Generation Z Artists

Chapter 305 Founding a sect

"I am very grateful to Cannes for recognizing and honoring my acting skills. You have praised me too highly. As a young person who has just started out, I feel extremely humbled."

Fang Xinghe spoke with fear, but his demeanor was calm and composed, more like a chairman giving a concluding speech than a newly awarded winner.

"My exploration of the performing arts originated from a sudden inspiration."

When I was 14, I suddenly developed a strong interest in movies. At the time, I hadn't figured out whether I wanted to be an actor or a director; I just started acting on a whim.

With the help of Ms. Wang Yali, the editor-in-chief of Beijing Youth Daily, I was able to contact Mr. Feng Yuanzheng of Beijing People's Art Theatre. I asked him if he could teach me acting, and he asked me in return, "Do you know what the Grotowski acting system is?"
At the time, I had only seen snippets of information in the newspapers, and the information I had gathered was insufficient to reveal the essence of this performance style.

But I answered him with full confidence: It's the ultimate control.

He nodded and said it was about right, then asked me: "Do you know that this is a very stupid and arduous task?"
I don't know, all I know is that I like being in control.

I am someone who almost pathologically demands absolute control over myself. Perhaps it's the lack of security caused by the intense trauma of my childhood that has given rise to an extremely contradictory trait within me—

On the one hand, I crave release, and on the other hand, I crave self-control.

When Mr. Feng Yuanzheng told me that the core of the Ge school is "to enable actors to dedicate themselves or even sacrifice themselves without reservation through brutal physical, vocal and psychological training", I felt extremely surprised and delighted.

That's it!

I began to study the Grimm actor training method with great enthusiasm.

I made rapid progress, and soon after, Teacher Feng exclaimed: You were simply born to be a geologist.

But I, in my arrogance, replied: No, the Gesellschaft was created for me.

Teacher Feng laughed heartily, while I silently cast my gaze into the distance.

Grotowski laid the theoretical and practical foundation for the drama of poverty;

His direct disciple and designated successor, Thomas Richards, inherited and developed the 'Artistic Transmission' research;
Another outstanding playwright and his important follower, Mr. Eugenio Barba, edited and published "Towards Simple Theatre," which refined and summarized the Gräfley theory and disseminated it globally.
Stephen Wong, one of his first students when he taught in the United States, wrote the book "The Acrobatics of the Mind: A Physical Training and Performance Course," which aims to combine the rigorous physical training of the Grünster system with specific scene practice and character shaping techniques, bridging the gap between physical exploration and performance techniques in the Grünster system.

Meanwhile, Mr. Feng Yuanzheng, the only successor of the master in China who is a disciple of Professor Melsin, is trying to clarify for me the differences between experiences and methods.

Having absorbed all the aforementioned nutrients, I suddenly felt a surge of ambition—

Poverty is not enough, simplicity is not enough; the ultimate goal of the Ge school should be a truly brutal drama.

To subject an actor to extreme physical and mental torment, with each training session agonizing to the brink of collapse, until the ego leaps out of the mire, thereby transcending conscious control of the body and achieving the ultimate goal of using emotions to guide the spontaneous expression of the body.

Chinese philosophy has three realms.

The first level is seeing mountains as mountains and water as water.

The second level is seeing mountains as not mountains and water as not water.

The third level is seeing mountains as mountains and water as water.

In terms of performance, it's also threefold.

There is no control.

Complete control.

No longer under control.

Ultimately, any performance system attempts to achieve 'natural emergence that is no longer actively controlled'.

However, whether it is Stanislavski, the Method School, or the Expressionist School, it is difficult to achieve subtle and precise limb responses in a naturally occurring state.

Therefore, master actors use multiple methods in parallel when performing, incorporating design into their experience, and experience and substitution into their design.

This already allows you to do 95% of what's in the world of performance.

But that's not pure and extreme enough, so you can never reach the remaining 5%.

As for me, a newcomer actor from China, I had the delusion of making it into the final 5.

That is the realm of God, a new life that can only be forged through sufficient cruelty.

In fact, the prototype of cruel drama already exists, but in practice, people always find it difficult to touch the true cruelty.

