Chapter 337 Cannes Is His Home Ground (Part 2)

Europe's three major international film festivals.

Venice has the longest history, but it seems stingy.

The red carpet is not very impressive, and the film market is extremely small, and it was even closed at one point.

Berlin is much more impressive than Venice, but most of it is monopolized by European cinema giants. In the past few years, American and Asian films had no market at all.

Cannes...

It is the place with the strongest business atmosphere among the three major film markets, and it is also the place where "art" and "business" are best combined.

Nearly a thousand companies register companies every year, and the turnover is often hundreds of millions of dollars, which once attracted countless filmmakers to rush in like crazy.

With more companies, there are naturally more bosses.

There are naturally many businesses that received invitations to the award ceremony dinner!

Some are famous...

Some are not famous.

But...

Who would have trouble with money?

The bustling venue.

Zhang Sheng stood in a corner, chatting about movies with some directors in a small group.

At first...

He was chatting up British female director Valerie, who was attending Cannes for the first time, with excitement, nervousness and anxiety on her face...

Valerie's film "The Lower Depths" was a $700,000 film, and she was the producer, director, and actress...

She had originally signed up for Cannes with the mood of giving it a try, but who knew it would be shortlisted...

One month ago!

When she heard that her film "The Lower Depths" was shortlisted for Cannes, she almost went crazy.

But filming "The Lower Depths" also made her a little embarrassed. On the eve of arriving in Cannes, she found that she had not bought a dress that fit her.

Of course, she was a little frustrated.

Of course, when she walked into Cannes, the frustration in her heart was much less.

She was frightened by the bustle of Cannes and the countless crazy reporters and media, as if it was a world-class movie carnival...

When "The Lower Depths" was screened in Cannes, it was not very popular. It was a niche art film. Although it was sold very hard, the film copyright was sold very limitedly. So far, it has only sold the copyright to three countries, and they are some messy small film producers...

In Cannes, or anywhere else in the world, newcomers are not valued.

When she walked in from the red carpet, she was also ranked last...

She is not tall, on the contrary, she is only 1.5 meters tall.

She is not beautiful either. Although she dressed up very carefully, she still couldn't cover the freckles and concave on her face, which made her feel a little inferior.

When she walked into the awards ceremony with a group of teams, she didn't even know what she should do or say, and then she just sat there stupidly...

I thought she would sit until the awards ceremony started, but no one expected that a young man from China would come and talk to her.

At first, Valerie couldn't figure out where this young Chinese man who spoke fluent English and had both a Western gentlemanly demeanor and an Eastern elegant and restrained style came from.

He seemed to be a "film distributor" from China with abundant funds who came to buy their copyrights. This was how he introduced himself at the beginning. He seemed to be a producer. "Seven Days to Die", the first "horror film" nominated in the history of Cannes, seemed to be his work.

At first glance, Valerie shrank back cautiously, then stood up politely and shook hands with Zhang Sheng.

He said that he liked her work very much...

Then, they talked about the "civilian" art in the movie.

Her first reaction was that this Chinese man should have seen her movies.

In the following chat, she was sure that she had not only seen her movies, but also really appreciated her movies...

Then, she found that when chatting with this Chinese man, the whole person would feel very comfortable, like a spring breeze blowing from a long distance, blowing on the cheeks, and immersing people in the gentle voice.

It is easy for you to let go of some of your vigilance...

Then, before you know it, she started to talk more.

People who are good at listening are naturally easy to be liked by others.

But soon, Valerie discovered one thing, that is, since when, there seemed to be more and more directors and producers around her...

At first, they were some new directors like Valerie...

This Chinese director in front of her could easily call out their names and their directors accurately...

During the chat, Valerie found that he was not only a "film producer" and "producer", but also the organizer of a Brazilian company called [Southern California International Film Awards] last year...

This award is a bit unfamiliar.

But after careful consideration, it seems that Valerie has heard of this name internationally?

In short, Valerie became more and more excited as she listened...

Then, I don't know if it was the herd effect or what, but more directors surrounded this Chinese youth...

………………………………

Zheng Shaoshuai sat back in his chair.

Looking at Zhang Sheng not far away, he still felt a little uncomfortable in his heart.

But…

He would not be affected by a “little person”, he just felt that Zhang Sheng was a “clown” who was trying to attract attention.

Zhang Sheng was desperately trying to integrate into this group and the West, which made him look more present, but most of the directors around him were “little directors” who had just come to Cannes.

Shaoshuai Zheng realized that he did not mean to look down on young directors, but what was the point of knowing those young directors who couldn't even sell the film rights and were just here to make soy sauce and accompany them?

When he first walked into Cannes, Marshal Zheng was as enthusiastic as Zhang Sheng. He thought that if these directors won awards and soared into the sky, he would be able to accumulate more connections in Europe and the United States in the future.

