Reshaping the landscape of the Chinese entertainment industry

In the afternoon, He Yi'an and Yu Feihong went to the screening room of the main venue to watch the first film in this year's main competition section - "Kedma" by Israeli director Amos Gitai.

The film tells the story of a group of European Jewish refugees who came to Palestine on the eve of the establishment of Israel in 1948.

It was highly political and had a rough style, so the applause was sparse throughout the performance.

He Yi'an didn't feel anything, and even felt that watching this was not as good as watching the history of the founding of the Jewish state by Little John Khan and the story of Nasser in Egypt, at least those were interesting to watch.

Later on, the reputation of squid, except for Da Piao Liang, began to deteriorate in almost every other aspect.

Therefore, He Yi'an felt nothing for them.

Yu Feihong watched very carefully, occasionally jotting down notes in his notebook.

"What do you think?" He Yi'an asked her after they came out.

"The camera work is shaky, but powerful." Yu Feihong thought for a moment, "However, it's too political, not really to my taste."

He Yi'an nodded: "Then let's go see the 'best' film at this film festival tomorrow, 'Madeleine Fallen Girl'."

"The best?" Yu Feihong was taken aback. "How do you know which movie is the best?"

"Just guessing." He Yi'an smiled. "The program score hasn't come out yet, but I have a feeling this film will be a hit and should be a strong contender for the Golden Lion."

Yu Feihong glanced at him suspiciously but didn't ask any further questions.

For the next few days, He Yi'an and Yu Feihong practically lived in movie theaters.

Besides the Golden Lion film, they also watched "Oasis" by South Korean director Lee Chang-dong.

The film tells the love story between a man with mild intellectual disability and a woman with severe cerebral palsy. It is both cruel and tender, and the whole audience was in tears.

When Yu Feihong came out, his eyes were still red: "This film... is so good, how could it be made so well?"

He Yi'an handed her a pack of tissues: "Li Changdong is a writer by profession, and his character portrayals are particularly delicate."

"If you want to learn about the emotional portrayal in his works, you can go back and read his novel 'Peppermint Candy,' which is also very impressive."

"Peppermint Candy? You even know about such an obscure movie?" Yu Feihong wiped his eyes and asked curiously.

"Just because I've seen a lot," He Yi'an casually brushed it off.

They then went to see "Russian Ark" directed by Russian director Alexander Sokolov.

The entire film was shot in one take, lasting ninety-six minutes, and it traverses thirty-three exhibition halls in the Winter Palace, a technically astonishing feat.

"That's incredible!" Yu Feihong exclaimed in disbelief. "How did they manage to film it in one take?"

"They must have rehearsed for a long time," He Yi'an said. "And they used the latest digital camera, not film."

"This film should be considered a technological revolution. If we had put in a little more effort and added some plot... it's a pity that the story is a bit weak. It would have had a great chance of winning an award."

"How did you know?"

"One of this year's main judges is from Oros..."

Yu Feihong had gotten used to his "knows everything" attitude and was too lazy to ask any more questions.

After leaving the theater directed by Eros, they went to see a French film called "Irreversible," starring the heavily promoted Monica Bellucci.

The movie opens with a violent scene that is physically disturbing, and half the audience left the theater.

It's not that they don't like watching this kind of thing, but rather that they've seen too much of it. These direct and violent scenes have no artistic merit, so they don't even want to continue appreciating them.

The subsequent underground passage scene made Yu Feihong frown, and she almost vomited while trying to suppress her discomfort.

He Yi'an remained unfazed and said calmly, "Gaspar No. is a madman."

"Do you know him?"

"I don't know him, but I've heard of him." He Yi'an stood up. "Let's go, there's no need to watch it. The filming style of this movie isn't suitable for you."

The two walked out of the screening room, the sunlight stinging their eyes.

Yu Feihong took a deep breath: "The films at these film festivals are really diverse."

"That's how film festivals are," He Yi'an said. "Good and bad, highbrow and lowbrow, are all mixed together, and you have to choose what to watch yourself."

How do you know which are good and which are bad?

"intuition."

Yu Feihong rolled his eyes: "You always try to gloss over everything with 'guessing' or 'intuition.' Can't you just say something real?"

He Yi'an thought for a moment and said seriously, "The truth is, when it comes to movies, whether they're good or bad, you know in your own heart. What others say is good may not be good, and what others say is bad may not be bad."