The core question is, how can we push training methods and volume to the limit that can produce a qualitative change without harming the actors?
This requires trainees to have an extremely healthy and resilient body, as well as an extremely tenacious spirit and an unparalleled sense of conviction.

Before me, the Gesellskoye movement had already declined.

Those Ge school successors scattered around the world have even lost touch with the old ways of simple drama.

Teacher Feng Yuanzheng initially didn't even believe that I could complete the basic training.

But I not only completed double or triple the amount of training, but I also absorbed enough nutrients from other training systems and established a large part of an extreme training method that can be applied to specific performances.

After going this far, it was my turn to stop believing...

Fang Xinghe's eloquent voice suddenly stopped.

He turned his head and looked down at the audience, his gaze fixed on Liu Yifei's face.

Hundreds of colleagues, reporters, celebrities, and guests in the hall dared not utter a sound, listening to the young man on stage making wild pronouncements about establishing his own school of thought, feeling as if they were sitting on pins and needles.

Fang Xinghe suddenly smiled, his voice became clear and melodious, and his expression became gratified.

"I don't believe that anyone other than me could have survived in this system that is now truly brutal. I feel like I've done something completely meaningless."

I tortured myself to the extreme, turning myself into a performance maniac. It seems I only have 5 to 10 years left before I become a true master.

However, even the more moderate traditionalists have struggled to survive. What value does my madness have, other than making me more isolated?
Then, while filming "Young You," Ms. Liu Yifei helped me find the meaning behind the existence of this cruel dramatic system.

For four months, on non-filming days, she had to endure six training sessions and six meals a day.

The shooting days were changed to two training sessions, one in the morning and one in the evening, to increase the intensity of training per unit of time.

Therefore, you see Chen Nian in the movie with slumped shoulders, tired and numb eyes, as if she is carrying an unbearable weight.

This is actually a naturally occurring physical reaction; it is real, objective, and impactful.

Her winning the Best Actress award was not due to talent, but rather a miracle reward for her courage, perseverance, and dedication.

This makes me happier than winning an award.

To be frank, I personally would prefer to receive awards for Best Director and Best Film, as those would be a complete recognition of all my work.

However, the fact that Ms. Liu Yifei and I both won Best Actor and Best Actress was still a pleasant surprise to me.

Because it means that I have fulfilled the promise I made to Professor Feng Yuanzheng when I was studying.

I said I would make the Ge Pai movement flourish in my hands.

Now I've done it. At the same time, this Cannes Best Actor award has allowed me to begin realizing my personal ambitions—

I want to take this heretical genre of cruel drama to the highest peak of the performing arts, so that we can see the view that only God can overlook.

We've come this far, halfway through the journey, but the path ahead is becoming increasingly expansive.

Here, I would like to proudly declare to all the senior figures, performing artists, and experts and scholars from various fields—

From this day forward, the authentic lineage of the Ge Pai school will be passed down in China, at the Beijing Film Academy, and in the hands of a young boy named Fang Xinghe!
I will summarize the relevant theories and specific practical methods as soon as possible, and write them into a book. I eagerly look forward to receiving everyone's guidance, corrections, and exchanges.

Finally, thank you to the Cannes jury for their recognition. Thank you everyone!

After finishing his speech, Fang Xinghe nodded slightly to the audience, then strode off the stage without lingering.

One step, two steps, three steps...

There was dead silence in the audience.

The crowd at the scene was stunned and frozen, as if they had lost their minds.

Four steps, five steps...

Scattered applause began to ring out.

Six steps, seven steps...

With a thunderous roar, applause erupted!

The entire audience stood up solemnly. There were no frivolous whistles or noisy cheers, only thunderous applause that lasted for a long time!

Subsequently, due to Fang Xinghe's unconventional speech, the Cannes organizing committee even temporarily changed the official procedures, inviting the current jury president, Patrice, to the stage to give a speech specifically on this matter.

Standing side by side with Huppert, the first thing Old Man said was to break with tradition and emphasize the origins of Fang Xinghe's Best Actor award and the details of the voting process.

"This is an unusual situation."

I think it's time to offer some unusual explanations.

