A widower's entertainment

Beijing, Yenching Film Academy.

Lin Zhaomei's short film "Destiny" was shortlisted for the Berlin Film Festival, which undoubtedly sparked considerable discussion on campus, with both teachers and students talking about it.

There was admiration, but also some sourness. For example, Lu Chuan, a graduate student in directing, was very unconvinced that Lin Zhaomei had started making short films while only a freshman. He knew that he had been admitted to the graduate program in directing at Yanjing Film Academy this year, but he hadn't even started filming yet. How could he easily think that Lin Zhaomei was so amazing since she was so young?

To be fair, Lu Chuan's father and Lin Zhaomei's father were both writers and screenwriters. However, Lu Chuan's father only made his first film, "Looking for a Gun," four years after graduating from the directing program at the age of 31. Now, seeing Lin Zhaomei, a freshman, starting to make short films and even getting into the Berlin Film Festival, he naturally felt a little uncomfortable.

"I wonder how much of her short film was thanks to her father?"

Naturally, some classmates nearby heard Lu Chuan's words. Although they thought Lu Chuan's words might be true, they still said, "She also got in with the highest score in her major, so she must be very good. I heard she works very hard and goes to watch movies and analyze films from time to time."

"Besides, it's not a big deal that her dad helped. After all, if I had a dad like that, I would definitely ask him for help too."

Another classmate nodded and said, "That's right. I heard that this short film cost more than 100,000 yuan, all of which was her father's funding for the filming."

"More than 100,000?"

Clearly, this number is something that other students envy.

Although those who were able to get into the directing department of Beijing Film Academy certainly came from well-off families, most of them wouldn't be able to come up with more than 100,000 yuan to make a film. In fact, even giving them 10,000 or 20,000 yuan would be quite difficult.

“She’s rich; she made millions just by selling a movie script to a Hollywood film company.”

"That's right, I heard it's still in US dollars, the script fee is really outrageous."

Hearing this, Lu Chuan felt even more that Lin Zhaomei was just relying on her father, and thought she wasn't very good. He said, "If we had that kind of money to make a film, it would definitely be just as good."

"We never have such a good opportunity!"

"Yes, after graduation, I don't know when I'll have the opportunity to make films and become a director."

"We'll have to see how Lin Zhaomei's short film turns out. We should know after the Berlin Film Festival next February."

"Zhou Fan from the photography department said the short film was pretty good, and the post-production even included English subtitles, so it's aimed at international film festivals."

"If this short film can win an award at the Berlin Film Festival, that would be truly remarkable."

"Of course! But regardless of whether they win an award or not, it's already quite remarkable that a freshman can make a short film and go to the Berlin Film Festival."

As these directing students discussed, it is undoubtedly quite remarkable that Lin Zhaomei, a first-year directing student, was able to shoot a short film for the Berlin Film Festival, especially since the film was shot before the start of the semester.

Xie Xiaojing, a teacher in the directing department, genuinely felt that Lin Zhaomei was quite remarkable. Although he knew that Lin Zhaomei's ability to make this short film was inseparable from the help of her father, Lin Youcheng, he still felt that Lin Zhaomei had made the film. If it could win a short film award at the Berlin Film Festival, it would undoubtedly be a source of pride for the film academy.

More importantly, Lin Zhaomei is only a freshman in college, and this short film has already been selected for the Berlin Film Festival. She will definitely be even more impressive when making feature films in the future.

"Zhaomei, congratulations! You're going to the Berlin Film Festival next, right?"

When Lin Zhaomei heard her teacher Xie Xiaojing ask this question, she nodded and said, "Yes."

"Are you going there alone?"

Undoubtedly, the school wouldn't support Lin Zhaomei's travel expenses to the Berlin Film Festival, and no organization would cover it; naturally, Lin Zhaomei would have to bear the costs herself, just as she was responsible for the short film's production costs.

Lin Zhaomei hesitated for a moment, but still said, "My dad will come with me. He's worried about me going alone."

Actually, Lin Zhaomei also wanted to say that her brother, Lin Zhaoqing, might also go along.

Lin Zhaomei was well aware that her father, Lin Youcheng, had never attended foreign film festivals and award ceremonies before. His decision to go abroad was all because of her. When the family learned of this news, even her brother, Lin Zhaoqing, was very excited. Now he didn't want to go to Decheng anymore and wanted to fly to Germany.

