Generation Z Artists

Chapter 304 Award Ceremony, Showdown

The chaotic 10 days passed quickly, and Yang Mi felt as if she were in a dream.

Every day, "Less Than You" has at least 3 screenings, at different times and in different theaters.

Every show is sold out.

Every time she arrives at a film set, fans greet her with delight, exclaiming, "Mi, you acted so well!"

Of course, the most common greeting is "bitch".

But that's not important; what's important is that she became famous.

Even a little fame is still fame. How many domestic actresses can get such exposure at Cannes?
It's so wonderful to film with my brother!
From CCTV6 to AFP, Xiao Mi certainly got her fill of being interviewed, witnessed some truly grand occasions, and even wore her first LV haute couture gown.

With the closing ceremony approaching, LV didn't ask a single question, but quietly sponsored the entire cast's formal wear.

Just kidding, anyone could be absent from the closing ceremony, but "Less You" is the only one that can't be absent.

From the event program to the general public, opinions widely believe that "Les Young" is likely to win at least two major awards—the most popular choice is Best Actress, followed by the Silver Palm (Jury Prize).

The Palme d'Or, Best Director, and Best Actor awards each come with their own pressures. "Better Days" was definitely shortlisted for the final selection, but unlike the Oscars, Cannes doesn't allow one film to dominate, so the jury will definitely have to make some choices.

If you ask Fang Xinghe what award he most wants to win, it has to be the Palme d'Or, which is for Best Film.

To this end, LV and Cartier's media outlets have been working tirelessly on promotion—if the older generation wants a new toy but can't afford it, then they should hurry up and promote it.
Therefore, all negative reviews on the market have dedicated commentaries to counteract them.

Is it lacking in artistry?
LV's Artistic Director: "Compared to those dull, tedious, and sleep-inducing true art films, the problem with 'Less Than You' isn't that it's not artistic enough, but that it has gone too far in combining artistry and commercial appeal, to the point that you've become so arrogant as to think you're qualified to critique such a great film..."

Is the narrative style too traditional?
The director of the French National School of Image and Sound: "Many of our filmmakers today are going further and further astray on the so-called path of innovation. They are talking about aesthetic courage and formal innovation with great relish, but they have forgotten the premise and root of everything."

A good filmmaker must lay a solid foundation in narrative, and must first become a master of traditional narrative before he can talk about innovation.

The so-called innovation of a director who can't tell a story well is nothing but sensationalism!
Therefore, innovation is the privilege of a very small number of masters.

So how does one become such a master?

To make a solid and classic narrative film, similar to "Better Days".

Forgive my bluntness, but Star River has gone much further on the path to becoming a cinematic master than you have ever been…

Is the ending too positive and not realistic enough?

The chairman of the UK Anti-Bullying Society said: "Yes, we have concrete figures showing that in all cases of school bullying, less than 15% of the victims receive proper handling and effective care from their families, schools, and society."

The vast majority of the rest were submerged in the gloom and despair described by some film critics.

However, my attitude towards this reality has always been that this is precisely what we need to work hard to correct, not something that external media should sensationalize.

The message of "Better Days" is absolutely brilliant. I mean, redemption—this positive and uplifting idea is fantastic!
We will reflect the harsh reality in our report and urge the government and education sector to make efforts to correct it. Film and television works do not need to repeat our work at all!
The greatest value of film and television works lies in conveying hope, not in pursuing realism for its own sake or darkness for its own sake...

The entire European art world was in an uproar because of "Less You".

Actually, it's not that "Young Love" has such a huge influence, but rather that Brother Fang's influence has reached that level.

I made a coming-of-age film, and even literary giants from Europe commented on it, whether it was exaggerated or not.

This seemingly idle master is Herta Müller, a German writer known for her unique poetic language and critique of totalitarianism. She has long been regarded as a major European literary force destined to win the Nobel Prize in Literature.

She publicly supported Fang Xinghe in the newspaper.

"First of all, the person I'm most interested in, Star River, is a writer."

As a writer, he was known for his unconventional narrative structure and flamboyant writing style, often launching fierce challenges to serious traditions.

However, when directing his first film, Star River returned to tradition, using the most conventional narrative to achieve the goal of appealing to both highbrow and lowbrow audiences.

I don't think he lacks the ability to innovate at the level of cinematic language—writers of a certain caliber should understand what I mean—it's much simpler to reorganize multiple elements such as visuals, colors, dialogue, and sound effects than to innovate by mastering a single text.

Star River is clearly on a higher level, so you can't judge its restraint as mere regularity. It simply chose to highlight the story itself and the actors' performances within various emphases, nothing more.

How effective was it? I don't need to say more; the overwhelming calls for Best Actor and Best Actress awards are proof enough.

On the other hand, he really is an outrageous writer—I've always categorized him as a writer, but if he keeps making films like this, the literary world will probably have to expel him.

