Reshaping the landscape of the Chinese entertainment industry

September 6, Xianju County, Jiangsu Province.

"Mom, He Yi'an messaged me. He's been invited to the closing ceremony."

The young woman, who had just finished touching up her makeup, looked at the message notification on her phone, picked it up, and immediately beamed with joy. She then turned to the beautiful woman next to her and excitedly showed her phone.

"Invited to the closing ceremony?"

Liu Xiaoli, who was discussing some things with her newly hired assistant, was somewhat surprised when she heard this.

After signaling her assistant to get back to work, she walked to the dressing table, looked at the messages on her daughter's phone, and felt incredulous.

Being invited by the organizers, does that mean...?

She usually manages her daughter's phone, so she knows exactly who her daughter is chatting with.

However, Liu Xiaoli usually doesn't say anything, even if she sees it, because it's her daughter's privacy.

But she still knew about He Yi'an's situation, after all, she had tried to get closer to him not long ago after learning that his film had been nominated.

Although He Yi'an had only met the mother and daughter a few times, they got along quite well during those few meetings, and He Yi'an did not do anything rash.

Liu Xiaoli had a good impression of He Yi'an and did not object to Qianqian contacting He Yi'an frequently.

Liu Xiaoli even thought that if they maintained their relationship, Qianqian might one day be able to enter the big screen through He Yi'an's connections.

Don't call her mercenary; it's just human nature.

It would be foolish not to use your existing network of contacts.

Liu Xiaoli had never underestimated He Yi'an. After all, even disregarding the fact that He Yi'an had taken care of Qianqian during their previous interactions, she wouldn't underestimate him in terms of pure mutual benefit.

After all, even someone who knows very little about the film industry can understand the prestige of being nominated for a film festival.

Moreover, He Yi'an is still so young, he has a very promising future.

"Sissi, did Director He say that I'm definitely going to win an award?"

Liu Xiaoli has been cramming on knowledge lately and has come to understand these unspoken rules.

Being invited by someone means there's at least one prize to be won.

Keep in mind that He Yi'an is only 18 years old. If she really wins the award, then... she and her mother really won't need to look for other people who can bring them into the film industry!

Wouldn't it be better to cling to He Yi'an's coattails?

He knew her well and had connections in the Central Motion Picture Corporation, so he never harbored any ill intentions towards her.

With so many "advantages" combined, Liu Xiaoli simply doesn't need to consider any other powerful figures!

And it's already ready-made!

After Liu Xiaoli's feelings of excitement and emotion were refreshed once again, she couldn't hide her emotions well, which was noticed by the perceptive Liu Yifei.

At that moment, Liu Xiaoli was thinking about other things and did not notice her little actions.

Liu Yifei glanced briefly at her mother in the mirror and said calmly, "An award? I don't know, he didn't say!"

"Didn't you say? I think you didn't ask... Never mind, Sisi, you should be more polite to Director He in the future, and not as casual as before."

"Oh~" Liu Qianqian said with disinterest when she saw her mother's expression.

But in her heart, she gave herself a thumbs up for her cleverness.

If I hadn't decisively deleted some of the chat messages He Yi'an sent me back then, my mother probably wouldn't have let me chat with him so easily.

Thinking about this, Liu Qianqian felt a little smug, as if she had done something naughty.

However, she quickly suppressed this joy.

While her mother was subtly instructing her on how to be polite and tactful in building relationships, and how to skillfully and politely cultivate connections, Liu Qianqian's mind had already wandered off somewhere else.

"It's all that bastard's fault! He still hasn't told me about the movie. He must be lying to me..."

"Now Mom wants me to 'please' you too? Humph, dream on! You've been lying to me for so long, I'm going to bite you a few times before I stop..."

"But that big bad guy is really something..."

Liu Yifei listened to Liu Xiaoli's nagging in one ear and out the other, sometimes giggling and sometimes grinning.

Such actions and expressions were naturally noticed by Liu Xiaoli.

