A widower's entertainment

Beijing, Yenching Film Academy.

The popularity of the movie "The Sixth Sense" abroad has been reported in China, but it's mostly known to filmmakers that Lin Youcheng's latest collaboration with Warner Bros. in Hollywood is very popular in the United States. As for the general public, they are naturally unaware of this news.

However, this news has been discussed in the film industry. Even students in film schools have heard of the movie "The Sixth Sense." Even those who haven't seen the movie yet have heard that it is very popular abroad and has caused a huge sensation.

"Zhaomei, I heard that your father has another movie that is very popular in the United States and is doing very well at the box office."

When Lin Zhaomei heard what her classmate said to her, she nodded. She naturally knew that the movie was "The Sixth Sense". Although she had not seen the movie yet, she had read the script and was very impressed with the story her father wrote.

"I've heard about it too. I think the movie is called 'The Sixth Sense'."

"I really want to go to the cinema to see this movie right now."

"Yes, I wonder if this movie can be shown in Chinese cinemas?"

Obviously, film school students, especially those majoring in directing, are very much looking forward to and curious about excellent and exciting films, and are eager to see what kind of films they are as soon as possible.

After all, the name Lin Youcheng is enough to make film school students adore him, not to mention that his latest film is very popular abroad. This naturally makes students who appreciate foreign films even more adore Lin Youcheng. After all, Lin Youcheng is a rare domestic filmmaker who has been able to gain a foothold in Hollywood and even won an Oscar.

"It must be very difficult. I heard that Teacher Lin wrote a supernatural story for this movie, it seems to be a ghost movie."

"really?"

"Zhaomei, is the movie script your father wrote this time really a horror movie?"

Undoubtedly, even film school students would find it hard to imagine that screenwriter Lin Youcheng, a renowned screenwriter, would write a ghost movie script.

Lin Zhaomei didn't really like her classmates constantly asking about her father, but she knew that this was something she had to face. After all, they were all in the film industry, and no matter how they discussed it, they couldn't avoid talking about her father, an internationally renowned screenwriter.

Lin Zhaomei nodded and said, "It's a horror movie. I'll definitely have a chance to watch it sometime."

Although Lin Zhaomei thought it would be difficult to import this ghost movie into China, she believed it would definitely be shown in Hong Kong, and there would certainly be some DVDs available later. Not to mention that film academies like theirs should always pay attention to excellent foreign films.

"Is it really a horror movie?"

The other classmates around Lin Zhaomei were still discussing Lin Youcheng's movie, but Lin Zhaomei didn't want to say anything more and left directly.

Jiang Yan knew that Lin Zhaomei didn't like to talk about her father and would try to avoid it sometimes. Instead of continuing the conversation about Lin Youcheng's movies, she quietly asked Lin Zhaomei, "How's your short film going? Has it been submitted to the film festival yet?"

When Lin Zhaomei heard her classmate Jiang Yan mention her short film "Destiny," her eyes flashed, and she said, "I don't know if it will be shortlisted yet."

Lin Zhaomei has finished editing and post-production of her short film "Destiny," and she naturally plans to submit it to an international film festival. Obviously, her father is very supportive of her. It is because of her father's influence, and with the help of a Hollywood film company, that her short film "Destiny" has been submitted to the Berlin Film Festival, one of the three major film festivals, for short film selection.

Lin Zhaomei is currently just waiting for news.

Although Lin Zhaomei herself was very satisfied with the short film "Destiny", it was, after all, her first attempt as a director. Even though her father, Lin Youcheng, thought the short film she made was quite good, she was still a little unsure about participating in the short film competition at the Berlin Film Festival.

It's worth noting that even Jia Zhangke's short film "Xiaoshan Goes Home" was only submitted to Hong Kong for short film competitions, while her short film was submitted to the Berlin Film Festival.

Of course, Lin Zhaomei felt that it didn't matter even if she wasn't shortlisted, since she could still participate in lower-level film festivals and award selections, just like submitting literary manuscripts. Moreover, as a director, she naturally had great confidence in her own work.

If a work isn't shortlisted, it's either because the judges lacked discernment or the work didn't suit their tastes.