Because the novel he wrote for the movie of the same name was really bad.

This is another difference between movies and novels.

I watched Fang and Liu's faces on the big screen with great interest, laughing and crying at the same time.

Going back to read the novel of the same name, ugh, what utter garbage!

Miller was a madman; his commentary was condescending, filled with the sense of superiority of a literary master standing at the top of a hierarchy of contempt.

To be honest, the average reader and movie fan isn't really interested.

But his influence wasn't limited to the general public—Egyptian writer Ahmed Mahmoud, a member of the judging panel, was a big fan of his.

The intelligence came from LV's network of connections, and the fact that Miller was able to speak out is not worth investigating further.

During the 10 days of the screening, the head of the online trolls didn't have a moment's rest.

Surely no one really believes that the three major European film festivals, such as Cannes, can completely guarantee fairness?
No way, no way, no way?
Although the Cannes jury can't engage in public relations like the Oscars, there are still many ways to win awards, and Fang Ge isn't the type to just wait for a windfall.

However, he could refute all the negative opinions about "Less Than You," but he couldn't refute one major hot topic—

Liu Yifei has a higher probability of winning an acting award than Fang Xinghe.

Three reasons.

First, Chen Nian does have more room to perform.

Xiao Bei's outburst was more about actions and physicality, while Chen Nian's outburst was about emotions and soul.

In the same interrogation scene, Xiao Bei's performance had to be passive, while Chen Nian's was more unrestrained; there was no way around it.

Second, Fang Xinghe's votes were too scattered.

He was the screenwriter, the lead actor, and the director; he deserves all the awards.

However, it's impossible to give him all the awards.

Therefore, he will most likely only be able to win one of the three major individual awards: Best Original Screenplay, Best Actor, and Best Director.

Winning Best Actor is less desirable than winning Best Director.

This is a happy problem.

Third, the competition for Best Actor is stronger.

This year's Cannes lacked truly eye-catching female performances, but the male lead films, such as "Uzak," "Mystic River," and "The Lost Man," were all heavyweight contenders.

Fang Xinghe delivered an absolutely award-winning performance, but whether he can win the Best Actor award no longer depends on his performance.

During a casual chat, Gong Li joked with him, "Don't you regret training Sissi to be so outstanding? Her chances of winning Best Actress are squeezing out your chances of winning Best Actor..."

Liu Yifei and Liu Xiaoli turned their heads at the same time to look at Fang Xinghe.

This topic has been widely discussed in the media in recent days.

Most experts believe that Fang Xinghe deserves a Best Actor award for his performance, but Liu Yifei deserves a Best Actress award.

Given the limited number of award slots, the two of them have effectively become internal competitors.

Fang Xinghe calmly shook his head: "I am a director first and an actor second. My primary goal is always to be responsible for the final effect of the film. Xixi acted very well and made a huge contribution to the breakthrough in the quality of the film. I will be very gratified if she wins the Best Actress award."

Yang Xiaomi couldn't help but purse her lips.

You're her dad? What's there to be happy about!

The two little girls did not become friends. No matter how much they reconciled, they could never completely turn the page on what had happened on the set.

They became complete nodding acquaintances—nodding to each other when they met in public, but not even bothering to nod in private.

Moreover, according to Fang Xinghe's observation, Yang Xiaomi is becoming increasingly hostile towards Liu Xiaofei, while Liu Xiaofei, in turn, ignores her. This is a completely different relationship from his previous life, which is... quite interesting.

"Director, you're definitely going to win Best Actor!"

Yang Mi spoke sweetly, like a little puppy's lap.

I pray for you every day!

Sister Gong and Uncle Chen both looked over, their expressions a mix of amusement and disbelief. Dong Youde quickly changed the subject.

"Mr. Fang, has the voting started today?"

"Ah."

Fang Xinghe nodded, then gazed in the direction of the film and television palace, his thoughts wandering.

Of the 20 films shortlisted for this year's Cannes Film Festival, only a handful made it to the final round.

"Less You" received a score of 3.3 in the program book.

Mystic River, program score 3.2.

"Uzak", program score 2.8.

"Five O'Clock in the Afternoon" received a score of 2.7 in the program.

The Lost Man, 2.6.

"The Elephant", 2.6.

"Savage Invasion", 2.1.

To reiterate, the scores in the program booklet only reflect the opinions of the media and the public, and do not influence the jury's decision.

Of course, films with high scores in the festival publication must have their merits and cannot be rubbish, so the final result depends entirely on the taste of this year's jury.

The overall "taste" of each judging panel is generally determined by the chairman.

"Ladies and gentlemen."

Jury president Patrice Chelow gently tapped the table, initiating the first round of voting for this year's Cannes Film Festival awards.

"Let us keep in mind this year's theme: auteur cinema and artistic innovation."

The remaining eight judges nodded in unison, and the voting began.

The first three small prizes went smoothly without any surprises.

