Chapter 30
Qiao Yiqiao actually understood very well the Film Bureau's intention in asking him to participate in the competition.
This is an era of change. The new director of the Film Bureau was transferred from □□. When he first took office, he made a pledge to help Chinese films go global.
In fact, the Chinese film market has always been a place that European and American countries both fear and love.
What we love is that it has a large box office and it is easy to sell at the box office, but we are also afraid that because there are too many films released, it is easy for it to be unknown.
In contrast, Chinese films have always faced the problem of “being unable to go out”.
The best overseas box office now is still "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" from more than 20 years ago, but it only took in 210 million US dollars.
As an important port for cultural exports, Chinese films have never been recognized by the world.
What Director Wang wants to do is to make a series of films that are recognized by the world.
Chinese films and television have always been criticized for not respecting innovative and unique films.
So this year Director Wang hand-picked a group of somewhat unconventional films to compete at major film festivals.
This can be seen as both the support of Chinese film institutions for innovative films and the conquest of the world by Chinese filmmakers.
Qiao Yi Qiao naturally wanted to take advantage of this opportunity. After all, winning an award for a movie is an honor for a director.
The Rotterdam Film Festival (IFFR) was to officially open in a month, and Qiao Yiqiao had been waiting anxiously. Until 15 days before the opening, he suddenly received bad news from IFFR.
The entire film selection team, including director Xie Ran, was fired.
In previous years, the number of Chinese-language films participating in the Rotterdam Film Festival may have been as high as 20, but it has dropped sharply in the past two years. Many people suspected that there was a problem with IFFR's film selection team. Today's news that director Xie Ran and other Chinese film selectors were fired undoubtedly confirmed this rumor.
This not only means that the direction of film selection at the Rotterdam Film Festival will change, but also whether Chinese-language films can recreate their previous glorious achievements has become an unpredictable variable.
When Qiao Yiqiao heard the news, he naturally felt discouraged.
Because so far, there has been no news from the country that any work has been shortlisted for the main competition unit.
There is also very little news about the films that will be screened and in other competition units, only 4.
In the past, this number was at least 20+.
In fact, Qiao Yi Qiao didn’t have much hope. He thought it would be good to be shortlisted for the exhibition, but he also felt that at least it would be shortlisted for the "Bright Future Unit"... Just as he was tossing and turning in anxiety, Qiao Yi Qiao suddenly received an email from the film festival organizing committee.
The email was written in Dutch and English, which was not a problem for Qiao Yiqiao to read.
"Dear Mr. Qiao, we sincerely invite your film "Chaotic Campus" to enter the main competition unit of the Rotterdam Film Festival, the Golden Tiger Competition Unit. We are looking forward to your arrival. Please reply to this email..."
Oh my god!
Even though he had prepared himself mentally for a week, Qiao Yi Qiao still felt a shock when he received this email.
He was shortlisted.
And it is the main competition unit!
You should know that every year there are four to five hundred films submitted, and only ten of them can be shortlisted for the main competition unit to compete for the Golden Tiger honor.
Qiao Yiqiao immediately replied to the email, stating that he was willing to participate and would definitely arrive on time.
After replying the email, Qiao Yi Qiao began to read the invitation letter carefully.
The Rotterdam Film Festival is the only film festival in the world that does not have a red carpet, in order to highlight its uniqueness, so there is no mention of any dress code on the invitation letter.
The invitation letter was also very concise, simply listing this year's opening and closing films and inviting everyone to participate.
It’s really unique.
Moreover, at the end of the invitation letter, reimbursement matters are also listed.
This is actually the part that Qiao Yiqiao is most concerned about.
Qiao Yi Qiao inquired around and found out that in the past the Rotterdam Film Festival only reimbursed the director’s airfare and seven-day accommodation expenses, but this time, Rotterdam seemed to have enough money and could reimburse the related expenses of the two main creators, including the director.
It is not easy to go from frugality to extravagance.
Qiao Yi Qiao immediately began to think about who to take with him.
…
Huarui Entertainment Dormitory.
