independent filmmaker

December 12 is the award ceremony and closing ceremony of the Turin International Film Festival.

December 12th is Sunday, and the various activities are crowded with people. Bill said before that award-winning films usually appear at this time because it is easy to create momentum, and Xie Lansheng and Xinye have to change hotels—because the copy was sent late, Xie Lansheng booked a room It was too late. At that time, the hotel said that there were no remaining rooms to book on Sunday, the 8th.Xin Ye booked another hotel in the city center, which was also a five-star hotel.The organizing committee of this film festival only reimburses the accommodation for three days, and if Xie Lansheng wants to finish watching, he has to pay for another four days. If it is himself, he will definitely choose the cheapest motel with 8 US dollars, although even the 50 US dollars may You have to worry about borrowing from friends, and even said that he may choose to go home early because of his lack of money.Xie Lansheng felt that it was fortunate that Xin Ye liked the excitement and insisted on watching the awards show...

Therefore, Xie Lansheng checked out the room early in the morning on the 7th, left the luggage at the front desk according to Xin Ye's instructions, told the other party to pick it up at six, and then went to watch the movie screening.

However, what was very strange was that, as soon as Xie Lansheng returned to the hotel at six o'clock, he suddenly saw people from the organizing committee at the gate!It seems that it is still waiting for him!

As soon as they saw Xie Lansheng, they walked over in unison.

Xie Lansheng was dumbfounded.

"Director Xie," said a man from the organizing committee, "Are you planning to go to the airport? Are you going back to China today?"

"what……?"

"We know that underfunded filmmakers don't make it to the final day, however, we cordially invite you to attend tomorrow's closing ceremony."

Xie Lansheng: "???"

"If money is really hard... we'll reimburse you for two more nights."

"No, you misunderstood." Xie Lansheng quickly explained, "I booked the hotel late, and the room was full on Sunday. Now I want to change to another hotel, and I don't plan to leave Turin."

"Oh oh oh..." The organizing committee breathed a sigh of relief, "That's great, see you tomorrow night!"

"Well, see you tomorrow night."

Xie Lansheng was still at a loss as to how many people he was sending away, he turned his head to face Xin Ye, very dazed: "The organizing committee is here...just talk about this? Or is it that the organizing committee will hold on to everyone who is leaving ? We happened to be the last ones, so they left after talking?"

Xin Ye put his hands in his pockets, with a half-smile, "Director Xie, congratulations, you are going to win a big prize."

"what?"

Xin Ye stepped towards the front desk: "If there is no award, they will not deliberately come here to invite you to participate in the award ceremony."

"Yes, is that so?" Xie Lansheng wanted to pretend to be indifferent, but his face was not tense, and the corners of his mouth were bent hard when he bent down to look at the luggage tag.He hid his smile, not wanting Xin Ye to see the joke.

Then Lan Sheng was a little happy, but also a little nervous because the good things hadn't been fulfilled.With his things, he took Xinye's rented car all the way to the new hotel, and when he went in, he found that it was a suite—the outer room could be used for meeting guests and working, the inner room was used for rest and sleep, and there was a super huge jacuzzi in the bathroom.

They went out for dinner, and when they came back, Xie Lansheng got into the bathtub and soaked in bubble tea, feeling like he was acting in a movie.In the middle, Xinye suddenly opened the wooden door to go to the bathroom, Lan Sheng hurriedly pulled the white towel beside him and covered it under his waist, feeling quite embarrassed.Although let's just say, he often goes to the bathhouse, and it doesn't matter if everyone looks at each other, but that is looking at each other, which is different from this one-sided look.Xin Ye seemed to glance at him, but he didn't seem to, and Xie Lansheng didn't know too well.

The two of them lived in the "2Queen" room in the official hotel, this time with two beds, and they lived in peace overnight.

…………

And the next night is the highlight of the festival - the awards ceremony and closing ceremony.

Xie Lansheng put on the suit and leather shoes that Xinye had bought again, and for the first time in his life, he dried his hair with a hair dryer, and felt that his pile of hair became golden in an instant.

Because the main venue was blocked, Xie Lansheng and Xin Ye first took a taxi to the official hotel, and then walked all the way from the hotel.Wearing a newly bought suit and blown hair, Xie Lansheng walked into the venue beautifully, and sat down beautifully.

At 7 o'clock, the closing ceremony of the Turin International Film Festival officially began.

A voice was very deep: "Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the..." After speaking English, it switched to Italian.Then, the hostess took the stage, and the audience applauded thunderously.The hostess has a humorous style, and there are constant laughter in the opening remarks.