Cannes Queer Palm (Un Certain Regard section), Camera d'Or (Best First Film), Jury Prize (Encouragement Award) – all passed on the first try.

When discussing the Golden Camera Award, Belgian cartoonist Erge made a joke: "Actually, the Best First Feature should also have gone to SR. Whether he needs it or not is one thing, whether others deserve it is another."

Jiang Wen hurriedly shook his head and waved his hands: "No way, the significance of the Best First Feature is to encourage normal newcomers who are full of enthusiasm but not very skilled. If you include Xiao Fang, new directors all over the world will curse you..."

Everyone laughed, understanding why he was nervous, but also agreeing with the reasoning, so the topic was dropped.

Next up are the six official awards in the Cannes main competition.

From the order of issuance to the last, they are:

Best Screenplay, Best Actress, Best Actor, Best Director, Grand Jury Prize (Silver Palm), and Palme d'Or (Best Film).

From the very first discussion of the Best Screenplay award, things became unpredictable.

Cartoonist Ergi, renowned French screenwriter Jean-Claude Carrière, and Indian actress Aishwarya Rai presented the Best Screenplay award to Fang Xinghe.

Jiang Wen, however, firmly disagreed.

American sweetheart Meg Ryan and French actress Carlo Paugui held opposing views but were not firm in their stance.

American director Steven Soderbergh and Egyptian writer Ahmed Mahmoud remain completely neutral.

reason?

It's very simple. This is the least important award, but no matter who gets it, it will affect their final score.

Declining the Best Original Screenplay award is precisely equivalent to striving for the core awards.

Jiang Wen argued: "The script of 'Better Days' is indeed very good, but it is not the core element that makes 'Better Days' a classic. The script, cinematography, acting, and directing are all excellent and outstanding, which is why we have 'Better Days' as we see it today. The importance of the script is far behind the other elements... In short, I disagree."

Jiang Wen's firm stance temporarily stalled this issue.

Claude tried to press on: "What you said makes a lot of sense, but I'm not saying that giving 'The Younger Ones' Best Screenplay means we can't also recognize Fong and Liu's performances. In fact, these are the awards they deserve the most..."

Okay, the first three awards went to "Less You", but what about the major awards?

There's no more for you.

Jiang Wen completely ignored these petty tricks, even going so far as to belittle himself: "Aren't there any better scripts with more originality and structural conflict this year? 'Less You' is far from being a top-tier script."

Influenced by him, Egyptian writer Ahmed added: "Actually, the script for 'Savage Invasion' was particularly good, it's just that the filming wasn't so... exquisite."

Steven Soderbergh and Carlo Poggio immediately agreed.

"The script and lead actress of 'Savage Invasion' are top-notch, but overall it is far less sharp and outstanding than its predecessor, 'The Fall of the American Empire'."

"Agreed, the script is excellent."

"Then let's vote again."

President Patrice, who had been observing the proceedings, tapped the table lightly to begin a new round of voting.

The Best Screenplay Award was given to "The Young Ones" with 3 votes, "Savage Invasion" with 5 votes, and "Mystic River" with 1 vote. The award was ultimately given to "Savage Invasion".

"Does anyone still have objections to the voting results?"

The chairman looked around, and everyone shook their heads in turn.

"So the award is locked, and the results are sealed. Next up, Best Actress!"

Some of the judges exchanged glances and then resumed presenting their opinions in order.

The winner of this year's Best Actress award is particularly clear: it will only be one of the two films, "Savage Invasion" and "Les Young".

However, without any effort from Jiang Wen, Carlo Poggio strongly advocated for Liu Yifei to win the award.

“We could not possibly give this award to anyone other than Xixi! When she stepped off the waterboard, completely immersed in the despair of Nian, at that moment, she was the performance itself!”

Aishwarya Rai immediately agreed.

"Yes, this is the best representation of female power. Whether from the actual performance effect or from the exploration of the motivation behind the performance, she is the only nominee for Best Actress at this year's awards. I think she should be recognized for her courage and enthusiasm at this age!"

With no objections, the final vote was 7:2, and the young actress easily won the Cannes Best Actress award.

But after that, the judges never reached a consensus.

Arguing, persuading, refuting, arguing again...

The closed-door meetings have fallen into an endless cycle.

It might sound like it shouldn't be this way, but in fact, this has always been the case with the three major European awards.

In short, Fang Xinghe was completely unaware of the results when the closing ceremony officially began, and the judges remained in a strictly closed state until the final results were announced.

He, and all the media that cared about him, only knew that "Young You" had been invited to the closing ceremony.

Winning the award is a certainty, but whether it meets expectations and satisfies his ever-growing ambition remains to be seen.

With the nation eagerly anticipating the event and global media on high alert, the 56th Cannes Film Festival awards ceremony, the most anticipated in history, is about to unfold.

(End of this chapter)