This director loves making friends.

Marco Müller suddenly felt that it was a very wrong thing for him to prevent "The Man from" from being the closing film.

That's a bit petty.

Isn't it just that Pierre Lissent crossed the line a bit?

But there are many people working on films at the Venice Film Festival, so Pierre Risington isn't an exception.

Moreover, Pierre Lissent seems to be playing by the rules, not even aiming for the main competition or trying to win a major award, but instead placing his hopes in the non-competitive screening section, which has less attention than the main competition.

All he ever wanted was a closing film.

Is this really that excessive?

Not at all!

Sigh, what a pity!

Marco Müller looked at Qin Keqing with a complicated expression, and suddenly felt a little sorry for the young director.

"Ke Qing, I'm so sorry, it's unlikely your film will be chosen as the closing film, really, I..."

Marco Müller sighed and said with some regret.

The biggest obstacle to making "The Man from Nowhere" the closing film was that Marco Müller colluded with some Venice Film Festival selectors to propose making the film that restarted the competition section this year the closing film, citing the need to restore "tradition".

"The Man from Nowhere" was to be screened in the non-competitive section, which is not a competitive section, so it did not meet the requirements for the closing film.

The Venice Film Festival is a bit complicated.

Although the Venice Biennale Foundation manages the Venice Film Festival, the people at the Biennale Foundation know absolutely nothing about film. Therefore, many things can be accomplished simply by the regional selectors working together.

Marco Müller is a seasoned film selector, one of the most prestigious among all film selectors. If he wants to push something forward, he can do it easily.

But then again...

He had just pushed for the revival of tradition this year, making the film in the competition section the closing film, when he immediately changed his mind and overturned the decision made a day earlier.

How is that possible?

Even if Qin Keqing were just a "drinking buddy" he felt he had known for many years, he couldn't overturn something he had just pushed forward a day ago, let alone Qin Keqing being merely a "drinking buddy" with whom he felt he had known for many years.

If that's the case, he can forget about ever working at the Venice Film Festival again.

Compared to his own future prospects, Qin Keqing, this "good friend," was still somewhat lacking in importance.

"Marco, what are you saying? How can I blame you? This has nothing to do with you. I know you really wanted to help, and I appreciate your kindness. We're family, why are you blaming yourself?"

Qin Keqing quickly "advised" him, and even smiled nonchalantly, but Marco Müller could tell at a glance that he was just pretending to be nonchalant.

Then, Qin Keqing looked at Marco Müller and said with a smile, "Marco, I don't know why, but the first time I saw you today, I felt like you were a friend I've known for a long time. There's an inexplicable sense of familiarity between us."

"Um?"

This surprised Marco Müller as well.

He asked with some curiosity, "You feel that way too?"

Just as Qin Keqing was about to strike while the iron was hot and deepen their relationship, he suddenly felt a pang in his heart. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Du Amei looking at him with a wary gaze.

Suddenly, Qin Keqing's heart skipped a beat again.

"Damn! I was careless!"

"This is fucking Europe!"

"This is the fucking movie industry!"

"And this is still the art-house film industry!"

"Take this as a warning, take this as a warning!"

Qin Keqing swallowed back the words that were almost out of his mouth and quickly added, "Yes, you might not believe it, but it feels like seeing my brother whom I haven't seen for many years... I know this is a bit abrupt, please forgive me."

"Haha...right? I feel the same way, like you're my own younger brother."

Marco Müller became increasingly excited as he spoke, and Duame laughed along with him.

The group chatted and laughed for a while, and the atmosphere became more and more harmonious, just like old friends, at least that's how Marco Müller felt.

He thought for a moment and said to Qin Keqing, "Keqing, to be honest, the non-competitive screening section has received a bit less attention."

Your first film won the Camera d'Or and a Special Jury Prize at Cannes. If the following films are only screened in the exhibition section rather than being the closing film, the promotional effect on the films will be limited. I have two suggestions for you to consider.