Awarding the Best Actor and Best Actress awards to the male and female leads of the same film is a unique honor that has never been seen before in Cannes history.

This decision will lead to a strong public reaction, which we know and have already prepared for.

Making this decision was not easy, or more accurately, it was extremely difficult.

I don’t know if everyone agrees that Star River deserves the Best Actor award this year. Actually, our jury had a little disagreement between him and the two male leads of “Uzak”.

From a purely performance perspective, Star River and actors Muzaffar Ozdemir and Mahmet Emin Toprak are quite similar, each with their own unique characteristics.

Some judges felt that Star River was young and wild, and highly similar to the character Zhang Xiaobei, with a large part of it being a natural performance. Therefore, although the performance was outstanding, it should not be regarded as a pure display of acting skills.

Some judges also felt that Star River, in addition to his work as a screenwriter and director, delivered such a brilliant performance that he deserved the Best Actor award.

Some judges also believed that since "Better Days" had already been awarded Best Actress, and given that Star River's performance was not significantly different from Liu Yifei's, Best Actor should not have been awarded to the same film.

At the same time, we also need to consider that Star River is still a strong contender for Best Director. Should we recognize his directing work or his acting work?

This is also a problem.

Therefore, the jury debated the matter at length and went through four rounds of voting.

The key issue isn't whether Star River deserves this year's Best Actor award; of course he does.

The key question is, among the limited number of awards, in which area should we best recognize his contributions?

Finally, we watched "Better Days" again, and then one of the judges brought up a new perspective.

He asked everyone: Have you noticed that Star River and Xixi's performances are extremely harmonious and resonate deeply, making us feel a sense of realism, naturalness, and smoothness while watching the film?

So we went back and focused on examining the moments the two spent together.

The final conclusion is that the two performers have a high degree of consistency in their performances. The real and delicate performance details are completely unpretentious and have a strong mutual stimulation effect, which allows their performances to merge and sublimate in resonance.

This is an inseparable pair of acting partners.

They stimulated, guided, and complemented each other, ultimately contributing many classic scenes such as the cabin, the interrogation room, and the detention center.

Now that Ms. Liu Yifei has already won the Best Actress award, awarding the Best Actor award to her mentor and sympathizer would be the most perfect ending.

Therefore, with the unanimous approval of the jury, in the fifth round of voting, we awarded the Best Actor award to Star River with a 7:2 approval rate, in recognition of his outstanding work.

However, gentlemen, please note—

When this award was presented, we did not know whether Star River was Liu Yifei's true acting mentor.

We also didn't know that Ms. Liu Yifei was the first diamond that Star River polished with his cruel drama theory.

So when I heard Star River's acceptance speech from the audience just now, I was so moved that I almost cried.

This result is even more dreamlike and wonderful than we imagined!
I am a veteran director with nearly 50 years of experience. I have watched generations of actors explore and move forward on the path of performing arts.

At first, I only focused on their performance.

Gradually, I began to pay attention to their artistic philosophy.

Now, I value their self-actualization more and more.

Only actors with a strong sense of self-realization can present the director's vision in the most compelling way.

Isabelle Huppert is a master actress who often surprises directors, making her our dream collaborator.

However, there are far too few actors like this.

What I mean is that there are very few actors in the world who possess a strong sense of mission in performing, lofty artistic ambitions, and outstanding performing talent at the same time, and it's even harder to find one among the new generation.

This is undoubtedly a tragedy for the entire film industry, and even more so a terrible omen.

Now, I am very excited to discover that the new generation of actors' belief in acting and their pursuit of art have not been interrupted. On the contrary, they are more ambitious and more determined than their predecessors.

This is a discovery that is far more gratifying than a mere trophy.

On behalf of the Cannes Film Festival jury, I would like to extend my sincere congratulations to actor Fang Xinghe.

Then, on my own behalf, I would like to express my sincere hope that you can stay true to your original aspirations, improve your theory of cruel drama as soon as possible, and combine it with practical methods to reach new heights in the field of performing arts!
And this will be the most significant discovery of this year's Cannes Film Festival!

When you truly succeed, it will not be our recognition of you, but the glory you bring to Cannes.

I eagerly await that day!

(End of this chapter)