Because the host's English obviously had an Italian accent, Xie Lansheng couldn't quite understand, so he could only sit and watch in a daze.

Going through the process one by one, all the guests are very good at speaking.I don't know how long it took before the closing ceremony finally reached the awards ceremony.

And because Xie Lansheng knew in advance that he was going to win the big prize, all expectations were gone.

He only felt very nervous, his heart was beating all the time, and the air seemed to have a sense of presence, making it difficult for Xie Lansheng to breathe.He kept reciting the thank-you speech he had written in his mind, hoping that time would slow down a little bit, and a little bit slower, because he was not ready to face so much attention.

At the same time, Xie Lansheng couldn't help but guess: he will get the best picture?Or Best Director?Or the Jury Prize?Or small prize?Or...Xin Ye was wrong, he will return empty-handed tonight?That's pretty fucked up.

He thought back to the films he had seen at the film festival these days.Hmm... yesterday an American film was very touching and profound, better than my own, and the day before yesterday an Italian local film was also very good and better than my own. So, one of them won the best picture and the other the best director? Rooting wins the jury prize?about so...

There are actually not many awards at the Turin International Film Festival.In the documentary unit, Xie Lansheng hoped that Morita's "Life" would win every award, but in the end things backfired. The major awards were announced one by one, and there was no "Life".One by one happy people stepped onto the stage to accept the honor, and the bitterness of the "losers" could only be smacked in their hearts.Maybe it's just a slight difference, but the light is only "first".

In the international feature film unit, the first winner was "Best Screenplay", which was awarded to a West German film... No, it should be a German film, Xie Lansheng thought, West Germany and East Germany were unified last year.

Then came Best Actor and Best Actress, one from the Soviet Union and one from Czechoslovakia.

So far, there are only three awards left at the Turin International Film Festival.

The first to be announced is the Jury Prize "FondazioneSandrettoReRebaudengoAward".Unlike the Academy Awards, the Turin International Film Festival does not set nominated films specifically for each award, that is to say, all shortlisted films automatically compete for all awards.A guest came to the stage slowly, opened the envelope, and Xie Lansheng's heart suddenly jumped! ! !

Will it be Rooting?

As a result, he read American movies.

Xie Lansheng: "..."

Then the best director will be announced.

My heart skipped a beat again, Xie Lansheng really hoped it was him.If he is not read again, he has only one chance left, the only chance-because there are winners for all awards except "Best Picture".His hopes were too slim.

Xin Ye saw his uneasiness, grabbed his right hand, clasped his thin wrist with one hand, patted the back of his hand with the other, and then held his fingertips.Xie Lansheng only cared about the awards, he didn't pay attention, but felt warm.

As a result, the guest opened his red lips lightly, but said the name of "Uncle" from India! ! !

Xie Lansheng felt like falling into an ice cave all of a sudden.

What, it's "Uncle"? !

What about Italian?

In Xie Lansheng's mind, "Uncle" and "Rooting" are of the same level, and they are going to compete for the "Jury Award".

He felt that he was really not as good as an Italian film. It seemed that the final grand prize would go to the local Italian film, while "Rooting" was doomed to fail and lose to that "Uncle".

Although a little unwilling, Xie Lansheng thought about it again and felt that he had at least sold the copyright of "Growing Roots" and had achieved good results. He should feel satisfied, and he should not be too greedy.

He gradually calmed down again, and continued to watch the award presentation on the stage, intending to enjoy this grand event no matter what.

Best picture was about to be announced, and a gentlemanly actor strode up to the host, shook his hand, and took the envelope.

He gently opened the envelope and approached the microphone. His English was not very good: "Thebestfilm, forTorinoInternationalFilmFestival, goes..."

The audience waited silently.

He added: "Root, from China."

Xie Lansheng: "!!!"

He couldn't believe what he had just heard! ! !

How could it be me? !

No, this is totally wrong.

In his mind, "Rooting" and "Uncle" are not as good as American films and Italian films, but in the judges' minds, American films and Italian films are not as good as "Rooting" and "Uncle"? !Can aesthetics be so different?

Xie Lansheng walked up to give a speech of thanks in a daze.

Walking onto the stage instinctively, Xie Lansheng got stuck in the microphone.

Because I gave up just now, the words of thanks I kept chanting were thrown into Java.

What's the first sentence... Oops, I can't remember the first sentence, and I can't follow the rest.

He held on for more than ten seconds, followed his instinct and said "Thank you, chairman and all the judges", and then ran out of words, and all the audience below let out very good-natured laughter.

