This director loves making friends.

"Special Award" is the official Cannes name for this non-reserved award.

However, in media reports, the "Special Award" is usually referred to as the Jury Special Award, which is considered an award between the Jury Award and the Jury Grand Prize.

Lin Guobin and Zhu Yin were unaware that Qin Keqing was aiming for this award. In their view, Qin Keqing winning the Golden Camera Award was already the biggest gain for "A Bittersweet Life" tonight.

Now that "A Bittersweet Life" has won another major award, both Lin Guobin and Zhu Yin are extremely excited.

"Congratulations, Director Qin! Congratulations..."

Zhu Yin sat to Qin Keqing's right, and was so excited that she didn't know what to say. She hugged Qin Keqing tightly and kept congratulating her, like a naive little girl.

Okay, she's actually only 22 years old this year. When she took on her first film, "Fight Back to School 2," two years ago, she was still a student at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, and she just graduated from the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts last year.

In a way, he could be considered "naive and inexperienced in the ways of the world".

However, although you are "naive," don't forget that you have a boyfriend. Please don't hug me so tightly, okay? Cannes is being broadcast on TV, and I'm afraid Stephen Chow might misunderstand if he sees it.

"Director Qin, congratulations. 'A Bittersweet Life' is the best movie I've ever acted in. I'm honored to be the male lead in this movie."

Lin Guobin didn't have those subtle, underhanded schemes; he was openly and blatantly flattering him. Or perhaps it wasn't flattery at all; maybe it was genuinely what he thought.

Qin Keqing used a little force to break free from the "excited" Zhu Yin, hesitated for a moment, and then hugged Lin Guobin.

"This is the result of everyone's joint efforts."

It wasn't that Qin Keqing was afraid Zhou Xingxing would misunderstand anything, but on the surface, the fact that "Sweet Life" was approved was because Win's Entertainment gave Zhou Xingxing face, and Qin Keqing's directorship was also secured by him. Therefore, Qin Keqing could only turn a blind eye to Zhu Yin's little schemes.

Whether in the Hong Kong film and television industry, the mainland film and television industry, or the Taiwan film and television industry, there are many actresses who are somewhat literary and artistic.

That's just how artists are.

Female literary youths are easily moved by people they consider talented, to the point that they are very easy to "accept and embrace".

If Zhou Xingxing hadn't been a friend of Qin Keqing who had spent a lot of points to make, Qin Keqing wouldn't have minded letting Zhu Yin "inclusive" of him.

"I am very grateful to the Cannes Film Festival jury for bestowing this honor upon us. I feel very honored to be standing here. My lovely actors, our creative team and I are all very excited to receive this special award."

"This film is a bold exploration of visual language. I am grateful to the judges for recognizing our sincerity and hard work, to every actor for bringing their characters to life, and to the creative team for 'going crazy' with me."

"Finally, I would like to express my special thanks to my family, especially my father, who has very high expectations for me. I hope he is satisfied with my perseverance and the results I have achieved. Thank you!"

Qin Keqing slightly raised the "certificate" of the special award in his hands and walked down amidst enthusiastic applause.

"Director Qin, could I take a look?"

After Qin Keqing sat down, Zhu Yin glanced at the "certificate of merit" with envy and asked in a low voice.

"It's just a certificate, nothing special."

Qin Keqing handed the "certificate of merit" to Zhu Yin and said with a smile.

Zhu Yin carefully "held" the certificate in both hands, her eyes shining, as if she were holding a treasure, which Qin Keqing found a little puzzling.

Then, considering that Zhu Yin graduated from the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, I began to understand.

Founded in 1984, the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts is the only public higher education institution in Hong Kong dedicated to cultivating performing arts talent. Within Hong Kong's higher education system, it falls under the category of "academies".

Almost all public film schools around the world regard the three major European film schools as the highest temples of art.

It seems that Zhu Yin, who graduated from the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, is no exception; she also has a heart that yearns for art.

"I didn't expect Director Qin's 'A Bittersweet Life' to pass the jury unanimously. The special award isn't easy to win." Zhang Guorong glanced at Qin Keqing not far away with some envy and whispered to Gong Li.