These were all things her father, Lin Youcheng, had told her. Her father really liked her short film "Destiny," and she liked it very much too. In particular, she really liked Zhou Xun's performance in the short film. It could be said that when the short film was being filmed, she suddenly understood why her father's company had signed Zhou Xun, an unknown newcomer. She really thought Zhou Xun was a particularly good actress. Even when playing two different identities of the same person, her performance surprised her.

With such a wonderful performance and a compelling story, Lin Zhaomei put a lot of effort into polishing this short film. In order to participate in the short film competition at an international film festival, she even added English subtitles during post-production.

The fact that it has English subtitles alone is extremely rare for a short film in China, considering that it is only a short film.

However, this is also the reason why Lin Youcheng's father provided financial support. This would undoubtedly be more advantageous for participating in the selection of foreign film festivals. Although the judges of foreign film festivals do not only look at the subtitles, but also at the story, for example, Jiang Wen's "In the Heat of the Sun" officially premiered in Venice, but was accidentally shown with Italian subtitles. This made the English-speaking jury, including Chairman David Lynch, have to watch the film by guessing. But even so, it did not affect the film's winning of awards.

Lin Zhaomei has now put a lot of effort into polishing the film, and now it remains to be seen whether the Berlin Film Festival will include it in their short film section and whether it will win an award.

Lin Zhaomei's mindset is actually not too bad.

Jiang Yan naturally knew that Lin Zhaomei had submitted her short film to the Berlin Film Festival for judging, and said, "Don't worry, your story is so wonderful, it will definitely be successful."

In Jiang Yan's opinion, the story of "Destiny" is quite compelling, especially the two contrasting fates of the characters. She truly admires Lin Zhaomei's ideas, particularly considering that the issue of exam cheating actually occurred in China. "Let's wait for further news!"

Lin Zhaomei replied with a smile.

Actually, it wasn't just Lin Zhaomei who was waiting for news; Lin Youcheng and some teachers from the Beijing Film Academy were also waiting. They naturally knew that Lin Zhaomei's short film had been submitted to the Berlin Film Festival for judging, and they very much hoped that Lin Zhaomei could be selected. Of course, even if she wasn't selected, it wouldn't matter, since Lin Zhaomei was only a freshman in college. If she could shoot a short film at such a young age, she would definitely be able to shoot a feature film in the future.

As for filming a feature film while still in school, the film academy hadn't considered it. Firstly, the domestic film market was currently facing difficulties, and secondly, Lin Zhaomei was still a student. However, they were all well aware that if Lin Zhaomei continued to film short films while in school, she would eventually have a feature film to make; it was just a matter of time. After all, Lin Zhaomei had her father, Lin Youcheng, and they were all very clear that with Lin Youcheng's support, Lin Zhaomei would not lack funding for filming.

Lin Youcheng, as a father, would naturally support his daughter; otherwise, he wouldn't have specifically asked Lin Zhaomei to submit the short film "Destiny" to the Berlin Film Festival.

Lin Youcheng is very clear about the principle that one should become famous as early as possible. Since Lin Zhaomei wants to pursue the path of film director, it is naturally better to become famous as soon as possible. The timing of the Berlin Film Festival is suitable. The festival will open in February next year. Moreover, the competition in the short film section of the Berlin Film Festival is not so fierce now. The Best Short Film award is not just given to one film. For example, the Best Short Film award at the 45th Berlin International Film Festival at the beginning of this year was won by two short films at the same time. There have even been times when three short films won the Best Short Film award at the same time.

This is why Lin Youcheng had Lin Zhaomei submit the short film "Destiny" to the Berlin Film Festival. Even if it wasn't selected, it could go to the Cannes Film Festival in May, or even to the short film section of another film festival of a lower caliber.

In Lin Youcheng's opinion, the short film "Destiny" is undoubtedly an excellent short film. Although it does not have the same pace as "Run Lola Run", it is a short film story and can be said to be even more fast-paced than "The Birth of a String". In particular, the ending of the short film is designed as a loop, which is also quite wonderful.

Lin Youcheng was naturally very optimistic about Lin Zhaomei's "Destiny".

In fact, there was another reason why Lin Youcheng asked Lin Zhaomei to choose the Berlin Film Festival: the Berlin Film Festival had invited Lin Youcheng, an internationally renowned screenwriter, to serve as a jury member for the main competition.