Actually, it wasn't just Lin Zhaoqing who wanted to go abroad with them; Lin Zhaole also had the same idea. However, it was clear that although Lin Youcheng, as the father, was willing to take his children abroad, it wasn't a simple matter to take them all. It wasn't about the travel expenses, but rather that going abroad meant being in a completely unfamiliar place. It was different from when he took his children to Shanghai by train before; after all, it was a real foreign country.

Lin Zhaoqing wanted to go together, so Lin Youcheng agreed. As for Lin Zhaoxi and Lin Zhaoman, they didn't have any particular ideas, or perhaps they didn't want to cause trouble for their father. Lin Zhaohuan also didn't say anything. Only Lin Zhaole insisted on going abroad together.

Xie Xiaojing was quite surprised to hear Lin Zhaomei's words, because he knew that Lin Youcheng had had many opportunities to go abroad before, but he had never gone, not even to the Oscars. Now he was actually accompanying Lin Zhaomei to the Berlin Film Festival, which surprised him. He smiled and said, "That's good. It's reassuring to have your father with you."

"I was originally thinking of asking you if you wanted to go to the Berlin Film Festival with the crew of 'Sunlight Canyon' and director He Ping."

This was also Xie Xiaojing's idea as a teacher. She thought that Lin Zhaomei wouldn't be familiar with the Berlin Film Festival if she went there herself, and it would be better for her to go with the "Sunlight Canyon" crew. Lin Zhaomei naturally knew that the film "Sunlight Canyon" was nominated for the main competition at the Berlin Film Festival. If her father wasn't going, it would undoubtedly be better for her to go with the "Sunlight Canyon" crew.

However, now that her father, Lin Youcheng, will be going with her, and there's a high chance that Warner Bros. will arrange for their reception, there's nothing to worry about. She knows this is because of her father; Warner Bros. knows Lin Youcheng is going to the Berlin Film Festival, and their film "The Sixth Sense" is currently showing in theaters, requiring promotion at the Berlin Film Festival and subsequent screenings in other European countries. Naturally, they've made special arrangements for Lin Youcheng's schedule.

It can be said that this is because Lin Youcheng's status in Hollywood is truly extraordinary. Warner Bros. attaches great importance to Lin Youcheng. Not only have they had a very successful collaboration before, but now the box office performance of the movie "The Sixth Sense" is quite phenomenal, and it is also expected to be nominated for an Oscar. This naturally makes Warner Bros. very excited and even more focused on collaborating with Lin Youcheng, this Eastern screenwriter. Now that Lin Youcheng is going to accompany his daughter to the Berlin Film Festival, they will naturally make all the necessary arrangements.

In truth, even if Warner Bros. hadn't arranged all of this, Lin Youcheng wasn't worried about going abroad. Although many of his friends were going abroad for the first time, he had experience with this kind of trip before, and he had also studied English beforehand, so he could communicate in a basic way. He didn't think going abroad was a big deal.

"Zhaomei, the school is considering whether to screen your short film first. They'd like to know if you'll wait until after the Berlin Film Festival, or—"

Upon hearing Xie Xiaojing's words, Lin Zhaomei thought for a moment and then said with a smile, "Teacher Xie, let's wait until after the Berlin Film Festival."

Upon hearing Lin Zhaomei's words, Xie Xiaojing understood and said, "Alright, then let's talk about it after you return from the Berlin Film Festival."

Lin Zhaomei nodded. Her sister, Lin Zhaoxi, was also very happy because her short film had been shortlisted for the Berlin Film Festival. She even said that she would take her short film to their school for screening. In fact, this was just like when Section Chief Jia screened his short film "Xiaoshan Goes Home" at Yenching University. Undoubtedly, Lin Zhaoxi doesn't usually like movies, but because of Lin Zhaomei, she would make a special trip to her school, Yenching Medical University, to screen it.

Lin Zhaomei knew very well that her eldest sister, Lin Zhaoxi, was just as happy for her as her father was, and supported her.

Xie Xiaojing looked at Lin Zhaomei. He had thought Lin Zhaomei was very talented when she was taking the art college entrance exam, and the story she told was also very engaging. But he hadn't expected Lin Zhaomei to shoot the short film so quickly, and now it had even been submitted to the Berlin Film Festival. She was truly outstanding.
"Zhaomei, keep up the good work, and try to bring a feature film to the Berlin Film Festival next time."

Lin Zhaomei was startled when she heard Xie Xiaojing's words. Taking a feature film to the Berlin Film Festival meant getting it into the main competition, which was incredibly difficult. She hadn't even thought about that yet.