However, at this moment, Xie Lansheng saw a hand waving in the auditorium for a moment, he looked over intently, and found that the owner of the hand was actually Xin Ye.Xinye looked at him tenderly, and pressed his palms down, signaling to calm down.

Xie Lansheng took a deep breath and calmed down quite suddenly. Instead of looking at the audience, he looked at his feet, concentrated on thinking, and finally remembered.

"Sorry, I'm so nervous." Xie Lansheng smiled, "Thank you to the chairman and all the judges. This is a great honor, and I am very happy to get it. Well, everyone knows, I am an independent filmmaker from China. We have experienced many difficulties "Rooting" was just shot. Everyone is very lonely and everyone is very brave. Therefore, I sincerely thank the photographer Qi Yong, the sound engineer Cen Chen, the assistants Zhen Hong and Jia Lu, and the actor Xin Ye , Ouyang Nannan, and... I especially want to thank Xinye, who provided a lot of help during the filming of "Rooting", not only in his own job, but also in other aspects. For example, thanks to his $500 I was able to stand here. When the chairman Matteo DeSciglio said that the competition must be subtitled in Italian, I thought it was over, I had no money."

Everyone laughed.

"In short," Xie Lansheng added, "thank you Du Ling, thank you Xinye, and thank you all."

Xie Lansheng raised the trophy, bid farewell to the host, and got off the stage.

He saw that Xinye's eyes were bright.These remarks were written by himself, and he did not ask Xinye to translate them. He hoped that at this moment, Xinye could hear with his own ears how important he was to "Rooting" and how important he was to his journey.

Originally, Xie Lansheng was a little afraid of the word "independent filmmaker", thinking that he just wanted to make films, but now he doesn't hide it anymore - what else can he hide?He is an "independent filmmaker", and he can only accept it anyway.

After coming down, Xie Lansheng thought about it again, and felt that he was able to win this award because he "comes from China".China is getting attention while filming a family of their own.Film festivals are more or less political, leading audiences to focus on what they think deserves attention.

Of course, the work is really bad.

However, "Rooting" has a Hollywood photographer, a sound engineer who graduated from Beiguang, actor Xinye, Australia's ABCLAB, and... er, the leftover filming potion left by Chi Zhonghe after developing the film.Moreover, because of the X-ray scanning at the customs, he took a few clips that were almost perfect.

If Luo Dajing and Zhang Jixian hadn't run away at the same time, and if the Australian Customs hadn't been self-righteous, it might not have ended like this.

Maybe everything is God's will in the dark.

…………

The ceremony ended while Xie Lansheng was thinking wildly.

Xie Lansheng followed the flow of people out of the lobby step by step.

It has been snowing in Turin today.Most of Italy never snows, only a few cities in the north such as Turin and Milan, it snows.

Bearing the snowflakes, Xie Lansheng turned out the big down jacket he had brought, put it on his body, and walked down the steps while wearing it.

As a result, suddenly, a young man pulled his neck vigorously, Xie Lansheng didn't have any defenses, the skirt in his hand was gone, and the big down jacket was peeled off by that man in one go! ! !

"!!!" Xie Lansheng thought: Crazy! ! !

Just as he was about to scold, he felt a black woolen coat being covered, and at the same time, the voice behind him shouted: "Thank you, Director!!! I am an overseas student from China, and I am working as a volunteer here!!! There are reporters waiting for you below!!! Your coat is too worn out, it will make people laugh!!! We are not the same size, you wear my coat over there, and change back after the interview, I will give you first Take the clothes!!!"

"... Ah!" Xie Lansheng suddenly realized, thanked the other party, let the boy put on the down jacket, and hurried down the steps.

Sure enough, a group of reporters were waiting for him.

He stumbled to answer questions, was stuck in traffic for nearly an hour, and was so dazzled by the flash that he couldn't even open his eyes.And when Xie Lansheng finally finished dealing with the reporter, when he found the foreign student from China, he found that the other student was not wearing the down jacket he had brought, but was trembling in the snow and sneezing one by one.

Xie Lansheng was quite moved.

He ran forward hard, there are always people like this on the road.

It was already 10:[-] in the evening after I changed my coat back.

Xie Lansheng didn't want to sleep, so he looked at the snow falling in front of him and said to Xinye, "Xinye, let's go for a walk along the Po River?"

After hearing this, Xinye nodded slightly: "Okay."

The Po River is the longest river in Italy. It originates in the Alps and flows into the sea in Venice. It flows through Turin, clear and beautiful.

Xinye walked into a roadside shop and bought a black umbrella.

