This director loves making friends.

"Click!"

The scene we just filmed was a very simple one: the male protagonist was carrying something upstairs, walked to the door and opened it, and the little girl was following pitifully behind him.

There are only two shots here: one is an overhead shot of someone going upstairs, and the other is a short-distance follow shot down the corridor. It should have been quite simple, but Qin Keqing felt that something was off.

"You two go down and walk it again, but don't take pictures yet."

Qin Keqing gave the instructions.

The rest of the crew stopped for the time being. Only Lin Guobin went downstairs, while Yang Xiaomi didn't move, probably because she didn't understand Qin Keqing's meaning.

Qin Keqing frowned.

The person in charge of managing mainland actors at the Qingying Film Studio next to them quickly waved to Yang Xiaomi, "Follow Uncle Lin, do it again."

Yang Xiaomi turned to look at Qin Keqing.

Seeing the director, who privately asked her to call him "godfather," with a dark expression, she quickly jogged down the stairs.

The film crew had been shooting for several days, and Yang Xiaomi had witnessed the director scolding people many times. Those uncles and aunts from Hong Kong who usually didn't talk to people seemed to be very afraid of him.

Even when scolded, they had to bow and apologize with a smile. Even Uncle Lin, who was very good at fighting, didn't dare to say a word when scolded.

Maybe the director is a better fighter; anyway, everyone's afraid of him.

Yang Xiaomi still remembers this director uncle. Last year before the Lunar New Year, he went to the children's film studio to select her. At that time, he was still a "bad uncle" and said that as long as she called him godfather, he would buy her a better toy car than her classmates'.

As a result, she privately called him "godfather," and he laughed and agreed, but he didn't buy her a car.

He doesn't keep his word.

A while ago, he personally decided to act in a play, and his parents seemed quite happy.

But this "bad director uncle" still makes me call him "godfather" in private. Humph, I won't fall for it. What he said last year hasn't come true yet.

While lost in thought, Yang Xiaomi stayed behind Lin Guobin, reminding herself that as soon as they called "start" or "Aike Shen," she should silently count to three and then follow them up the stairs.

Qin Keqing came out and looked down at the two people standing at the corner of the stairs.

Lin Guobin was dressed in a hooded black outfit, as if he were wrapped up in the clothes. He would maintain this look throughout this period, using the clothing as a metaphor to indicate that his heart was "buried" and he was unwilling to face reality.

Yang Xiaomi wore a slightly worn bright red coat, using this outfit to symbolize that although she was also in a difficult situation, she had a "fiery" childlike heart.

One black and one red create a contrast.

The clothes are fine, and there's no need for any acting skills here. It's just a small scene of going upstairs and opening the door, so why does it feel a bit out of place?

"Come up."

Qin Keqing waved.

Lin Guobin, perhaps bewildered by the sight of seven-year-old Yang Xiaomi again, turned around and whispered, "It's starting."

Yang Xiaomi blinked and nodded.

Lin Guobin put one hand in his pocket and carried a plastic bag in the other, then started going upstairs with his head down.

After silently counting to three, Yang Xiaomi started climbing the stairs.

Qin Keqing watched them climb the stairs, walk past him, and stop at the door. He finally realized the problem.

"Clothing, go get a matching jacket one or two sizes too big for the male lead to change into."

The costume team quickly agreed and ran off to get the clothes.

Although Lin Guobin didn't know why he had to change to a jacket two sizes larger, he understood the director's decision and had to do it, whether he understood it or not. In short, he just had to do it.

After he changed his coat, Qin Keqing looked him up and down, then personally pulled the hood of Lin Guobin's coat forward and said, "Let's go through it again."

This time, Lin Guobin was smarter. Before going downstairs, he grabbed Yang Xiaomi and pulled her along with him.

"Come."

Lin Guobin clearly felt that the clothes he was wearing didn't fit properly, but he still put one hand in his pocket and carried the plastic bag in the other, and started to go upstairs.

