nucmednet Chapter 10 Venice and the Gold Medal
Chapter 10 Venice and the Gold Medal
The process of registering a studio was simpler than Lin Ruiyang had imagined.
After obtaining the forms and filling out the documents from the Industry and Commerce Bureau, I went back to the school to get a site certificate. The whole process took three days, and the license was finally issued.
"The school's stamp is definitely more useful than a personal name," Lin Ruiyang remarked, looking at the license in his hand.
After resolving all the issues raised by Liu Yibing and adding English subtitles, the film crew was finally freed up.
Life returned to normal. Lin Ruiyang and Fatty went to class as usual, while Jin Kai and Li Li prepared for the screening and competition.
The photography department, in collaboration with Sin Li Film Equipment Company, established the Sin Li Award, which is held every two years and is an award specifically for works created by students.
During the two days of classes, Lin Ruiyang also heard that the Literature Department was going to hold an award event for film and television scripts, which seemed to be called the Golden Award, emphasizing story as king and sentiment as paramount.
However, none of this had much to do with him. Lin Ruiyang had already discussed with several people beforehand that the ultimate goal of "Condolences" was to submit it to the short film section of the Venice Film Festival.
Time flew by and it was almost the end of April.
Lin Ruiyang was called to Liu Yibing's office again, and he had to fill out forms again.
"You mentioned wanting to participate in the Venice short film competition. Fill out this form and apply for a recommendation from your school. Of course, let me clarify first: a recommendation is one thing, but whether you get shortlisted is another."
After speaking, Liu Yibing briefly explained the requirements for filling out the form.
"The deadline for submitting applications to the Venice Film Festival this year is mid-June, so we can put this on hold for now and there's no rush."
"Is there anything else, teacher?" Lin Ruiyang asked, somewhat puzzled.
"I'm sure you've heard that the Literature Department is planning to hold a Golden Award specifically for screenplays. You should submit 'The Monkey King Thrice Beats the White Bone Demon'."
"Which category should we apply for?"
"The short film script category, although it's a stage play, has a similar script length." Liu Yibing paused, "You don't need to worry too much about the judges."
Back in his dorm, Lin Ruiyang sorted out all the materials he needed to submit and arranged them in chronological order.
After finishing his work, he washed up, went to bed, and closed his eyes to think.
Venice, one of the three major film festivals, only submits about twenty short films to its short film section each year, while receiving thousands of submissions from around the world. Even with a school recommendation, what if you encounter judges with opposing tastes?
Looking back at this year's judges, it seems that no Chinese filmmakers were invited.
After thinking for a while, Lin Ruiyang suppressed these thoughts and then fell asleep.
The next morning, he and Fatty went to school at 10 a.m. Passing by the directing department building, they saw a poster on the door—the 57th Cannes Film Festival was about to open.
The above introduces the Chinese films that have been shortlisted: Zhang Yimou's "House of Flying Daggers" will be screened at Cannes, while Wang Jiawei's "2046" and young director Yang Chao's "Journey" have both been shortlisted for the main competition.
Several directing students were standing under the poster, discussing Yang Chao. He was a recent graduate with a master's degree in directing, and his first feature film had been selected for Cannes.
"I heard from the teacher that Yang Chao's film had particularly good long take choreography, and the judges especially liked it."
"The graduating class from our department last year is still working as an assistant on a project, while others have already made it to Cannes. We just can't compete with them."
Lin Ruiyang walked past without stopping.
The fat man followed behind him and whispered, "Old Lin, do you think we might one day end up like this...?"
"Don't make unrealistic promises to yourself; go to class first and lay a solid foundation for yourself."
Today was another professional class taught by Liu Yibing. During the break, he mentioned, "This year is a big year for film reform. The State Administration of Radio, Film and Television issued several documents at the beginning of the year. Now private enterprises can also enter the industry. Your class is lucky to have caught up with this time; you have more opportunities."
People in the classroom started whispering and discussing. As film school students, they had heard too many stories of their seniors failing to find success after graduation. In addition, the Beijing Film Academy encourages current students to try things out whenever they have the opportunity, so they have a better understanding of the actual situation.
"But policy is policy, and script is script. No matter how many opportunities you have, it's all for nothing if you can't come up with something good."
When Liu Yibing said this, his gaze lingered on Lin Ruiyang for a moment before shifting away.
Lin Ruiyang lowered his head, pondering in his mind. He understood what the old man meant.
The May Day holiday went by very quickly.
Lin Ruiyang didn't go anywhere during the holiday. After finishing his first short film, he realized he needed to watch more films and learn more. In those seven days, he managed to watch about ten films from beginning to end.
The fat guy went back to his hometown as soon as he got a holiday. When he came back, he brought a bag of braised duck from his family: "My mom told me to bring it for everyone to try."
As he unwrapped the plastic bag, he said, "I told her everything that had happened during this time. Then she asked me if we would ever see our names on the big screen again."
"So what did you say?"
The fat man chuckled: "I said that's a matter for the future."
Indeed, what we can do right now is to observe and learn more, and seize every hard-won opportunity.
After the holiday, Lin Ruiyang received a notification from Liu Yibing that the letter of condolence had been sent.
He breathed a sigh of relief, but the thought quickly returned; he needed to prepare the script for his next film, a feature film.
In mid-May, news came from Cannes.
The premiere of "2046" at Cannes saw Wong Kar-wai walk the red carpet with stars like Tony Leung, Gong Li, Zhang Ziyi, and Takuya Kimura, creating a star-studded event that garnered extensive media coverage in China. Zhang Yimou's "House of Flying Daggers" was also screened at Cannes, with a three-minute highlight reel reportedly edited specifically for the festival.
However, a few days later, when the final award results were announced, the tone of the domestic media changed noticeably.
2046 went home empty-handed at this year's Cannes Film Festival, where Quentin Tarantino served as jury president.
Sohu's homepage headline has been changed to "Cannes didn't see a Chinese film win." If it weren't for Yang Chao's "The Journey" receiving a Golden Camera nomination, Chinese-language films would have been completely wiped out this year.
Of course, Maggie Cheung won the Best Actress award for her role in Olivier Assayas's "Clean," becoming the first Chinese actress to win the Best Actress award in Cannes' 57-year history.
In contrast, Zhang Ziyi became the target of ridicule, with people saying that she brought ten suitcases, her fashion show was featured in the entertainment section every day, and she didn't even win an award in the end.
As a trendsetter for world cinema, the Cannes Film Festival offers Chinese-language films glitz and glamour on the red carpet, dazzling stars, and a deluge of media coverage, but in the end, the awards go to others.
After seeing these reports, Lin Ruiyang kept thinking about whether his first feature film should continue the award-winning route of "Condolences" or change course midway and make a commercial film first.