didn't know what it meant.

Zhu Yin is a relatively new actress, and this was her first time attending such a large event. She was visibly nervous walking the red carpet, and her smile seemed a bit stiff.

"Don't be nervous. See that row of reporters with cameras over there? They didn't raise their cameras, did they? Do you know why? Because nobody here knows you."

Seeing that Zhu Yin was even a little stiff walking the red carpet, Qin Keqing smiled and gently "comforted" her.

Lin Guobin, who was slightly behind, almost burst out laughing. He had experienced Qin Keqing's "methods" firsthand, and aside from feeling uncomfortable, they were quite effective.

Zhu Yin really wanted to roll her eyes, but considering her image, she could only grit her teeth and say, "Thank you, I feel comforted."

However, I wasn't so nervous after that.

The results were surprisingly good.

The Cannes Film Festival officially scheduled the premiere of "A Bittersweet Life" very early, just the day after the opening ceremony.

In Pierre Lissent's words, the "Special Award" in the main competition section requires the unanimous agreement of all members of the jury to be added, at least on the surface. Therefore, the premiere needs to be held earlier to give the jury some time.

"La Dolce Vita" was scheduled to be screened at the Lumière Grand Auditorium.

The official main venue for the Cannes Film Festival is the Palais des Festivals, also known as the Louis Lumière Grand Hall. During the festival, it screens the main competition films and official selections from morning to night, making it the main screening venue for the Cannes Film Festival.

Most of the films in the main competition premiered here.

However, although almost everyone screened the film at the Lumière Grand Hall, which seems fair, it's important to remember that there are different times of day, and the effects will certainly differ depending on the time of day.

The best time for a premiere is during prime time in the evening, around 19:00 PM or 22:00 PM.

The times of 19:00 PM and 22:00 PM are extremely important. These two times take into account both the visual effect of the red carpet ceremony and the needs of global media broadcasting. Generally, the movies scheduled during these two time slots are very "significant" movies.

"A Sweet Life" was scheduled for the prime time slot of 19:00 PM. Qin Keqing would never believe it without some explanation.

Not only did Qin Keqing not believe it, but even Chen Kaige and Hou Xiaoxian, who came to attend the premiere, did not believe it.

Chen Kai was extremely envious of Qin Keqing. This timing was too good; he wondered how the kid managed to get it.

It's important to know that "Farewell My Concubine" paid a huge price to secure a prime-time slot on May 19th, and he didn't believe Qin Keqing hadn't paid any price.

"Lucky kid."

Hou Xiaoxian lamented that he knew some "insider information" because he was about to become part of that "insider information," "burning" a fire for the film.

"I don't know how much you paid, but it certainly wasn't a small price to pay."