Reshaping the landscape of the Chinese entertainment industry

9 month 3 day.

The morning sunlight streamed in through the gaps in the hotel curtains. He Yi'an, who was already awake, stood by the window, looking at the shimmering lagoon outside.

After so much preparation, his film will premiere today in the main screening room of the Venice Film Festival.

Although I had remained calm throughout, I didn't expect to feel nervous when it came to the final decision.

He has already made all the necessary preparations; whether he lives or dies depends on this one tremor.

Of course, even though He Yi'an was nervous, he still had the confidence he needed. After all, with movies, no one knows the outcome until the very last moment.

What if a miracle happens at the last minute?

"Anwa, you're up so early?" Han Sanping pushed open the door and called out instinctively in his familiar local accent.

He Yi'an turned around and smiled, "Uncle Han, don't you get up early too?"

Han Sanping walked to his side and looked at the scenery outside the window: "I'm different. As I get older, I sleep less and less. I've been to Venice several times, and my feelings are always about the same. But this time, it's a little different."

He Yi'an understood the meaning behind his words.

Previously, China Film Group simply watched films, selected some suitable ones, and saw if they could make some money.

But this time, they had a film they invested in that was nominated, which is a kind of achievement to some extent.

He patted He Yi'an on the shoulder: "Regardless of what the others say, as long as our film is nominated, it's a success."

"Uncle Han, I know."

"Just relax. Are you free this morning?"

"have."

"Then come with me somewhere."

"Where to?"

Han Sanping glanced at him: "Tian Zhuangzhuang's 'Spring in a Small Town' premiered this morning in the 'Against the Current' section. He sent me an invitation. We're all filmmakers in China. Let's go and support him. I'll introduce you to him while we're at it."

He Yi'an immediately understood.

Tian Zhuangzhuang's name carries considerable weight in the Chinese film industry. He is a person with impeccable political credentials, and in fact, his background is far more significant than that of his teacher, Mu Deyuan.

He even appears frequently in many Chinese entertainment novels, usually as a teacher.

Of course, he is not a teacher at Beijing Film Academy yet, and He Yi'an is not his student.

He belongs to the fifth generation of directors.

Even among the fifth generation, he was an outlier, having directed films such as "Zhasa the Hunting Ground," "The Horse Thief," and "The Blue Kite," and was banned from filming for ten years because of "The Blue Kite."

They even framed the official documents that were banned from being photographed and hung them in their homes to show off to their ancestors.

This move made many people in the association extremely angry, and they tried to retract the document many times without success.

In the end, they decided not to issue any documents to the people who were banned from taking photos later. Even though Jiang Wen asked for them many times, he couldn't get them. He could only drool with envy over the one and only ban on taking photos issued to him.

In 2002, he had just been released from ban, and the first film he made after the ban was a remake of Fei Mu's 1948 classic "Spring in a Small Town".

Because it's a remake, it can only be nominated for the "Against the Current" category.

This film won the San Marco Award in the Venice Film Festival's Retrograde section in its original timeline, which can be considered a pretty good start after its ban was lifted.

However, it didn't generate much buzz, and it completely gave up his idea of ​​making movies. He went back to school to become a teacher and mostly served as a producer to support emerging directors.

The movie he produced later was "Mayday".

Yes, it's the one Liu Yifei acted in...

A movie related to Mayday.

"Okay, Uncle Han, I'll go with you!" He Yi'an agreed without hesitation. "We absolutely have to see Director Tian's movie."

Han Sanping smiled and glanced at him: "You've always been so good with words, but let me make this clear beforehand: you're not familiar with Tian Zhuangzhuang, so don't say anything inappropriate when you meet him later."

"I'm not a child anymore," He Yi'an said, both amused and exasperated.

"In my eyes, you're just a child." Han Sanping's smile faded. "Let's go, let's call Li Baotian and the others, let's go together."

At 10:00 AM, the screening room for the Upstream section of the Venice Film Festival.

The premiere of "Spring in a Small Town" was not as grand as the main competition, but there were still quite a few people in attendance.

He Yi'an followed Han Sanping into the screening room and immediately saw Tian Zhuangzhuang standing in the front row.

He was wearing an ordinary dark jacket, his hair was somewhat gray, and his face showed signs of hardship, but his eyes were bright, and his voice was deep and powerful when he spoke.