Because the Po River is not far away, Xinye and Lansheng walked all the way.Because it was already eleven o'clock, the alleys were empty, they walked on the sidewalk with umbrellas, and there were European-style buildings on both sides, gorgeous and solemn.The black umbrella is not a foldable one, but a straight one. The umbrella surface is large, and there is a "J"-shaped handle under the umbrella handle. Xin Ye is holding it at this time. The beautiful hand is well-articulated, full of a sense of masculine strength.Because of the posture, the sleeves of the shirt were exposed, and the cuff buttons were shining.

Finally came to the Po River.With the river on one side and the trees on the other, they walked on the banks of the Po River, stepping on the extremely soft snow, listening to the gentle sound of their feet.The snow fell on the umbrella one after another, and then melted away, and the distance across the river was the majestic Alps snow-capped mountains.

The mountain seems to be covered by a mosquito net, and it looks like a pastry wrapped in icing sugar.

There was a big bridge over the Po River, and the two turned on it casually.

The bridge is very long, across the Po River, and there are trams on it.

About halfway between the two, an orange streetcar slowly passed them.Two windows were open, and two local men in their 70s and [-]s were looking out.

Finally seeing someone, Xie Lansheng was very happy and shouted: "Hi!!!"

The two of them also smiled back: "Hi!!!"

Xie Lansheng shouted: "Come! Getoff! Walkwithus!"

The two old people replied loudly: "NO------!!!"

Xie Lansheng: "Hahahaha!!!"

Xin Ye turned to look at him lightly.

Lan Sheng is really... like an elf.He won the "Best Picture" and is an excellent new director with a naive side and a smooth side. Two completely different temperaments can be perfectly unified in him.

In the white snow, on the bridge without people, and in front of the Alps, Xinye really wanted to wrap his arms around his waist and kiss him——he found his tongue, held it tightly, and tasted his sweet taste with the taste buds on the tip of his tongue The smell, but he couldn't even stand up, he was in a daze in his arms, and the corners of his mouth even shed silver threads.

Of course, I can only think about it.

The two walked leisurely all the way, chatting casually. When they reached the end of the bridge, Xie Lansheng squatted down and muttered in a low voice, "I'm leaving tomorrow..." Then he stretched out his finger and used his index finger to clean himself under the railing. Written on the snow: "Xie Lansheng came here for a visit."

Xinye looked at it, smiled, squatted down, and drew an additional symbol after the word "Xie Lansheng", adding: "and Xinye".

Xie Lansheng smiled foolishly again: "Hehehe, how about this, when it turns into water tomorrow and seeps into the soil, this word will remain in the center of this city forever."

Xinye said: "...um."

Standing up on their knees, the two of them continued walking on the opposite bank with umbrellas.The toes of the leather shoes were covered with snow and were wet.

"Xin Ye," Xie Lansheng said again, having a literary attack, "let's put the umbrella away? Just walk in the snow for a while."

Naturally, Xin Ye did not refuse to Xie Lansheng's request. He nodded, put away the black umbrella, but did not hold it tightly. Instead, he idly hooked the handle of the umbrella and dragged it along the river bank.

It's still snowing.Xie Lansheng opened his hands, let the snow fall on his palms, melted, fell on his palms, and melted again, as if he could warm everything.Xinye just smiled slightly, occasionally looking at the deep Alps on one side, or the gentle Po River on the other, walking forward step by step, his hair turned gray before he knew it, and the snow on the ground was dragged out by the tip of the umbrella long marks.

It wasn't until 12:[-] that Xie Lansheng felt that enough was enough, and sighed to Xin Ye: "Okay, let's go back!"

"……Um."

They walked up the main road from the river bed, Xin Ye stopped a car, looked at Lan Sheng, brushed the snow from his hair, and swept the snow from Lan Sheng's forehead and face.Seeing that Xie Lansheng's long eyelashes also had a few flakes, he squeezed them with his hands, smoothed and stroked them, and picked off the little snowflakes to make the eyelashes clean.He held the umbrella in his left hand, pinched it with the thumb and index finger of his right hand, and took off the eyelashes on the left. Then, because the index finger was stained with snowflakes, he changed to the middle finger of the thumb, and took off the eyelashes on the right.

After picking it up, Xin Ye held the umbrella in one hand and pulled the car door with his empty hand.

But when he was about to touch the handlebars, he held on.

It looked dirty.

On his fingertips, there were drops of water from the falling snow from Xie Lansheng's eyelashes just now.

I don't want to be in a place like this.

Xinye thought about it, brought his index finger to his lips, and sucked.

Then the middle finger, then the thumb.

And Xie Lansheng was behind him, seeing nothing.

The author has something to say: Xie Lansheng's panda mother: You fucking want to suck! ! !