Huayu: Enjoy Yourself

Chapter 26 The Night in Cannes

Closing Ceremony!

The red carpet ceremony has begun; Chen An wanted to walk it last time in Venice. 👹♬ 69Şⓗ𝓊x.co.uk 🐤☝

I never expected it to happen in Cannes.

A year later, Chen An still remembers the feeling of watching others walk the red carpet and be the center of attention.

So, dressed neatly, Chen An led Ning Jing to the front and stepped onto the red carpet.

He waved to the reporters and spectators around him.

A burst of flashes from the cameras stung Chen An's eyes.

Suddenly I didn't like this part as much anymore.

However, in order to cooperate with Ning Jing, she was allowed to allow reporters to take pictures of her to increase her exposure.

Chen An walked very slowly, and sometimes people would call them to stop after walking a short distance, wanting to take a picture.

Ning Jing complied with their request, and Chen An waited quietly by the side.

He posed for photos with her, letting Ning Jing hold his right arm, and then slowly walked up the steps.

Only after signing their names could they enter the venue.

With the help of the staff, I found my seat in the film crew.

Compared to the last time in Venice, my seat was much closer to the front, and right next to me were the cast and crew of "Temptress Moon" and "Goodbye South, Goodbye".

It seems that this was specially arranged by the production team.

The two film crews entered the venue before Chen An, and most of them nodded to him upon his arrival.

Leslie Cheung smiled and said to Chen An, "Director Chen's movies are really well made. I wish you success and hope we can collaborate sometime."

"Thank you. I'll definitely look forward to collaborating with Mr. Zhang sometime."

Chen An didn't refuse, after all, it was Leslie Cheung, and he wouldn't lose out if he could collaborate with a superstar.

Afterwards, everyone in the "Run Lola Run" crew found their seats and sat down, and Han Sanping also sat down next to Chen An.

The crew members chatted amongst themselves, each curiously watching the foreign star enter.

Chen An also saw the Coen brothers who walked in together and knew that they were his biggest opponents this time.

The winner of the Best Director award at this year's Cannes Film Festival in my previous life.

With the arrival of the various film crews and the host taking the stage, the awards ceremony officially began.

The three major film festivals are all quite serious, unlike the Oscars which invite stand-up comedians to host the program.

After the host on stage gave some opening remarks, the awards began to be presented.

First came the awards presentation for the other categories.

Following some major technical awards and minor awards such as the Catholic Humanitarian Award.

Then it was time to officially compete for the grand prize in the main competition section.

In other words, the main course is where a dozen or so films are shortlisted for the main competition, but only a few will ultimately win awards.

The host invites the award presenters to the stage, and they are invited for each award.

The first award presented was for Best Screenplay, which was won by the French film "Homemade Hero".

The subsequent acting awards were not given, as Cannes does not have a Best Supporting Actor/Actress award, only Best Actor and Best Actress awards.

When the Best Actress award was announced, Ning Jing had already closed her eyes and was waiting for the announcement. Chen An watched quietly, feeling that his expectations were not very high.

Although it's a female-centric film, there isn't much room for the female lead to perform, and Ning Jing's performance is indeed not quite there yet.

As he expected, the Best Actress award, just like in his previous life, went to Brenda Bryce, an actress from the "Secrets and Lies" cast, a British actress.

The Best Actor award was given to Pascal Duquenay and Daniel Otto, two actors from the film "The Eighth Day," resulting in a tie.

Jiang Wu wasn't sad, having already anticipated that he wouldn't win the award.

Chen An became increasingly terrified as he listened, as these awards were exactly the same as those given to his predecessors.

"I hope I won't end up with nothing either."

Chen An couldn't help but think to himself as the Best Director award was about to be announced.

The Best Director award was announced, and the host invited the presenter to the stage.

Backstage, Gong Li, now with a new look, came out.

Holding the award and a list of winners, she handed the list to the host and stood smiling on the stage waiting.

The host opened the list of winners and began announcing:

"The Best Director award at the 49th Cannes International Film Festival goes to 'Run Lola Run'!"