"Hey, why are you back again?" Xiao Du laughed and mocked, "Didn't you go to school?"
Dafeng also echoed: "Do you miss your brothers?"
"Or was it because he couldn't continue his studies and was expelled?" Aji also laughed.
Ming Ziqin said nothing.
He just came back to pick up the luggage he hadn't taken away.
But unexpectedly, the luggage had been thrown away somewhere unknown.
He should have thought of it earlier. Once he left, these three former teammates would definitely not keep those things for him.
So he walked out of the room without looking back.
"Remember to come back if you can't continue studying."
"Yeah, we can even take you along to play."
"It's normal that your brain can't learn it, but please don't commit suicide~"
The three teammates were still shouting and laughing in a very strange way.
They have done this kind of thing of kicking someone when he is down more than once or twice.
But even though he had made all kinds of mental preparations, Ming Ziqin's fingers were still shaking violently when he walked out of the dormitory building and lit a cigarette.
He thought he was already very strong, especially after this shoot, he should have improved a lot.
But I didn't expect it to have such a big impact.
Just as he was silently complaining about his own uselessness, his cell phone suddenly rang.
It was sent by Qiao Yiqiao.
"Xiao Ming, go get your passport and visa. I'll take you to Rotterdam."
…
As a city that advocates culture and tolerance, the Netherlands is one of the easiest European countries to get a visa for. With the special letter from the Film Bureau and the invitation letter from the Rotterdam Film Festival Organizing Committee, the visa application process went very smoothly.
Qiao Yiqiao finally decided to take Xiao He, Su Lang and Ming Ziqin with him.
Among them, Ming Ziqin was reimbursed by the organizing committee, while Xiao He and Su Lang were reimbursed by Qiao Yiqiao himself.
It's not even the company's account.
As for Tu Yu and Sister Wu.
They chose to travel on their own at their own expense and were not on the same flight as the four of them.
On the plane, four people sat in the same row in economy class.
When the plane took off, Su Lang's face suddenly became solemn, Xiao He also frowned, and even Qiao Yiqiao became tense.
Ming Ziqin, who often flies, couldn't help laughing when he saw the three of them like this: "Is this your first time on a plane?"
The three of them looked at him and nodded in unison: "Yeah."
Ming Ziqin looked at the three people with a smile.
When the plane was flying steadily, the three people sat upright, but all their heads were looking out the small window.
Even if it was just the usual blue sky and white clouds, they were afraid of missing any details.
The large steel wings of the plane pressed down on the white clouds, making it almost impossible to see far away.
Ming Ziqin looked at the three people and suddenly smiled: "I think meeting you is the luckiest thing in my life."
Qiao Yiqiao then retracted his gaze and turned to look at Ming Ziqin: "It's all fate, we are all equally lucky."
In this small cabin.
Qiao Yi Qiao suddenly had a feeling.
Hold the grass.
I’m really a director now.
I also attended film festivals and flew back and forth, just like what was written in the entertainment news.
Who would have thought that several months ago, I was still worried about food and clothing?
Then he turned around and looked at Su Lang and Xiao He.
Xiao He looked at ease as always, even though this was his first time on a plane.
Su Lang's brows relaxed, as if the trouble that had been weighing on his heart had finally been relieved.
There is also Ming Ziqin.
His temperament had changed drastically.
All this is thanks to the movie.
This industry and his job are so magical.
Qiao Yi Qiao originally wanted to keep looking outside until the landing, but the application and subtitle proofreading work before the film festival took up too much of his time, so he fell asleep unknowingly.
When I opened my eyes again, it was 10 hours later and the plane was landing.
Rotterdam.
A place that Qiao Yiqiao had only seen in books before.
Now it appeared in front of him in a square shape.
After the plane landed, the four got on the Uber they had arranged earlier and headed straight to the hotel.
Xiao He and Qiao Yi Qiao both have good English, although it was only theory knowledge before, but in Rotterdam, where the English literacy rate is over 90%, it is considered impressive.
