Huayu: The Big Players Behind the Scenes

Time flies, and it's already May.

The opening ceremony of this year's Cannes Film Festival is scheduled for May 9th.

Therefore, Zhuang Huai'an and the others must arrive before the 6th.

Worried that his sect's holy son lacked experience, Zhang Huijun waved his hand and sent Wang Hongwei to lead the team, along with several senior teachers.

As an international film festival and the world's largest market for film copyright trading, Cannes naturally attracts the attention of China Film Group.

So the two groups decided to go together.

At Beijing Airport, Zhuang Huai'an led Wolong and Fengchu, Ning Hao, and Wang Hongwei with several teachers, along with a few staff members from China Film Group.

A large group of people boarded the plane.

Han Sanping will depart a few days later due to work commitments. The Cannes Film Festival lasts for 10 days, and he only needs to make it to the closing ceremony.

There are no direct flights from Beijing to Cannes; a layover in Paris is required. After more than 20 hours of travel, the group finally landed.

Cannes is located in the Mediterranean region, and the temperature in May is comfortable.

As they boarded the car sent by China Film Group, everyone looked out the window. The atmosphere of the film festival was strong, with posters and signs for various films hanging on both sides of the road.

The film festival's official invitation limits participants to five. The organizers cover the travel and accommodation expenses for these five people, while other accompanying persons are responsible for their own expenses.

Zhuang Huai'an, along with Ning Hao (who played Wolong and Fengchu) and their instructor Wang Hongwei, checked into the Palm Hotel. The other teachers accompanied them to their dormitories with the staff from China Film Group.

Outside the hotel lobby, a middle-aged white man with glasses and a neatly trimmed mustache warmly extended his hand and said in English, "Let me introduce myself. I'm Renault, the staff member sent by the organizing committee to liaise with you."

"Hello Mr. Renault, I'm Zhuang Huai'an, you can call me An." Zhuang Huai'an replied in fluent English, shaking hands with him with a smile.

"OMG, An, even though I already knew you were only 19, after meeting you, I still couldn't help but marvel at how God has been so kind to you, giving you not only good looks but also plenty of talent."

Zhuang Huai'an has a rugged and handsome face, and with his height of 185 cm, his appearance is very popular with the French.

"Thank you for your compliment. Mr. Renault's outfit also matches my impression of French men—elegant and handsome. It's a real loss for Paris Fashion Week not to invite you to be their editor-in-chief."

Who says foreigners don't care about social etiquette? Zhuang Huai'an made Renault grin from ear to ear with just a few words.

After distributing the room keys to everyone, Reno left his festival credentials, event schedule, official guide, and his phone number before departing.

The organizers only provided three rooms: one single room and two double rooms. Zhuang Huai'an originally wanted Lao Wang to sleep in the suite while he would make do with Ning Hao, but Lao Wang refused. Although he had never been to Cannes before, he knew that as the director's good apprentice, he would inevitably have to attend social events.

The single room is actually a large suite, which would be more suitable for my good apprentice.

Exhausted from the journey, everyone washed up and went to sleep.

The next morning, everyone who had rested gathered in Zhuang Huai'an's room.

"Zhiyong, have you arranged accommodations for Professor Wang Zhiwen?"

"I went to the front desk this morning to ask," Wang Zhiyong said with a smile. "We were lucky; this hotel had one last suite left, and I booked it."

"That's good," Zhuang Huai'an nodded.

The Hunt is a male-centric film, and Cannes doesn't have many awards like Best Supporting Actor. Although the second male lead, Kang Oh, will be coming, his brother, Kang Moon, is also here, and the two brothers plan to go together.

Aside from these two, the other characters in the drama have too few scenes. The entertainment industry now is not like that of later generations, where people are always trying to get on the red carpet and outshine others.

Coming here at their own expense is quite a lot of money, so apart from these two, no one else came.

After resting at the hotel for another day, Wang Zhiwen arrived.

