Huayu: The Big Players Behind the Scenes

On stage, the host introduced the event in Italian:

"In 'Seaside Town,' there are no flashy camera movements, but the cold color tone and cramped composition allow the damp fog to always shroud a sense of fatal desolation."

Congratulations to this 19-year-old prodigy director on winning the Golden Lion at the 59th Venice Film Festival!

A thunderous applause erupted in the auditorium. If Zhuang Huai'an's "The Hunt" proved his talent, then "Seaside Town" was the cornerstone of his becoming a great director.

As they walked onto the stage to accept the award, Gong Li gave him a hug and whispered in his ear, "Congratulations, this film truly deserves the award."

"Thank you, Sister Gong Li."

The two separated, and Zhuang Huai'an took the Golden Lion Trophy from her hands and went to the microphone.

"Thank you to the film festival organizing committee, thank you to the jury for recognizing our film crew, thank you to my alma mater, Beijing Film Academy, thank you to my lead actor, Mr. Wang Jingsong, thank you to all the actors and staff of the film crew, thank you to my father, Mr. Zhuang Kaixuan, and thank you to my fans who support me."

Zhuang Huai'an spoke calmly and impartially, saying, "Many people know that my feature film debut was 'The Hunt,' but actually 'Seaside Town' was the first screenplay I wrote. When filming began, I considered whether to have the protagonist choose to embrace life anew at the end."

Therefore, I devoted a lot of space to comparisons, comparing him to his ex-wife and his nephew, so that everyone would tell him, "We have all forgiven you, and you can start a new life."

But I think people have the right not to reconcile with themselves.

Thank you everyone.

The audience erupted in applause. Zhuang Huai'an was about to kiss the trophy, but then he thought about it and wondered if it was clean enough. So he simply held up the Golden Lion trophy with one hand, his smile incredibly bright.

Nearly a thousand people in the arena watched this spirited young man, and they couldn't help but feel moved, for the young phoenix's voice was clearer than the old phoenix's, and the student surpassed the master.

The Golden Lion Awards have been presented, and the film festival has officially come to a close. Gong Li took the initiative to approach Zhuang Huai'an and Wang Jingsong, inviting them to a banquet.

Zhuang Huai'an was still feeling a bit unwell. He didn't want to go, but one has to be considerate of others. Not to mention that Venice had given him the Golden Lion, Gong Li had personally invited him, so he had to give her face.

At this time in China,

Because of the time difference, it was still 3 a.m.

However, this was precisely the time when major newspapers were printing. After the news came back, the editors quickly wrote articles, formatted them, and tried to send them out as soon as possible.

"Warmest congratulations to our emerging director Zhuang Huai'an on winning the Golden Lion at the 59th Venice Film Festival!"

"Following Zhang Yimou, another mainland director has won the Golden Lion!"

"A review of this year's Golden Lion Award nominees reveals that 'Seaside Town' truly deserves its place!"

"The 5th Golden Lion Award for Chinese cinema!"

Although it's not so much that Venice favors Chinese films as it seems that they favor Zhang Yimou, Zhuang Huai'an, at the age of 19, has already won awards at two major film festivals, showing that his future is limitless.

The Beijing Film Academy campus after daybreak

Having already received the news, the Crouching Dragon and the Phoenix Chick took out banners. They had made this preparation after returning from Venice, but since they were unsure which award Zhuang Huai'an would win, they made one banner for all the major awards.

Today is September 9th, and the freshmen of the Class of 2002 have already enrolled.

Luo Jin, who had just finished breakfast, saw two senior students walking towards the school gate with smiles on their faces and asked, "Brothers, where are you going?"

"Ah, it's Luo Jin."

Wang Zhiyong had met Zhuang Huai'an, a fellow townsman, once before. He explained with a smile, "Yesterday morning, Huai'an won the Venice Golden Lion Award, and Haozi and I went to the school gate to hang up a banner."

"Senior Huai'an won the Golden Lion!!" Luo Jin exclaimed in shock.

Before Wang Zhiyong could answer him, a voice came over the campus loudspeaker.

"Ahem... Good morning, students. I'm Wang Hongwei, the head of the Directing Department. Today, I'm here on the instructions of the school leaders to announce some good news."

Just four hours ago, Zhuang Huai'an, a sophomore majoring in directing at our school, won the Golden Lion at the 59th Venice International Film Festival for his film "Seaside Town"!

This is an honor for Huai'an, and also an honor for the school…”

Old Wang kept talking on the radio, and the students on campus were in an uproar.

Luo Jin snapped out of his daze, eagerly stepped forward and took the banner from Wang Zhiyong's hand, his face full of sycophancy: "Brothers, I'm here to help you."

"Let's go!" Wang Zhiyong waved his hand, and the three of them walked towards the school gate. On the way, they met up with the three heroes from the vocational class who had brought the stairs. The group looked at each other and burst out laughing in unison.

"Warmest congratulations to Zhuang Huai'an, a sophomore majoring in directing at our school, for winning the Golden Lion at the 59th Venice Film Festival for his film 'A Small Town by the Sea'!"

"Is it all set?" Luo Jin asked, standing on the retractable staircase.

Wang Zhiyong examined it for a while, then nodded: "I think it's okay. Come down, but take it slow."

"Alright."

Just as everyone at the Beijing Film Academy was celebrating, Zhuang Huai'an had already woken up from his nap.

He felt the long-lost power within him and couldn't help but curse.

"I feel much better now that I'm going back to China. Damn, Venice really is my nemesis!"

He opened his phone and looked at the flood of text messages. He felt incredibly relieved that he had removed the battery last night so he could get a good night's sleep.

Zhuang Huai'an glanced at it and one of the messages, which contained emoticons, stood out.

"Congratulations, senior! You're the youngest winner of the Golden Lion Award! You have to treat us when you get back! *^_^*"

Zhuang Huai'an couldn't help but smile as he typed back, "OK!"

After checking the time, he got up, quickly washed up, greeted Wang Jingsong next door, and went alone to the coffee shop on the first floor of the hotel.

"An, good morning. Did you sleep well last night?" Leo stepped forward and hugged him, winking as he said, "I haven't congratulated you on becoming the youngest Golden Lion winner yet."

"Thank you, Leo. You deserve some credit for this award, don't you?"

The two smiled knowingly.

At the banquet last night, Gong Li told him a secret: the organizers originally intended to give him only a Best Actor or Silver Lion Director award, but during the voting process, one of the judges changed his mind at the last minute and cast the crucial vote for the seaside town.

The organizing committee had no choice but to reluctantly admit it.

Zhuang Huai'an wasn't surprised when he heard this. The idea of ​​dividing a cake applies all over the world. After all, there is no absolute fairness in this world. Besides, he is of Chinese descent. It would be good enough if he gave you a silver lion.

Marshal Zhang's words are universally applicable!

Gong Li told herself about the identity of that judge.

Jacques Audiard, French director and screenwriter.

Think about it carefully, is there any connection between her decision and the French film giant MK2?

"An, we're old friends. I'll make an offer for your film."

Leo elegantly toasted his cigar, looking at Zhuang Huai'an with a smile: "Excluding Asian distribution rights, 1500 million euros!"

Huh? Zhuang Huai'an paused involuntarily while smoking. All the negotiation strategies he had prepared in his mind suddenly became useless in the face of this price.

"To be honest, An, in my personal opinion, I really like both of your movies. I want to be friends with you, not in a business sense."

Leo's face showed a hint of sincerity. "Perhaps you could say I'm your fan."