Chapter 258: Asia-Pacific Film Festival's Youngest Actress...

After rushing to finish filming the second sequel to "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" in early March, Li Sishi began preparing for her trip to Fandu, New Zealand to attend this year's Asia-Pacific Film Festival.

Since the goal is to win awards, Li Sishi naturally did her homework on the history and rules of the film festival in advance: the original name of this "Asia-Pacific Film Festival" was actually "Southeast Asian Film Festival".

In order to expand into the Southeast Asian market, Daiei Co., Ltd., one of the five major film companies in Japan, planned to invite a group of film and television cultural social groups from neighboring regions to jointly establish the "Southeast Asian Film Producers Association". Based on this, they would hold the "Southeast Asian Film Festival" every year to exchange new films from their respective regions.

One of the original core members of this association is Sir Zhao, the current big boss of TBL and the former head of Zhao's Film Company.

Later, as Australia, New Zealand and other regions gradually joined, the original "Southeast Asian Film Producers Association" was renamed "Asia-Pacific Film Producers Alliance" due to the increase in members, which is now the "Asia Pacific Film Festival". Its official purpose is to promote the development of friendly relations between countries and regions through the dissemination and exchange of films in the corresponding member regions.

Of course, despite the nice-sounding name, the most important purpose of this film festival is actually to "create stars" and "sell films".

Hollywood blockbusters have swept the globe with overwhelming force. Asian films started later than Hollywood films, and there is also a gap in technology. Therefore, Asian films have been trying their best to resist the impact of foreign cultures while absorbing the essence of foreign cultures and making them their own.

The outstanding local filmmakers and films that have emerged over the past few decades are the result of the hard work and perseverance of this generation of early filmmakers.

However, relatively speaking, even ten fingers are not all the same length. Influenced by economic, policy, and cultural factors in various regions and countries, the most popular films at the Asia-Pacific Film Festival are basically those produced in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Japan. Among them, Hong Kong, which followed the path of Hollywood's rise, was particularly prominent, once challenging the entire film industry of Japan with just one city.

Thanks to the influx of talent from all over the world after the war, coupled with favorable timing, location, and people, as well as the creation of Hong Kong films incorporating local cultural elements, they consistently garnered awards and significant exposure at the Asia-Pacific Film Festival. Had Sir Zhao not shifted his focus from the film industry to television in the 1990s, Taiwanese films would likely be sweeping awards at the Asia-Pacific Film Festival today.

Art films may not have as many opportunities to win awards.

Zhuang Menghua's earlier statement that Li Sishi would have a high chance of winning an award at the Asia-Pacific Film Festival was not made lightly. During the heyday of Zhao's films, a group of actresses frequently won Best Actress awards at the Asia-Pacific Film Festival, some even multiple times. Besides their strong abilities, the intricate web of personal relationships and interests behind the scenes was also a crucial factor.

When Li Sishi and Zhuang Menghua were analyzing the film selection, they had also considered this point: although Sir Zhao's voice and influence in the Asia-Pacific Film Festival were not as great as in the Zhao family film era, a lean camel is still bigger than a horse. If she put her mind to it, she had a good chance of winning the "youngest Asia-Pacific Film Festival Best Actress".

After all, the Asia-Pacific Film Festival was born from a commercial foundation, so it pays the most attention to equal distribution and equitable access.

In recent years, art films produced in Taiwan have won several Best Actress awards. If this year's award is given to a Taiwanese film that likes to use melodramatic art films to compete for awards, other participating regions will have some objections.

Li Sishi's almost revolutionary new look and entirely new film genre are precisely what has led to this "aesthetic fatigue."

He is a good player who opens up a new chapter for the public.

Considering that there would be a red carpet event at the opening of the Asia-Pacific Film Festival, Li Sishi, while preparing for the awards, also made sure to find herself a suitable dress—and she also took her male lead and junior colleague Cheng Erjian, who had just finished filming a movie, with her. The target was undoubtedly Rong Juezhang's clothing store.

Although she herself had quite a few designer gowns that Madam Li had bought for her, as a newcomer attending the Asia-Pacific Film Festival for the first time, she really couldn't dress too outrageously, so she still had to be careful about her gowns.