But later, he gradually realized that at the Cannes International Film Festival, there were very few low-cost films that suddenly "counterattacked", and his thoughts faded away.

Cannes is not Berlin or Venice. It pays more attention to the perfect combination of business and art.

No matter which one of them becomes a shortcoming, it is impossible to win the prize...

Over the years, there have been too many new directors coming and going at the [Cannes International Film Festival]. Some new directors have only been shortlisted for the first time in their lives, and their international standing is not even as good as his, Shaoshuai Zheng.

He sat calmly and looked at the big screen in front of him.

As a burst of beautiful music sounded.

This year’s [Cannes International Film Festival] awards ceremony has finally begun.

He subconsciously glanced at Zhang Sheng.

Then, his expression turned a little cold.

Although Zhang Sheng was separated from these directors, Zhang Sheng kept walking among the various crews, seeming to be chatting about something.

He looked so busy, like a maggot, which made Marshal Zheng disgusted and at the same time felt extremely ugly.

Especially when he said something while sitting next to the new British director Valerie, Valerie screamed excitedly...

finally……

When Shaoshuai Zheng saw the staff coming to Zhang Sheng's side, he reminded Zhang Sheng to sit back in his seat and not to disturb other people...

Marshal Zheng suddenly felt very disgusted, and even felt that he couldn't bear it for no reason.

[China, it is the presence of such unqualified people that brings shame to us]

【This is bad nature! 】

【……】

He thought of these in his mind, and then the expression on his face became even colder.

on the stage……

After the performance, the two hosts came over and talked a lot.

Off stage.

Zhang Sheng didn't seem to stop because of the staff's reminder. Instead, he pulled the staff member to a corner and seemed to be chatting about something.

Marshal Zheng actually didn't want to look at Zhang Sheng, because he felt that Zhang Sheng's appearance really made him feel sick.

but……

He finally took a look.

Marshal Zheng didn't know what Zhang Sheng and the staff member were talking about. It seemed that after the conversation, when Zhang Sheng went to talk to some directors about things, the staff member stopped caring.

certainly……

Zhang Sheng's figure was more secretive and did not affect other people.

[What is he signing? 】

Marshal Zheng really doesn’t want to look at Zhang Sheng anymore!

However, when Zhang Sheng's figure with his head lowered appeared next to him, he couldn't avoid it.

He saw Zhang Sheng holding a contract and handing it to a director not far away...

on the stage.

The show was loud.

Off stage.

Zhang Sheng followed the director named Mikhalkov, who seemed to be from Russia, to sign something.

Marshal Zheng suddenly became irritable!

I want to scold my mother!

calm!

Must be calm!

He eventually calmed down again, then became a little nervous again.

The awards ceremony has begun!

When the first award appeared, the entire scene erupted with excitement and noise.

The first award is the Golden Camera Award for Best Film.

He saw his movie "Mountain City" hanging in the position of "Seven Days to Kill" and "The Bottom"...

Golden Camera Award!

At least it is incomparable to awards such as the Palme d'Or and the Best Director Award...

It’s the consolation prize in the entire competition unit!

but!

Even if it is a consolation prize, it is an award within the main competition unit.

Moreover, how many awards are there in total at the [Cannes International Film Festival]?

He stared closely in front of him, staring at his "Mountain City".

Then……

"Sorry, give way!"

He saw a figure suddenly raise its head, blocking his sight.

Immediately afterwards, he saw Zhang Sheng passing by him with a silly smile and holding another agreement.

"Hey, Director Zheng, so you are here, and our two crews are still standing aside?"

Marshal Zheng's face was cold.

Ignore Zhang Sheng's familiarity...

But Zhang Sheng seemed to have taken root, blocking his view.

"Please, give way!"

His voice was extremely cold.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Seeing how pale your face was, I thought you had a cold. I just wanted to help you take a look..."

Zhang Sheng got out of the way.

but!

He heard bursts of applause.

far away……

The lights are on!

He stared.

He saw that his "Mountain City" was not selected...

Then……

The British female director named Valerie won the award!

Valerie stood up excitedly, hugged one of the girls on her team tightly, and then rushed onto the stage.

"Hey, what a pity, "Seven Days to Die" was not selected..."

"It's okay, Mr. Zhang. Look, Marshal Zheng, Director Zheng's movie seems to have been rejected... Look at his face, it's as white as a zombie!"

"Hush, Director Bi, what did I teach you? I told you not to say bad things about people behind their backs..."

"I didn't say anything behind their backs. I said it in front of Director Zheng. And it wasn't bad words. I was stating a fact..."

Zheng Shaoshuai stared at the front with a gloomy face. Bi Feiyu suddenly turned his head and looked mean!