Qin Keqing smiled.

That's more like it.

After witnessing his pregnant wife being murdered, the male protagonist becomes a disheveled and decadent middle-aged man, like a walking corpse. How could he possibly be wearing a perfectly fitting coat?

Film is also an art form.

Even if he actually bought clothes that fit perfectly, in order to highlight his inner state and make the audience see his decadence at a glance, he certainly couldn't wear clothes that fit perfectly.

Moreover, Lam Kwok-pan originally came from the Jackie Chan Stunt Team and has always maintained a rigorous training regimen, resulting in an excellent physique. He is also very handsome, a mature version of "Leon Lai," otherwise Anita Mui wouldn't have dated him for so many years.

If you dress him in a well-fitting outfit, even if you try to cover it up, his natural charisma will still stand out.

This is the source of Qin Keqing's feeling of disharmony and awkwardness.

Now, an ill-fitting, oversized coat is "wrapping" him inside, which drastically reduces his overall appearance. Add to that a bit of stubble, long hair covering his eyes, and a blank expression, and you get a sense of decadence.

Qin Keqing didn't blame the clothes and makeup.

Before filming began, he asked the male lead to be as "cool" as possible.

The film uses a cool blue as the main color throughout, creating a depressing, alienated, and decadent visual atmosphere. The screen is deliberately shrouded in a "gray-blue filter" to make the male protagonist cold, cool, and a "suit-wearing thug".

This also sets the tone for the film.

"Clothing, take note. Before the male lead cuts his hair short, make sure his clothes are two sizes too big."

Qin Keqing gave an instruction to the costume department before saying, "All departments, please conduct your inspections. Filming will officially begin in ten minutes."

As soon as the words were spoken, everyone in the department got busy. The makeup artists came in and pulled Lin Guobin and Yang Xiaomi up to touch up their makeup.

While "The Man from Nowhere" was being filmed, the promotion for "A Bittersweet Life" had already begun.

During this period, both domestic and imported films employed rigid methods and received minimal investment in promotion.

Furthermore, the distribution staff are rigid in their thinking, and their promotional efforts are almost always the same, with formulaic writing and a lack of audience analysis and market planning. As a result, most of their films are "promoted silently" and fail to generate any buzz.

Starting this year, with the release of the "Opinions on Deepening the Reform of the Film Industry Mechanism," the exclusive distribution rights of China Film Group have been broken, and domestic films will no longer be subject to unified purchase and distribution.

With distribution rights granted, studios have become significantly more motivated, and the situation is bound to change gradually.

But it takes time.

However, "A Bittersweet Life" is, after all, a film that won the Cannes Film Festival Award. Although China Film Group's promotion was still the same old thing, many media outlets started to promote the film spontaneously after they learned that it was going to be released.

During this period, most domestic films did not perform well at the box office, but there were exceptions. Films that were selected for the main competition of the three major European film festivals, especially those that won awards, almost always became big hits.

This is actually due to a variety of reasons.

The domestic commercial film industry is not yet fully developed, meaning audiences have limited choices.

Award-winning films naturally generate buzz, and the media will spontaneously promote them before their release, resulting in a much larger promotional effort than for ordinary films. In addition, when audiences hear that a film has won an award, they often choose it as their first choice when they have no other options.

Therefore, in the 1990s, as long as a film won an award in one of the three major European film festivals, there was no need to worry about publicity, and box office success was guaranteed.

When a film like "A Bittersweet Life," which won two awards at Cannes, is about to be released, it will receive spontaneous coverage not only from major media outlets but also from local media.

"...'A Bittersweet Life' won the Camera d'Or and the Special Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival... and was directed by the renowned Chinese director Qin Keqing..."

The village head, accompanied by township officials, arrived at Qin Keqing's home. One of the officials pointed to a newspaper article and asked, "Is this Qin Keqing your family's Qin Keqing?"