"Sisi, what are you thinking about?" Liu Xiaoli patted her silly daughter lightly. "Silly girl, pull your teeth in a bit~"

"Okay! Got it~"

"You know what? You didn't hear a word I said, did you?"

"Oh dear, Mom! I heard everything!"

"Did you hear me?" Liu Xiaoli also became a little annoyed. "Then repeat it for me!"

"what?"

Just then, the script supervisor's megaphone blared, and Liu Yifei breathed a sigh of relief: "Mom, here's your phone, I need to film now. After we're done, let's watch together to see if He Yi'an wins an award!"

"Sissi, slow down!"

A few hours after Liu Yifei received He Yi'an's message, another message came back from Venice.

He Yi'an has been invited to the closing ceremony, and winning an award is a foregone conclusion.

In no time, the news that "Fireworks in the Human World" would participate in the closing ceremony spread, and those who were originally criticizing He Yi'an's film because of the boycott and various negative reviews fell silent again.

Many people even criticized Venice for being unfair, claiming that Gong Li must have interfered with the judging.

Several people even called online for Gong Li to have an international perspective and to be fair and impartial!

However, He Yi'an and Gong Li were unaware of all this, and even if they had, they probably wouldn't have cared.

……

Lido Island, Venice, the red carpet at the closing ceremony.

He Yi'an, dressed in a dark suit, walked the red carpet with Li Baotian, Yan Danchen, Yu Feihong, and Han Sanping.

There's not much to say about the red carpet event. It was He Yi'an's first time participating in something like this, and all he felt was that the two sides of the red carpet were covered with reporters holding up cameras, and the flashes hurt his eyes.

Her female companions, Yan Danchen and Yu Feihong, thoroughly enjoyed it all.

After all, she's a female celebrity. The impact of exposure in Venice is far greater than a photoshoot in a low-class newspaper in China.

"Wow, so many people!" Yan Danchen was also seeing such a scene for the first time and was a little nervous.

However, his words made He Yi'an glance at her, and only after confirming that it wasn't Da Ru who had been replaced did she feel a little relieved.

However, after making his decision, he still told Yan Danchen, "Why are you saying such unlucky things out of the blue?"

"He Yi'an! Look this way!"

"Director He, are you confident you'll win the award?"

"Yan Danchen, you look so beautiful today!"

"Fairy Jinghong, I heard you're planning to switch careers and become a director, and stop acting? Could you tell me more about it?"

In addition to reporters from various countries, there were also reporters from the movie channel present because of the domestic film, and they were asking all sorts of questions loudly.

He Yi'an simply smiled politely at them, stood still and let them take a few photos, ignoring their questions. Yu Feihong, on the other hand, was going to reply to them.

He then took Yan Danchen's arm and walked down the red carpet step by step.

He also noticed that there were many journalists from other countries whispering to each other on both sides; he could understand their English, but not their other English.

"I heard his film might win an award."

"Really? The program only has a 3.0 rating."

"There are disagreements among the judges, but someone is protecting them."

"Wow, winning an award at 18, that's probably going to tie the record..."

Amidst the murmurs, they approached the organizer's reporters.

"Alex, what are your expectations for this closing ceremony?"

"I hope to win a prize that's neither too big nor too small, so I can set a new record, right?" He Yi'an joked.

"Oh, Alex, your nomination has broken records, and this news will definitely spread throughout the film industry!"

"Really? I guess I'm starting to gain fame? Then I hope to add another layer to my record!"

"Alex, what's your opinion on 'Madeleine Fallen Girl'?" As a hot topic at this film festival, He Yi'an has been asked this question several times in the past few days.

"Madeleine Fallen Girl is a very good movie, and I hope director Peter Mullan will have a fruitful night."

After a brief Q&A session, the film crew entered the cinema.

The hall was brightly lit and filled with filmmakers from all over the world.

He Yi'an led the crew members to their seats and sat down.

He looked around and saw that many of the familiar faces had long since left. Tian Zhuangzhuang, however, was sitting not far away and nodded to him.

He Yi'an also greeted him.

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