After hesitating for a moment, he continued in a low voice, "That day at the premiere of 'A Bittersweet Life,' I saw the movie for the first time and thought it was a commercial film. But I was too embarrassed to say so at the time. It seems that my understanding of art is still too shallow."

Gong Li really wanted to say the same thing, but she held back and acted nonchalantly.

"Experimental films are like this: directors usually bury the artistic elements deep inside, and you can only discover them by watching them repeatedly and by looking through the clues given by the director."

Gong Li then thought about the plot and audiovisual aspects of "A Sweet Life".

Gong Li may not have a deep understanding of the plot, and may only think that the dialogue between the master and apprentice used in the film is "art". However, she does know a bit about the film's visuals and cinematic language. Zhang Yimou is best at this, so she understands quite a bit about it.

"If you look closely, you'll find that 'A Bittersweet Life' uses high-contrast cool tones, minimalist composition, and slow-motion violence to construct a poetic noir aesthetic, using visual contrast to metaphorically represent the opposition between sweet dreams and cruel reality..."

Zhang Guorong nodded, agreeing with Gong Li's statement, and whispered, "You're right. I only realized it after reading a lot of media reports and film reviews. Director Qin is really amazing."

Gong Li nodded. Qin Keqing won two major awards at Cannes right from her debut; she was indeed impressive.

Then she thought of her boyfriend, Zhang Yimou. What was Zhang Yimou's debut work again? Oh, "Red Sorghum," the "Red Sorghum" that won the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival.

Gong Li couldn't help but grin.

Zhang Guorong was a little confused, not knowing what Gong Li was laughing at.

"They're here..."

He muttered to himself, "The presenter is about to award tonight's Jury Prize."

"The winner of the Jury Prize at the 46th Cannes International Film Festival is…"

Chen Kai sat ramrod straight, almost unable to look at the presenter, silently pleading, "No, please no, it absolutely cannot be 'Farewell My Concubine,' please, please don't be 'Farewell My Concubine'..."

It's come to an end. All that's left is the Grand Jury Prize and the Palme d'Or. If given a choice, I doubt anyone would want the Grand Jury Prize to be theirs.

"The World Is So Close Yet So Far..."

"Splash splash splash..."

Applause erupted, and Chen Kaige clapped enthusiastically, putting almost all his strength into his hands. He really wanted to shake the hand of the director of "So Close Yet So Far" and say, "Congratulations! Congratulations from the bottom of my heart..."

Wim Wenders, the director of "Close to You," smiled gently and looked calm, showing little sign of disappointment.

Wim Wenders is extremely famous in the arts and culture world.

He is considered a Cannes director, although he has won the Venice Golden Lion, he has won more Cannes awards, including the Cannes Best Director award and the Cannes Palme d'Or.

With this Jury Prize, he has practically won every major award in Cannes.

After the jury's grand prize was awarded, everyone was invigorated, and the most important part of the evening was about to begin.

This time, the award presenter was not someone invited from outside; instead, the chairman of the jury, Louis Mahler, personally read the award.

"The winner of Best Film at the 46th Cannes Film Festival is 'The Piano'..."

"The Piano?"

Chen Kaige's heart, which had been pounding with excitement, sank to the bottom in an instant. His eyes were blank, and he wanted to roar and ask: Why is it "The Piano"? Why is it "The Piano"?

Didn't this give a hint about "Farewell My Concubine"?

What about the prize?

What about the award for "Farewell My Concubine"?

Just as he was about to lose control of his expression, the jury president, Louis Malle, with his heavenly voice, pulled him from hell to heaven.

"And 'Farewell My Concubine'!"

Double yolk egg!

Following the Berlin Film Festival's double win of the top prize Bear a few months ago, the Cannes Palme d'Or, the top prize, also ended up being a double win!

I wonder if the Venice Film Festival three months from now will also see a tie for the top prize, the Golden Lion.

(Note: This year, Venice really did lay two golden lions!)