Qin Keqing leaned forward, indicating that she was listening attentively.

Marco Müller was increasingly satisfied with Qin Keqing. He said with a smile, "First, I'll try to find a way to help you get a ticket to the main competition."

The advantage is that the main competition section attracts a lot of attention, which is good for your reputation and can also serve as excellent publicity for the film.

However, winning an award in the main competition is a bit difficult; there's not enough time. Your film also has too many commercial elements and too little exploration of human nature, so winning an award is inherently difficult.

"Wasn't August 25th supposed to be the final batch of main competition entries? Is it possible to be selected now?"

Qin Keqing asked, somewhat puzzled.

"Ha ha……"

Marco Müller laughed. "Ke Qing, you still don't understand the traditions of the Venice Film Festival."

He counted on his fingers: "In 1980, the Venice Film Festival restarted its competition section. The films that ultimately won the Golden Lion that year, Atlantic City and Gloria, were announced only the day before the festival opened."

In 1988, Martin Scorsese's "The Last Temptation of Christ" was only selected for the screening section after the film festival had already opened.

In 1989, Pedro Almodóvar's "Woman on the Verge of Collapse" was also confirmed for the main competition just before the festival opened, and ultimately won the Best Screenplay award.

He looked at Qin Keqing and said with a smile, "Just say it's a surprise for movie fans, and it won't cause too much controversy."

When Qin Keqing heard Marco Müller mention "surprise," he seemed to realize something.

In later years, the Venice Film Festival established the "Surprise Films" program. The official explanation was that the film information was kept highly confidential throughout the process and was only officially announced to the public before the opening screening of the film festival, giving film fans a surprise.

According to this logic, does that mean that the list of entries for the main competition announced a few weeks before the film festival opens does not need to be kept "highly confidential throughout the process"?

Why are the names of the films selected for the main competition kept so closely guarded secret?

Haha, those who know, know. It's exactly the same situation Qin Keqing is facing now.

Among them, the most famous is Jia Zhangke's "Still Life".

In 2006, several days after the opening of the 63rd Venice Film Festival, "Still Life" was announced as a "surprise film" and was shortlisted for the main competition at the last minute. In the end, it won the highest prize, the Golden Lion.

South Korean director Kim Ki-duk's "3-Iron" was also announced as a "surprise film" for the main competition two days after the festival opened, and ultimately won the Jury Prize.

Du Qifeng's "Mad Detective" was also added to the main competition of the 64th Venice Film Festival as a "surprise film" after the festival opened.

The Venice Film Festival has many films like this.

"What's another suggestion?"

Qin Keqing asked with some curiosity.

"Another suggestion is to skip both the main competition and the non-competitive screenings, and instead go to the Critics' Week section. Although this section lacks authority, it can still be considered a competition section, since it awards prizes."

Marco Müller offered another suggestion.

"International Critics' Week?"

Qin Keqing immediately understood what Marco Müller meant.

The International Critics' Week is a relatively new event, jointly organized by the Italian Film Critics Association, the Venice Biennale, and the Venice Film Festival.

Currently, this emerging section is still in its growth stage and is far from reaching the same level as the Venice main competition section, nor does it have the same prestige as the Cannes Critics' Week, and it is even less authoritative and attracts more attention than the non-competitive screening section.

In fact, the Venice Film Festival at this stage does not yet have many sections such as the Horizons section and the Venice Days section. It only has the main competition section, the non-competitive screening section and the International Critics' Week section.

Since the International Critics' Week can be considered a competition section, the selected films have sufficient reason to be the closing films.

Not only did Qin Keqing understand what Marco Müller meant, but Duame also understood his meaning.

However, Qin Keqing was faced with the problem of deciding which unit would be better for her, while Du Amei was surprised by her husband.

Didn't you say you wouldn't help this time? Even the phone calls were made in my name.

But look at what you're doing!

This isn't just helping out; it's actively offering advice and solutions!