December 9th,

After lunch, Renault went to the hotel and explained the details of the opening ceremony that evening to everyone.

Upon arriving at the waiting area of ​​Cannes Palace, the magnificent sunset reflected off the flashing lights in the distance, where media from all over the world gathered on both sides of the red carpet with various equipment.

The open space at the back was now filled with fans holding up support posters.

Ning Hao paced back and forth nervously as he looked at the scene. Zhuge Liang and Feng Chu were even more nervous, holding hands and encouraging each other.

"Relax, today is just the opening ceremony."

Zhuang Huai'an comforted everyone, although he was also a little nervous. After all, he was only receiving the memories of the works. Having lived two lives, this was the first time he had faced such a scene.

"If the opening ceremony is like this, then the closing ceremony must be like a plane taking off!" Ning Hao became even more nervous.

The two old men, Wang and Jiang Wu, looked calm. It was also the first time for the three of them to come to Cannes, but they had been to other film festivals before and knew the process.

"Hey, An,"

Renault walked over with a smile. "You've been scheduled to perform third to last, which is great news."

"Renault, why do you say that?" Zhuang Huai'an asked.

"This is a Cannes tradition. Generally, the higher the status, the later the appearance. Although I don't understand why a new director like you is placed so late, I think it must be because your film is good enough that the organizers are willing to give you this position."

"I see,"

Zhuang Huai'an nodded. Isn't this the same as the "grand finale" in China? It seems this thing is used all over the world.

"An, get in the car, you're next." Renault instructed everyone to get into the car.

Zhuang Huai'an took a deep breath, looked at everyone, and said in a deep voice, "Zhiyong, Haozi, Haoge, cheer up! We represent China, don't embarrass us!"

"Yes!" The three people whose names were called nodded firmly.

"Get on the bus, let's go!"

Zhuang Huai'an waved his hand and silently added in his mind: Let's conquer Cannes!

The vehicle slowly drove toward the red carpet entrance, and staff members stepped forward to open the car door.

"Here comes the crew of 'The Hunt,' from China. The director of this film, An, is only 18 years old this year! It's worth mentioning that in addition to being shortlisted for the main competition, An also has a short film shortlisted for the short film category." The host's voice carried a hint of deliberate excitement.

Instantly, all the cameras on site focused on the entrance.

Zhuang Huai'an got out of the car first, walked forward calmly, and waved to the surroundings.

Seeing his composure, the crowd behind him relaxed somewhat and followed him forward.

Too young!

A gasp of amazement rippled through the reporters on both sides of the red carpet.

"An, look here."

"Director Zhuang, over here, over here."

"An, please."

Shouts in various languages ​​mingled with the sound of camera shutters. Zhuang Huai'an walked and stopped in a cooperative manner, and even the Crouching Dragon and Phoenix Chick Ning Hao got a lot of shots.

As the red carpet event was about to end, a male host, with a formulaic smile, stepped forward and stopped Zhuang Huai'an and the others.

"An, as far as I know, this is your first time in Cannes, and Virgo has already made it into the main competition. How does that feel?"

"Very good, thank you very much to the organizers for appreciating my work." Zhuang Huai'an said with a smile.

So, what are your expectations regarding awards?

In this situation, saying too much would only lead to more mistakes, so Zhuang Huai'an replied briefly: "Being shortlisted is already an affirmation of my work. As for the awards, I believe the judges will make their own judgments."

"Okay, I look forward to seeing your movie."

After the interview, everyone stepped onto the stairs.

As they entered the auditorium and looked at each other in bewilderment, Renault appeared before them at just the right moment and led them to their seats in the reserved area.

This year's Cannes Film Festival saw a lack of star power from the Chinese film industry.

Besides Zhuang Huai'an and others, one of the more notable ones is the film "Ren Xiaoyao," a co-production between China, Japan, South Korea, and France, directed by Jia Zhangke.

Other special attention sections also include Chinese-language films, but those are consolation prizes, and the organizers will not invite them to walk the red carpet.