While Rong Juezhang's clothing store, like his father who is known as the "King of Suits," mainly focuses on high-end bespoke design, Rong Juezhang's personality, which is like a Western dragon in his love of collecting, also means that his store has a lot of clothing and accessories that he has personally sourced from all over the world. These include well-known brands as well as lesser-known but uniquely designed small brands.

So, if Li Sishi wants to get herself a suitable dress and Cheng Erjian a men's suit that matches her well, then she'll have to fleece her "cousin"...

Of course, Li Sishi had called Rong Juezhang beforehand and received his approval before coming over.

However, Rong Juezhang was still worried about these two unruly kids who would become reckless once they started letting loose. After confirming the time, he quickly checked his own...

I readjusted my schedule and recent filming assignments, making sure I could only feel at ease if I personally watched the two of them walk out of my shop.

So the first thing Li Sishi did upon entering was to greet Rong Juezhang. Then, under his guidance, she first picked out a low-key yet elegant long fishtail dress for herself, and then pulled the already dazzled Cheng Erjian to browse the men's clothing section.

This was such a blatant exploitation; Rong Juezhang, who had just returned from filming to his own clothing store, practically rolled his eyes to the heavens…

"It's not like we're not going to pay!" Seeing Rong Juezhang's look, Li Sishi stuffed a burgundy suit into Cheng Erjian's arms and pushed him into the changing room, then pretended to be annoyed and put her hands on her hips.

“These beautiful clothes of mine aren’t something money can buy…” Rong Juezhang replied, both amused and exasperated. Then he asked her to bring over the fishtail skirt she had chosen to check her measurements. “The waist measurement of this skirt is a bit larger than yours, so it needs to be altered before you wear it.”

"Hehe, thanks a lot, cousin." Li Sishi quickly put the fishtail skirt on the table next to her. "We're all so familiar with each other, can you give me a discount?"

"Don't even think about it!" Rong Juezhang picked up the long ruler on the table, intending to give her outstretched hand a hard whack as a "small punishment to warn her."

"Wow, is corporal punishment still popular now?!" Cheng Erjian, who had just changed his clothes in the changing room, rushed over and grabbed the long ruler when he saw this.

"It's nothing, it's nothing, my cousin was just joking with me." Li Sishi waved her hand to smooth things over, then looked at Cheng Erjian, looked him up and down, and nodded with satisfaction, "Looks really good, what do you think?"

Although Cheng Erjian, the male lead, has a significant role in "Mermaid Romance," his character is essentially more of a "supporting role." Therefore, his appearance on the red carpet at the Asia-Pacific Film Festival was purely as a tool for Li Sishi, the female lead who is aiming for the Best Actress award.

However, since the first part of "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" has recently started to be sold in Southeast Asia, he has begun to move from being a little famous to being very popular. To attend film festivals where many film distributors and filmmakers gather, he has to be as low-key as Li Sishi, yet also have a unique and eye-catching quality.

"I'm fine." Cheng Erjian's personality in real life is really soft and cute, which is the exact opposite of He Nan in the movie. The only difference is that he is a straight man with a lazy and unambitious aesthetic and personality.

"Sigh, asking you is pointless, cousin. What do you think, from your perspective?" Receiving this seemingly indifferent reply, Li Sishi quickly turned to look at Rong Juezhang.

.

"Okay, it suits your fishtail dress quite well." Rong Juezhang carefully compared the two, stroking his chin thoughtfully.

"Then I'm relieved." Li Sishi nodded in satisfaction.

Having finalized her red carpet gown, Li Sishi began having her assistant pack her luggage, preparing to fly to New Zealand's Fan City with Cheng Erjian.

Fandu is a typical port city, and it has the largest number of sailboats in the world. It is quite similar to the port city. If it weren't for the fact that most of the city's buildings are in the typical 19th-century European style, Li Sishi would feel that coming here is no different from staying in the port city.

But coincidentally—the location of this year's film festival is very helpful for her public relations and publicity efforts for "Mermaid Romance".

Shouldering the important task of helping Li Sishi win her first Best Actress award, Lu Yiting came along no matter how busy she was.

With Lu Yiting handling everything, big or small, Li Sishi and Cheng Erjian didn't need to think or do anything. They simply rested at their pre-booked hotel, got their hair and makeup done, and were then picked up by a car to the film festival venue.