"President Han!" Tian Zhuangzhuang saw Han Sanping, quickly walked up to him, and shook his hand. "You've come!"

"Zhuangzhuang, congratulations! It's been ten years, and we're finally seeing your new film again."

Tian Zhuangzhuang's eyes darkened for a moment, then returned to calm: "Yes, it's been ten years."

His gaze shifted to He Yi'an behind Han Sanping, and he looked him up and down: "This is...."

"He Yi'an." Han Sanping stepped aside. "This year's film, 'Fireworks in the Human World,' which was nominated for the main competition, was directed by him. He's a genius director."

Tian Zhuangzhuang's eyes widened slightly as she looked intently at He Yi'an.

"I've long admired Director He," he said, his voice tinged with surprise, "but I didn't expect you to be even younger than I imagined."

He Yi'an stepped forward: "Hello, Director Tian, ​​I am He Yi'an. I have long admired your name."

"I've heard so much about you?" Tian Zhuangzhuang laughed. "I haven't made a movie in ten years. What do you, an eighteen-year-old, have to say about me?"

He Yi'an didn't expect him to ask that question; he did seem to have a rather strange temper.

However, this did not stump He Yi'an. He blurted out: "I watched 'The Horse Thief' when I was studying films at the film academy. The rough and primitive way of filming, which puts people in extreme environments and forces out their human instincts, left a deep impression on me."

Tian Zhuangzhuang was stunned for a moment. He didn't expect that He Yi'an wasn't just being polite, but actually knew about it.

This immediately made him feel good about the director, and he smiled even more: "Director He has done such thorough research that it makes me feel quite ashamed."

"Haha, I only learned it recently, so I remember it very well. Teacher Mu Deyuan specifically talked about your films in his film analysis class."

"Old Mu..." Tian Zhuangzhuang's eyes softened a little.

Han Sanping chimed in from the side, "Zhuangzhuang, Xiao An's movie premiere this afternoon, why don't you come and watch?"

Tian Zhuangzhuang glanced at He Yi'an and nodded: "Okay, I'll go over this afternoon."

He then looked at He Yi'an and said earnestly, "Director He, it's not easy to be shortlisted for the main competition at such a young age. No matter the result, you've already won."

He Yi'an nodded: "Thank you, Director Tian."

……

After leaving the screening room of "Spring in a Small Town", He Yi'an and Han Sanping went to see Jia Zhangke's "Unknown Pleasures".

He Yi'an was initially curious. As the powerful deputy director of China Film Group, Han Sanping should not be able to openly support such "underground films," so why would he go to see them?

But in Han Sanping's words, although he is an underground director and was not shortlisted for the main competition, he is still a Chinese filmmaker, and he still wants to support the filmmakers while he is away from home.

This also gave He Yi'an a deeper understanding of his personality.

However, He Yi'an is not really a fan of Jia Zhangke's movies. Among all the movies he has watched, only "A Touch of Sin" has truly captivated him.

He Yi'an only watched it because Baoqiang and Jiang Wu were in the cast.

He photographed what he considered to be the "marginalized" and "underprivileged," those who were left behind by the times.

This kind of film is very popular at international film festivals, but it's unspeakable in China.

……

2:30 p.m., screening room for the main competition section of the Venice Film Festival.

He Yi'an, Li Baotian, and Yan Danchen stood at the entrance of the screening room, watching the flow of people entering one after another.

Both of them could tell that He Yi'an was a little nervous; it was the first time for an old lady to ride in a bridal sedan chair.

Yan Danchen moved slightly closer to He Yi'an and whispered, "Boss, don't be nervous. If you're nervous, I'm even more nervous. I believe in you."

He Yi'an glanced at her, surprised that even at the last moment, Yan Danchen had to comfort him. He smiled and said, "Senior, I'm fine~"

At this moment, Tian Zhuangzhuang walked out from the crowd.

"Director He!" he greeted with a smile, "I've come to support you."

"Director Tian!" He Yi'an hurriedly went to greet him, "Welcome, please give me your guidance then."

"You're welcome." Tian Zhuangzhuang waved his hand, his gaze sweeping around the screening room. "You've got quite a entourage. I heard when I arrived that there are more than just audience members here today."

He Yi'an was taken aback: "What do you mean?"

Tian Zhuangzhuang did not answer, but just smiled meaningfully.

He Yi'an quickly understood what Tian Zhuangzhuang meant.

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