It can be said that Lin Youcheng, an international screenwriter, has been invited not only by the Berlin Film Festival in February next year, but also by the three major film festivals. They have been trying to invite Lin Youcheng to serve as a jury member and are very keen to do so, given that his works are recognized worldwide. However, Lin Youcheng has not agreed to serve yet.

Lin Youcheng was invited to the Berlin Film Festival this year, but he declined because he is not the chairman of the jury for the main competition, but just a jury member, and he did not feel obligated to participate.

Even though Lin Zhaomei's short film was submitted to the Berlin Film Festival, Lin Youcheng did not necessarily have to serve as a jury member for the main competition. After all, Lin Zhaomei's work was not submitted to the main competition. Of course, if it were the main competition, Lin Youcheng would have declined.

Although he hoped that Lin Zhaomei would win the award, he did not want it to cause controversy. Having her father as a judge presenting the award to his daughter would certainly draw a lot of criticism.

Even though Lin Zhaomei's short film "Destiny" has been selected for the short film section of the Berlin Film Festival, Lin Youcheng has no intention of taking on the role of a jury member in the main competition.

Yes, good news has come from the Berlin Film Festival: Lin Zhaomei's short film "Destiny" has been shortlisted for the short film section and will be competing for the Best Short Film award.

Undoubtedly, the Chinese side places greater emphasis on the main competition section of the Berlin Film Festival, especially since this year's festival features many Chinese-language films, such as He Ping's "Sunlight Canyon," Yan Hao's "The Sun Has Ears," Yang Dechang's "Mahjong," and another film, "Sense and Sensibility," an English-language film by Taiwanese director Li An.

The short film section didn't receive much attention, but it caused a huge stir at the Beijing Film Academy because it was a short film by a first-year directing student, which naturally made the entire film academy excited.

However, after learning that the director of this short film was Lin Zhaomei, everything seemed to make perfect sense.

After all, Lin Zhaomei is Lin Youcheng's daughter.

It's safe to say that the entire Yenching Film Academy is buzzing with discussion, and if they could win the short film award, it would undoubtedly make Lin Zhaomei, a freshman, even more popular.

Now that Lin Zhaomei's "Destiny" has been shortlisted for the short film section of the Berlin Film Festival, it undoubtedly means that Lin Zhaomei will be attending the Berlin Film Festival. Of course, she can choose not to attend, but even a short film can sell its rights, not to mention that Lin Zhaomei may also win an award.

Lin Youcheng, Lin Zhaomei's father, naturally accompanied her there.

"Youcheng, I didn't expect you to go abroad this time, to the Berlin Film Festival?"

When Chen Aige heard the news that Lin Zhaomei's short film had been shortlisted for the Berlin Film Festival, he wasn't too surprised. After all, he already knew that Lin Youcheng's daughter, Lin Zhaomei, had been admitted to the Directing Department of Beijing Film Academy, and that her classmate, Tian Zhuangzhuang, had been her mentor. Although he felt it was a bit early to send a short film to the Berlin Film Festival, he knew that Lin Zhaomei had her father, Lin Youcheng, protecting her, so it wasn't anything out of the ordinary.

Chen Aige was even more surprised that Lin Youcheng was going to the Berlin Film Festival.

It's worth noting that when "Atonement" was nominated for Cannes, "Amour" for Venice, and "The Reader" for Berlin, Lin Youcheng didn't attend any of the film festivals.

Moreover, Lin Youcheng, who is quite well-known in both the literary and film industries and abroad, had received numerous invitations, including the highest mystery award in Japan, the world's highest science fiction award, and the Oscars in the film industry, but he did not attend any of them.

I've never been abroad!
It's quite unexpected that Lin Youcheng is now accompanying his daughter to the Berlin Film Festival.

When Lin Youcheng heard Chen Aige's question, he smiled and said, "It's nothing. I will definitely go with Zhaomei. Otherwise, I won't feel at ease."

How could he possibly feel at ease letting Lin Zhaomei go to the Berlin Film Festival alone? As her father, he naturally had to accompany her. Moreover, he had never said that he wouldn't go abroad; he just felt that the journey was too long and unnecessary.

And even though he had said that for the sake of his children, he, as a father, could break his own principles. (End of Chapter)