I am a historical film director in the entertainment industry.

Chen Kaige has always had his family's connections to protect him, making his path smooth and successful. In contrast, he comes from a farming family, is a peasant, has nothing, and has to rely on his own hard work to make a living. He has struggled and tasted all the bitterness and hardship of life, which makes him feel a little lost.

Zhang Weiping then changed the subject, asking curiously, "So, do you think Chen Kaige has a high chance of winning the grand prize in this competition in Venice?"

“It’s impossible to be 100% certain about this matter.” Zhang Yimou analyzed seriously: “If this film’s script wasn’t written by Cheng Sheng himself, I would definitely not be optimistic about its chances of winning awards. But everyone in the industry knows how outstanding Cheng Sheng’s scriptwriting skills are. Nine times out of ten, the film and television scripts written by him have the strong ability to compete for the top international film festival awards.”

"The odds of winning are actually that high?" Zhang Weiping looked astonished.

“The odds of winning are very high.” Zhang Yimou said confidently: “Although I haven’t seen the finished film yet, a film that has been successfully shortlisted for the main competition at Venice is already of high quality. Coupled with the excellent script meticulously crafted by Cheng Sheng, the chances of winning are extremely high.”

Upon hearing this, Zhang Weiping immediately had an idea and quickly suggested, "Have you ever thought about taking the initiative to invite Cheng Sheng to create a high-quality script tailored for you? You two have a good relationship, so if you personally invite him, you'll probably succeed."

Zhang Yimou gently shook his head and declined, his tone tinged with helplessness: "Of course I am eager to get Cheng Sheng's good script, but everything depends on chance. Besides, all my energy is currently devoted to the preparations for next year's Olympics. I am busy with trivial matters all day long and have no spare time or energy to prepare for the filming of new film and television works. This matter can only be put on hold for the time being."

"It's a pity. If you had Cheng Sheng's script, you might have been able to compete for the Palme d'Or at Cannes and achieve the grand slam of the three major European awards in history." Zhang Weiping's tone was full of regret. In his opinion, if Zhang Guoshi could have won this honor, not only would his domestic status have become more solid, but his international reputation would also have reached a new level, making him a benchmark figure in Chinese films.

"There's nothing to regret. Even if I had Cheng Sheng's script, it wouldn't have mattered. Cannes wouldn't have given me the award." Zhang Guoshi said calmly, his eyes showing no emotion, as if he had long since taken this honor in stride.

Upon hearing Zhang Guoshi's confident words, Zhang Weiping fell silent instantly.

He knew in his heart that what Zhang Guoshi said was true—the Cannes Film Festival's Best Film Award could be given to any talented director, but it would never fall into Zhang Guoshi's hands. The reason for this can be traced back to 1999.

That year, Zhang Yimou went to Cannes with two new works, "Not One Less" and "My Father and Mother," hoping to win the Palme d'Or with "double insurance" by competing with two films.

However, the development of events completely exceeded everyone's expectations.

Mr. Jacob, the then president of the Cannes Film Festival, strongly objected to the scenes of raising the national flag and singing the national anthem in "Not One Less," stubbornly believing that these scenes had political propaganda connotations and did not conform to the Cannes jury's philosophy.

Jacob even approached Zhang Guoshi privately and offered a "compromise" suggestion: that he withdraw "Not One Less" and compete only with "My Father and Mother," and subtly implied that if he did so, his chances of winning the Palme d'Or would be extremely high.

However, this suggestion completely crossed Zhang Guoshi's bottom line.

In his mind, film is a pure artistic creation that should not be simply labeled with political tags, and should not be compromised or sacrificed for the sake of winning awards.

Faced with this situation, Zhang Yimou made a decision that shocked the international film industry: instead of compromising, he personally wrote an open letter to Jacob, formally announcing the withdrawal of both films from the Cannes Film Festival. In the letter, he clearly stated his position: "I feel that you have a very serious misunderstanding of these two films, a misunderstanding that I cannot accept."

He further elaborated on his original creative intentions: "Both of my films are about the theme of love. 'Not One Less' expresses our love for children and our concern for the current state and future of the overall cultural quality of our nation. 'My Father and Mother' praises the truest and purest love. This is an emotion that all mankind shares and celebrates."

At the same time, he also did not shy away from questioning the long-standing "politicized" interpretation of Western film critics, saying that such a simple either-or judgment is naive and one-sided.

This decision was not easy for Zhang Guoshi.

He has a deep historical connection with the Cannes Film Festival: In 1990, "Ju Dou" was nominated for the main competition at Cannes for the first time, which made him stand out in the international film scene; in 1994, "To Live" won the Jury Prize at Cannes, and Ge You won the Best Actor award at Cannes for this film, which established his status in the international film scene; in 1995, "Shanghai Triad" was nominated again and won the Technical Award.

During that period, Zhang Yimou and Cannes were in a "honeymoon period," and he was a key director supported by Cannes.

By voluntarily withdrawing the two films, he essentially gave up a golden opportunity to compete for a grand slam at the three major European film festivals.

But Zhang Guoshi never regretted it. He did not put his work aside because of the difficulties Cannes faced. He then replanned his competition route, sending "Not One Less" to the Venice Film Festival and "The Road Home" to the Berlin Film Festival.

Hard work pays off, and the outcome is gratifying: "Not One Less" won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival, and "My Father and Mother" won the Silver Bear Jury Prize at the Berlin Film Festival. Both films returned with honors, proving their artistic value with their strength.

However, the impact of this incident far exceeded that of the spring of 1999.

From then on, Zhang Yimou's relationship with the Cannes Film Festival became completely estranged, to the point that they had a falling out. Even when Zhang Yimou produced more excellent works, Cannes deliberately avoided awarding him the Best Film award, and his dream of winning the grand slam of the three major European film awards was completely shattered.

……

Unlike the uproar in China, Cheng Sheng, who was filming in Sumatra, had already learned about Chen Kaige's situation.

He did not publicly express any opinion on this matter, nor was he surprised at all—Cheng Sheng had already anticipated this day when Chen Kaige agreed to film "Blue Is the Warmest Color".

He just hadn't expected that this media storm would escalate so dramatically, yet Chen Kaige would ultimately land safely. It seems the connections and resources left by his late father are indeed extraordinary. (End of Chapter)