But when they arrived at the hotel, they learned shocking news: the hotel would not start checking in until after 2 pm, and it was now 11 am, which meant that they would have to stay outside for at least four hours.
Ming Ziqin was just thinking about whether to go somewhere to rest when he saw Xiao He had already started planning his itinerary.
After leaving their luggage at the hotel, the four of them rented bicycles from the hotel and set off directly.
Rotterdam itself is not big, with an area of only more than 300 square kilometers, which is the same size as a small county town in China. Bicycles are the most popular means of transportation here, so the four of them got on and set off.
The first stop is the very famous 3D Cube House, located due east of Rotterdam. It was designed by designer Piet Blom. All the houses are tilted at a 45° angle and look like beige Rubik's cubes from a distance.
The director is naturally sensitive to lines and colors, and Xiao He also knows this, so he chose this place as the first stop.
It was really enjoyable to visit Qiaoyi Bridge. I looked around and took a lot of photos.
As he was holding up his camera and taking pictures, suddenly a young lady with thick eyebrows and big eyes next to him took a picture of him.
"Are you Chinese people?" the other party asked excitedly.
And with a thick accent.
Qiao Yiqiao took off his sunglasses and looked at the other person, who looked very South Asian. "Yes. Where are you from?"
The other party immediately became excited after hearing the affirmative answer, "I'm from Pakistan, you know Pakistan?"
Pakistan.
It turned out to be Pakistan!
No wonder she came to chat with him after hearing he just spoke Chinese with Xiao He and the others.
The two immediately started chatting in English.
It would have been fine if we hadn't talked, but once we did, we found out that this young lady's name was Sabri Hashemi, and she was also here to attend the Rotterdam Film Festival.
Moreover, her work, like Qiao Yiqiao's, was shortlisted for the main competition, the Golden Tiger Award unit.
"I know you!" The young lady immediately became excited, "You are QYQ, and this year your film is the only Chinese work shortlisted for the main competition unit!"
"Really?"
While Qiao Yi Qiao was surprised, he also silently put pressure on himself.
This year's Chinese movies will depend on his.
By the way, he complained in his heart.
What exactly is the name QYQ?
"What is your film about?" Qiao Yiqiao told the other party very frankly, "I don't know much about Pakistani films, sorry."
"It's okay," Sabry smiled. "The film and television industry in our country is poorly developed, and everyone knows that. I also shot this film as an independent director. I used a DV camera to shoot the entire process, and it tells the story of my sister's abortion process."
"Your sister?" Qiao Yiqiao couldn't help but feel a little strange. "You look very young too."
"Yes!" Sabri's smile faded. "My sister is only 14 years old! But she was pregnant and was raped by a husband. In Pakistan, domestic violence against women is not a big deal. No one cares. Hundreds of women die from domestic violence every year. My sister was raped by a married woman.
, but no one cares about adultery within marriage! After all, no one cares about adultery outside marriage either!"
Qiao Yiqiao was filled with emotion after hearing this: "Luckily, there are filmmakers like you."
There are still many dark corners in this world, but there are also some weak figures fighting against them.
"I just wanted to record it all! My sister died three weeks ago, otherwise I would have brought her to Rotterdam to see the house here."
Qiao Yiqiao also felt the pain: "My condolences."
"It's okay. In fact, I'm very happy because she was in pain every day she was alive," Sabry smiled. "Now she is free. I think it is with her blessing that I can be shortlisted for the main competition unit."
Talking about movies, Sabri returned to his happy demeanor: "My films are greatly influenced by China. My favorite thing is to go to the rescue base opened by China and watch Chinese movies there."
Qiao Yiqiao also became excited: "Which one do you like best?"
"A Brighter Summer Day! Edward Yang, yyds!"
It seems that the Pakistani girl really likes Chinese culture and is very familiar with even these popular Internet memes.
"I also like Mr. Edward Yang, but my favorite of his films is Yi Yi."
“I also like Yi Yi. Besides Mr. Edward Yang, I also like Tsai Ming-liang.”