Congratulations, young An~chen!

When I was sitting in the audience and heard the host call my name.

Chen Kaige also applauded. He greatly admired his junior brother, who was talented, just like himself.

This child is like me!

Hou Xiaoxian was generous and led the applause for the young mainland director.

The entire crew erupted in cheers, and Han Sanping even patted the somewhat bewildered Chen An on the shoulder: "What are you standing there for? You've won an award, hurry up and go up!"

Realizing what had happened, Chen An immediately stood up, hugged the crew members, and then ran towards the stage.

After thanking the host, he accepted the award certificate in front of Gong Li.

Yes, an award certificate!

Unlike other film festivals, the Cannes Film Festival today awards all awards except the Palme d'Or with a certificate, just like Ge You's Best Actor award back then.

Only Chen Kaige's is a medal.

As Chen An accepted the award, he heard Gong Li say softly in front of him, "You promised to cast me in a movie, you can't go back on your word. I'm waiting for your script."

"No problem, just wait for me to come over."

Chen An, who was in a good mood, nodded in agreement with a big smile on his face.

After finishing speaking, Chen An walked to the microphone and said:

"Thank you, everyone, for your support."

"I also want to thank the jury for awarding me this important prize, my mentors in China for their help, Director Han for his support, and everyone in the crew for their hard work. Without you all, there would be no film. Finally, I want to thank my investors for their support, for daring to give me so much money to make this film. Haha, thank you!"

After speaking, he nodded and, at the host's signal, helped Gong Li off the stage.

The awards continued to be announced, with the Jury Prize going to Fargo and Breaking the Waves, and the Palme d'Or to Secrets and Lies, for which the Best Actress winner had previously won.

No other Chinese-language films received any awards.

The 49th Cannes International Film Festival has now come to a close.

The interviews following the awards ceremony were also held as scheduled.

Standing in the middle, Chen An happily accepted the interview, holding the Best Director certificate in his hand. The large white paper was rolled up and tied with a red string.

Holding up the certificate with a smile, Chen An was photographed by the media present.

The reporters below were getting increasingly anxious with their questions, and Chen An selected them one by one, starting with the domestic reporters.

The reporter who was pointed at was very excited and immediately said, "Director Chen, hello. I'm a reporter from China Youth Daily. You won the Best Director Award at the 49th Cannes Film Festival, becoming the youngest recipient. What are your thoughts on this?"

"Then I must thank the jury of the Cannes Film Festival for awarding me the prize despite my age."

Chen An smiled and thanked the judging panel.

The Taiwanese reporter who was called on asked rather cheekily, "Do you think your Best Director award this time will lower the credibility of the Cannes Film Festival, after all, you are just a college student who hasn't graduated yet?"

Chen An retorted sarcastically, "Are there any security guards here? Are there any security guards here? Please drag this guy with the rude manner out of here!"

This caused everyone present to burst into laughter.

Then, a number of foreign reporters arrived, and they all rushed to ask questions.

A French journalist asked, "Director An-chen, will your film be shown in Europe?"

"The copyright will be sold later, and it will most likely be released in Europe. I hope the audience will like the film."

After giving his answer, Chen An met the female reporter who had interviewed him at the premiere.

Chen An answered her interview again, but this time she didn't ask about the movie at all, and instead started with the issue of women's rights.

Chen An could only give a compromise answer to the question, which was not much different from what he had said at the premiere.

The final interview lasted for more than half an hour before it ended.

After finishing the interview, Chen An rushed to the celebration banquet hosted by Han Sanping.

When the staff from Beijing Film Studio brought Chen An to the venue, the banquet had not yet started.

It didn't officially begin until he arrived.

The news of this award was sent back to China immediately after the interview!

To be honest, I couldn't find the previous Best Director award trophy. I only found the Palme d'Or and the later Jury Prize. Hou Hsiao-hsien's photo only showed him holding a certificate. The trophy presentation was changed later. Ge You only had a certificate at the time. Gong Li also only held up a piece of paper when she presented the Jury Prize at the awards ceremony.

(End of this chapter)