If you've seen it and think it's good, then it's good.

Yu Feihong paused for a moment, then laughed: "Are you teaching me how to be a director?"

"No, I'm just teaching you how to identify movies."

……

On September 1st, after several days of anticipation, some film program ratings were released.

"Madeleine Fallen Girl" leads the pack with a high score of 3.8 out of 5, followed closely by "Oasis" with 3.6 and "Ark of Oro" with 3.4.

"Fireworks in the Human World" has no rating yet because it hasn't premiered.

He Yi'an looked at the numbers in the program booklet and made some calculations in his mind.

Madeleine Fallen Girl is indeed the most formidable opponent.

Peter Mullan is a highly skilled director with an appealing subject matter. He tells the story of women abandoned by society in Ireland's "Madeleine Laundry," a story that is cruel, realistic, and powerful.

This kind of film is very much to the liking of the Venice judges, and of course, it is also most popular among these older white men in Europe.

The Madeleine Laundry was a type of shelter operated by the Catholic Church, primarily housing women deemed as fallen or depraved by the Church or society—traditionally considered prostitutes—who were required to atone for their sins by serving Jesus.

This subject matter can be considered absolutely correct within the Western Catholic system!

So He Yi'an never even considered competing with it; he simply couldn't win.

Therefore, there's no need to panic at all.

"Fireworks in the Human World" takes a heartwarming, family-oriented, and fate-based approach, which is completely different from the brutal realism of "Madeleine Fallen Girl".

"Now that things have come to this, we've done what we could. Now it all depends on whether Gong Li can pull it off!"

……

On September 2, Li Baotian and Yan Danchen arrived with a group from China Film Group led by Han Sanping.

Since the beginning of 2000, Han Sanping has been the leader of the delegation for every film festival organized by China Film Group, and this time is no exception.

However, Dad had a chance this time too, but he didn't come because he was in charge of mentoring Zhang Jing's production work.

He Yi'an personally went to the dock to pick them up.

As soon as Han Sanping disembarked, he saw He Yi'an waiting on the shore and walked over with a smile: "Xiao An, how's Venice?"

"It's alright, nothing special. It's not as good as those people rave about." He Yi'an sounded rather unimpressed. "Besides, the food was terrible. The pasta gave me acid reflux."

Han Sanping laughed heartily: "You little rascal, you never forget about food no matter where you go."

Li Baotian followed behind, wearing a dark jacket and looking very energetic.

Upon seeing He Yi'an, he quickly walked over, bent down, and shook his hand: "Director He, it's been a long time!"

"Teacher Li," He Yi'an quickly helped him up, "You must have had a long journey?"

"It's no trouble at all," Li Baotian waved his hand. "This is my first time in Venice, and it's all because of your film. Director He, thank you so much."

He Yi'an was quite pleased with his gratitude: "Teacher Li, I should be thanking you. Without your performance, the film would have been much less effective."

After the two exchanged a few more compliments, He Yi'an finally looked at the person behind him.

Yan Danchen stood quietly to the side, wearing a simple black dress, with her long hair flowing over her shoulders, exuding a cool and aloof temperament.

Seeing He Yi'an looking at her, she became slightly excited: "Director... Director He."

I almost blurted out the word "boss," but thankfully I quickly corrected myself.

"Senior Yan," He Yi'an greeted her with a smile, "Was the journey alright?"

"That's great." Yan Danchen paused, then whispered, "Congratulations to the boss on making it to the finals."

"Congratulations to you too!" He Yi'an said. "The premiere is tomorrow. Are you ready?"

Yan Danchen nodded: "Ready."

Han Sanping watched as everyone finished greeting each other before speaking, "Let's go, let's go back to the hotel and settle in first."

He Yi'an continued, "Tomorrow is the premiere, everyone should get a good rest tonight and adjust to the time difference."

The group boarded a water taxi and headed towards Lido Island.

As for accommodation, it certainly wouldn't be the house He Yi'an had rented before. That place was only used for filming movies, and it was only rented for ten days before it was already full.

He Yi'an had already arranged where the group would stay.

There's not much choice; they're usually the hotels designated by the film festival.

Everyone who was supposed to come has arrived; everything is just waiting for tomorrow's premiere.

This is it!