“…”
In the remaining hour, they talked about Edward Yang, Tsai Ming-liang, Chung Mong-hong, Wong Kar-wai's unique creative method and Stephen Chow's unique nonsensical style, and then the fifth and sixth generation directors, and Zhang Yimou's words "Color is the most capable factor in awakening human emotional fluctuations. I want it to be completely bright, and all the colors must be shocking, even if they are a little vulgar." Both of them deeply agreed with this statement.
"We agreed that we must come to the first screening of each other's works!" Sabry said firmly, "We are already friends. China and Pakistan, good friends forever!"
Qiao Yiqiao nodded seriously: "Of course. Good friends."
On the way back, Qiao Yi Qiao was thinking.
Film is such a complex and pure art.
It is so complicated that every detail cannot be discussed in an entire afternoon.
But it is so pure that as long as you are passionate about it, you can find like-minded partners.
Why fear the infinity of truth?
There is a step further of joy.
When they returned to the hotel that day, the four of them were exhausted and fell asleep immediately without caring about jet lag.
Qiao Yi Qiao was no exception. When he opened his eyes again, it was already noon the next day.
The four of them packed up quickly and headed to the Pathe cinema in the center of Rotterdam.
The opening ceremony will be held here.
After showing the invitation letter and the email in advance to reserve the seat, the four of them entered the largest theater in Pathe, which can accommodate hundreds of people.
After a brief introduction by the Chairman, the screening ceremony of the first work was held.
The opening film is a debut film from a Polish director, telling the story of a girl with bipolar disorder learning to ride a bicycle.
It was also the first time that Qiao Yiqiao had a direct experience of the films shortlisted for the Rotterdam Film Festival.
So...boring.
In fact, the films at the Rotterdam Film Festival have always been criticized for being weird and boring.
But this film magnifies these two characteristics infinitely.
The whole movie is full of experimental techniques, and even contains some transition designs that Qiao Yiqiao thinks are similar to PPT, but it actually tells a very simple story.
While Qiao Yiqiao kept marveling at the other party's sophisticated and innovative techniques, he couldn't help but feel that the whole movie was dull and uninteresting.
It's like a candy in a beautiful package, but when you chew it carefully, you find that it's full of industrial saccharin.
It's inevitable that people feel a little disappointed.
However, this film was not selected into the main competition unit.
The reason why the organizing committee chose it as the opening film was purely to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the birth of Polish independent films.
After the opening film ended, many filmmakers left with puzzled expressions.
Qiao Yiqiao breathed a sigh of relief.
Those who come here are ultimate art lovers, and even they have doubts, which means that I am not that special.
In the following days, Qiao Yi Qiao bought several more tickets for movies that interested him.
These are all debut works by film directors like him.
The quality is indeed uneven.
But everyone is doing something very new.
After constantly learning these new techniques, Qiao Yiqiao also developed his own views on movies.
He likes, and only likes, movies with good stories.
Although he is a new director, he holds the old-fashioned view that movies are just a carrier of stories.
In the end, what matters is the story itself; all the techniques are fleeting.
This is what he felt after watching Sabri's film.
Sabri's film is not long, only more than 70 minutes, and the technique is extremely crude. It was shot entirely with DV and even without any lighting.
But the story is thought-provoking enough. Her sister was forced to marry her "husband" after being raped, but she did not want to give birth to the child, so she looked for a way to have an abortion.
Although this story is simple and not uncommon in South Asia and the Middle East, it is very real and down-to-earth.
Qiao Yiqiao found that he would rather watch ten films like this than watch those films that show off their skills but have no story.
But unfortunately, Qiao Yiqiao's tickets were for the audience, and many viewers left halfway through the show because they couldn't stand the overly shaky camera.
After the screening, Qiao Yiqiao and Sabri also had a brief exchange. They heard that the viewing situation at the press and film malls was not optimistic.
Various A-level film festivals and most B-level film festivals will have at least two special sessions, namely the media session and the film market session, because they are very targeted audiences. There may be as many as 2,000 films on display at a film festival, and they cannot watch every show, so many of them just watch for a few minutes and then leave.