After getting off the bus, the first thing that catches the eye is the largest and most eye-catching billboard in front of you—it features a screenshot of Li Sishi in her mermaid costume in the movie. The dazzling and vibrant image attracted many passersby to stop and stare.

The real "mermaid," however, broke free from the constraints of the flat image on the billboard and, accompanied by her male companion, slowly stepped onto the red carpet.

It was as if the mermaids in the painting had come to life. When a reporter spotted them, he couldn't help but exclaim in surprise and then raised his camera to start shooting in burst mode.

Immediately following was a barrage of dazzling flashes of light from all directions.

Fortunately, Li Sishi and Cheng Erjian were already used to being surrounded by Hong Kong media flashes, so they remained calm and smiled in the face of this situation. Their good looks helped to overcome the lens distortion, leaving behind a lot of beautiful photos.

In contrast, Hou Yaoxin, who was competing with Li Sishi for the Best Actress award, was much more flustered. It was her first time encountering such a scene, and she had crossed over from the music scene to the film industry. Naturally, she was not as natural in front of the camera as Li Sishi and Cheng Erjian, who had been honing their skills for a long time. She was so nervous that she almost walked with her hands and feet moving in unison.

Seeing the situation ahead, Li Sishi said something to Cheng Erjian, then quickened her pace and walked forward. She then helped Hou Yaoxin up on either side of her as if they were friends meeting.

Hou Yaoxin Chong

The two exchanged grateful glances, and then the three of them returned to their seats to await the opening of the film festival that evening.

"Why did you all come together?" Lu Yiting arrived first. Seeing Li Sishi appear with her competitor, she was a little puzzled, but on the surface she remained calm.

"We met on the way, and since we were assigned to the same row, we came together." Before Hou Yaoxin could explain, Li Sishi had already spoken with a smile.

But Lu Yiting was a shrewd person, and she quickly guessed the truth from the three people's postures. So she just smiled and said, "Then come and sit down quickly, the awards ceremony will start soon."

Li Sishi sat down as instructed, then leaned back in her seat with a leisurely yet dignified posture, waiting for the award presentations that had nothing to do with her to pass by one by one.

She only sat up straight when the winner of this year's Best Actress award was about to be announced on stage, waiting for the final result.

Hou Yaoxin, who was sitting not far away, sat up straight immediately. However, she didn't think she had much of a chance of winning. Although her film "Little Fish" was more in line with the Asia-Pacific Film Festival's aesthetic standards, Li Sishi's presence on set was too strong. Regardless of whether she won or lost, she seemed to be indifferent to the outcome.

She had narrowly won against Li Sishi in the Golden Lotus Award before, and this time, she didn't feel that she had much of a home advantage left.

Li Sishi's appearance was particularly stunning. A huge billboard outside not only attracted passersby to stop and stare, but even she was dazzled by her breathtaking beauty.

Moreover, Li Sishi's public relations and promotion for "Mermaid Romance" were truly excellent. She had heard some things before coming here, saying that the film not only sparked heated discussions about environmental protection in many places, but also captivated many people with the mermaid's singing voice in the film, leading them to start listening to Cantonese songs...

Compared to "Little Fish," which supposedly "exposes wounds" and "reflects the social reality of the time" but only invites outsiders to secretly mock the Chinese people for being pitiful and pathetic, "Mermaid Romance" dispels those stereotypes with its stunning visuals and profound themes, genuinely prompting people to discuss what the film wants to show the audience.

Therefore, in this round, the mermaid who successfully erases the "scar" and transcends racial boundaries is the true ultimate winner.

Upon hearing "The Best Actress at this year's Asia-Pacific Film Festival is Li Sishi from 'Mermaid Romance'," and seeing her own image from the movie appear on the screen in front of her, Li Sishi's eyes lit up as she met the projected light.

For a moment, the beauty in the fishtail dress and the mermaid in the award-winning clip were in different places. The mermaid on the screen had tears in her starry eyes and was like a pear blossom in the rain, while the beauty in the fishtail dress in the venue had bright eyes and a beautiful smile. It was hard to tell which one to look at.

The youngest Chinese actress to win a Best Actress award at the Asia Pacific Film Festival was born in this year's edition.