After all, she is no longer the child who spoke carelessly as a kid, casually saying that she wanted to win the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival. She knows very well how difficult it is to make a feature film now, and she also knows very well how difficult it is to get into the main competition of the three major film festivals.

However, Lin Zhaomei looked at Xie Xiaojing, nodded, and said with a smile, "Teacher Xie, I will try my best."

Lin Zhaomei doesn't dare to say that she will definitely have her feature film nominated for the three major film festivals, but just like when she chose to study directing at the film academy, she will naturally work hard to pursue a career as a director.

The Berlin Film Festival is in February next year, which is close to Chinese New Year's Eve. Fortunately, it's not Chinese New Year yet. If it were during the Chinese New Year, Lin Zhaomei would consider whether to go to the Berlin Film Festival at this time. After all, for short films, winning an award doesn't seem to matter that much even if the person isn't there in person.

However, since it's currently winter break, it's not too difficult for her to go abroad, and the travel expenses aren't a problem either. So, Lin Zhaomei is naturally going to the Berlin Film Festival.

After that, Lin Youcheng naturally helped Lin Zhaomei and Lin Zhaoqing, as well as himself, with the necessary documents and procedures for traveling abroad. Before they knew it, it was 1996. Although Lin Zhaole also wanted to travel abroad, it was clear that Lin Youcheng and his group weren't going on vacation. They needed to rush back for the New Year, so Lin Zhaole wasn't allowed to come along.

Lin Zhaole was naturally very sensible and didn't insist on going along.

"Dad, I never imagined that my first time on an airplane would be going abroad."

Lin Zhaoqing was clearly very excited. He had originally planned to go to Decheng, but he never expected to have the opportunity to go to Germany, which really excited him.

The reason Lin Youcheng brought Lin Zhaoqing along was twofold. Firstly, Lin Zhaoqing was older, and he wanted to take him abroad to broaden his horizons. Secondly, it was also to have Lin Zhaoqing take care of Lin Zhaomei, since Lin Zhaoman and Lin Zhaoqing had served as Lin Zhaomei's assistants when the short film was being shot.

"If there's a chance later, I'll bring Zhaoman and the others along, but unfortunately, my eldest sister doesn't seem to be interested."

Upon hearing Lin Zhaoqing's words, Lin Zhaomei couldn't help but say something.

Lin Youcheng didn't actually think his grades were very good for going to Germany. You should know that at that time there was no direct flight from Beijing to Germany. It wasn't until 2008 that Hainan Airlines opened its first direct flight from Beijing to Berlin. Now, you would have to transfer.

Lin Zhaoqing and Lin Zhaomei undoubtedly followed their father, Lin Youcheng, and they admired him greatly, especially since Lin Youcheng had learned English with them and spoke it very well. Lin Zhaomei's English, which she had learned while studying in Beijing, was also quite good, but she lacked practical application and thought she should use English more in the future.

When Lin Youcheng and his group arrived in Berlin, Warner Bros. did indeed arrange for someone to pick him up and take him directly to a hotel near the Berlin Film Palace, the venue for the Berlin Film Festival.

Clearly, the film festival has now opened and is in full swing, with filmmakers from all over the country bringing their works here.

Lin Zhaomei and Lin Zhaoqing undoubtedly broadened their horizons as well. They had seen quite a lot in Beijing, the capital city, but seeing the film festival scenes abroad was very exciting because the atmosphere was truly vibrant.

Lin Youcheng then took Lin Zhaomei and Lin Zhaoqing to see some of the films that were nominated for the main competition.

"Lin Youcheng!"

Because it was abroad, it was rare to hear someone call out his name in Chinese, which surprised Lin Youcheng. When he turned around, he was surprised to see that it was film director Li An and Yang Dechang.

Li An didn't expect to actually meet Lin Youcheng at the Berlin Film Festival. Although Lin Youcheng rarely appears in public, his photos and videos naturally appear in the media. Li An especially liked Lin Youcheng's scripts and was deeply impressed by them, so he recognized Lin Youcheng at a glance.

For Li An'an, Lin Youcheng was undoubtedly a senior figure in Chinese-language cinema. He was clearly delighted to meet Lin Youcheng, and said with a smile, "I heard you were at the Berlin Film Festival, and I was really looking forward to meeting you. I didn't expect it to be such a coincidence." (End of Chapter)