Because people are afraid that they will affect the viewing experience of ordinary audiences, film festivals have various special screenings.
Sabry's film was not even well-performing for ordinary audiences, let alone the other two special screenings.
However, Qiao Yiqiao didn't have much to say except a few words of comfort.
After all, all a director can do is put all his heart and soul into the movie.
But whether it can succeed depends on the right time, place and people.
"It's okay, QYQ, I could have guessed this would be the result," the strong girl Sabri still smiled. "As a pioneer of independent films in our country and as a female filmmaker, it's already remarkable that I've been shortlisted. Look forward to my next work, QYQ, and then we can compete to see who's better."
"Sure." Qiao Yi Qiao held her hand.
The next day, Qiao Yiqiao saw that Sabri had sent him a message on WhatsApp saying that she had returned to China.
Qiao Yi Qiao asked her why she didn't wait until the closing ceremony and awards ceremony was over before going back.
She said that because she knew she couldn't win the prize and her family asked her to do something, she left early.
She also said that she would always remember the afternoon she spent chatting with QYQ and give him all her good luck.
The next day.
On a very comfortable afternoon, the screening of Chaos Campus was finally about to begin.
The first one was the screening at the press conference.
To be honest, Qiao Yiqiao didn't care much about the press conference.
He is more concerned about the audience and the film market.
The former represents the acceptance of his films among the general public, while the latter represents whether his films can be sold and make some money.
Therefore, Qiao Yiqiao originally had no plan to attend the press conference.
He had originally wanted to listen to a musical at the Toronto Concert Hall at the same time and had already bought the tickets. However, he did not expect that the film originally scheduled for screening tomorrow was temporarily withdrawn because of a film from a certain country today, so Qiao Yi Qiao had to move it up a day.
Asking is very angry.
He has wanted to listen to a musical for a long time, but the tickets are very expensive and cannot be reimbursed.
But Xiao He dragged him, even pulled him, forcing Qiao Yi Qiao to come to the media venue.
After all, we are facing media from all over the world here.
Just before the screening began, Qiao Yi Qiao, who was already in a bad mood, encountered a small trouble.
He discovered that the Korean projection team from the theater next door was "stealing" reporters from his theater.
Qiao Yiqiao's film is the only one from China and one of the ten films shortlisted for the Golden Tiger Award main competition. Xiao He also took the opportunity to secretly reveal the filming method is "very subversive" a few days ago. In addition, the topic of Chinese independent films has always been very high... With all these conditions added together, naturally there are many reporters.
Qiao Yiqiao never worried about the issue of publicity.
But today, in the next hall, about 5 minutes before his screening, there was another screening, which was an independent film from Korea.
The film industry system in Korea is very developed, but the development of independent films has not made much progress. Except for a few films such as "Greenhead Fly", there are not many award-winning works in Rotterdam, at least, far less than China before.
As for the movie being screened next door today, Qiao Yi Qiao also sent Xiao He to inquire about it. However, he still couldn't remember the outline of the story even after he was told it three times.
The main thing is... it's not very good.
There were no publicity points, so not many reporters were willing to attend the press conference.
Then they started to "steal" reporters.
When Qiao Yiqiao went out, he heard the guy who was either the producer or the director nodding and bowing to the Western reporter: "Yes,
yes, this is QYQ's movie."
Qiao Yiqiao: “Ahem.”
When Xiao He heard the noise, he immediately looked up at him and then understood what he meant.
Then, Xiao He found the security guard on the spot.
Less than three seconds.
The other party retracted his sneaky head.
Qiao Yiqiao thought the matter was over.
At three o'clock in the afternoon, the Rotterdam debut of "Chaotic Campus" officially began.
The theater was already full of reporters.
Although Qiao Yiqiao always said that he didn't care, he couldn't help feeling uneasy.
He wanted to see the media's reaction, but didn't dare to. In the end, he simply stood at the back of the theater, intending to analyze something from the backs of the people.
Or, just count how many people leave... or just count how many people stay.
The movie begins.
Faced with the first few shots, doubtful voices were heard in the venue.
Qiao Yi Qiao also knew what they were wondering about.
Because they couldn't tell what these shots were, they looked like surveillance footage.
But soon, they entered the main storyline and the matter was forgotten.
All the reporters watched with bated breath as the story progressed on the road of revenge where evil was fought with evil.
But Qiao Yi Qiao also noticed that some people seemed to be leaning on the backrest.
It seems that there is some routine in all this.
but.
The film has reached the middle.
The setting of the social experiment was thrown out, and then the director's words were spoken.
For this screening, Qiao Yiqiao and Ming Ziqin specially redesigned the lines one by one and recorded the English version.
Because both of them have accents in their English, it's even funnier.
The whole audience started laughing.
But there were also many people who, after seeing Ming Ziqin's transformation, gasped.
The atmosphere in the whole room kept switching between laughter and sighs, like a constantly rotating magnetic pole that made people feel anxious.
Finally, when a group of people were admitted to high school and were drinking soda in the morning sun, the audience exclaimed "Ah~".
It seems to be saying, "Is this the end?"
Then, applause broke out.
The media almost never applaud because they are in a hurry to go back and write their articles, so it is a miracle that they can even see the end.
And Qiao Yiqiao counted them.
The number of people who left midway is...
0.
In the darkness, Qiao Yi Qiao smiled imperceptibly.
Maybe he really did something.
Nearly four months.
From preparation, to setting the scene, to casting, to filming, to facing countless emergencies, to completion, to editing, to color grading...
Everything seems to be worth it, right?
Even after the lights in the cinema came back on, many reporters and film critics came over to talk to Qiao Yiqiao about the content of the movie and asked him how it was filmed.
Qiao Yiqiao was also very frank, and told us how he designed it, what problems he encountered, what deficiencies he had, etc.
The media frantically took notes.
But unexpectedly, at this moment, someone suddenly broke such a harmonious atmosphere.
The main creators from Korea actually turned on the loudspeaker and entered the venue shouting that they hoped everyone would go and see their movie.
Although... this spirit is quite respectable.
But, this is still Qiao Yi Qiao's home screening venue after all, and Qiao Yi Qiao does not want to respect these thieves.
Qiao Yi Qiao had been looking a little gloomy today, and only felt a little better when he was answering questions from the media just now.
Now the whole thing is collapsing.
Without giving it much thought, he picked up a roll-up banner support tube lying on the floor of the theater.
"Please leave my screening," Qiao Yiqiao said coldly, "We are all Asian filmmakers, don't force me to break up."
This passage is spoken in Chinese.
Qiao Yi Qiao was too lazy to think about the English. Anyway, the other party should be able to understand it by looking at his expression.
After he finished speaking, Su Lang and Xiao He also picked up a support tube each.
"Get out." They both said almost in unison.
The three people from the Korean country were frightened instantly.
Then, without waiting for Qiao Yi Qiao and the other two to ask any questions, he ran out of the screening room.
Qiao Yiqiao immediately put down the support pipe, then looked at the reporter and smiled politely.
"Sorry, I didn't ask your question again?"
…
That night, Qiao Yi Qiao returned to the hotel.
Xiao He ran over excitedly with his iPad in hand, "Boss, we should see what the first wave of media reports say! There are also film critics' columns and so on."
Qiao Yiqiao thought that humility helps people progress and it was okay to listen to other people's criticisms, so he and Xiao He started watching it.
Unexpectedly.
What caught my eye was the largest local newspaper in Rotterdam. At the bottom of the front page, there was a headline clearly written.
"Chinese gangster made an extraordinary movie"
The accompanying picture shows Qiao Yiqiao and two other people holding steel pipes (roll-up banner support rods) pointing at three people from Korea.
At the same time, this information with the same entry topped the local Little Blue Bird Trend List.
Qiao Yiqiao: “…”
As expected of a Western journalist.
Just love to talk nonsense!!
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