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Chapter 350 Grand Slam

The awards ceremony has now reached its climax, and Wu Yuchen is also in high spirits, since the next three awards should be related to him.

"The Best Director award goes to... Michael Haneke for *Hidden Camera*!"

Applause erupted in the auditorium as a sprightly old man with gray hair and a long white beard stepped onto the stage and raised the trophy amidst the applause.

Wu Yuchen clapped with a smile. Michael Haneke has been a Cannes director for several years now; he won the Jury Prize in 2001 for *The Piano Teacher*, and this year he won Best Director. He'll also win the Palme d'Or in 2009 with *The White Ribbon*.

Of course, Wu Yuchen paid more attention to him because, in fact, the film "Amour" was filmed by Michael Haneke in his previous life in 2012. Therefore, Wu Yuchen gave him extra applause.

However, if that's the case, then only the Jury Prize and the Palme d'Or will remain.

Several film crews in the audience also became a little nervous. The closer it got to the end, the more important the awards became, and the greater their hopes became.

"This year's Jury Grand Prize is... Broken Flower!"

Upon hearing this, Jim Jarmusch immediately raised his hands. The Grand Jury Prize is the second-highest award after the Palme d'Or, and it is also a very prestigious award!
Just as someone was about to applaud, the award presenter continued, "And 'Children'!"

A murmur rippled through the auditorium. The jury's grand prize runner-up had gone and won twice—this was extremely rare!

Jean-Pierre Dardenne and Luc Dahl, the directors of "The Child," both sighed inwardly. The two were long-time collaborators and Cannes veterans, having already won the Palme d'Or in 1999 with their co-directed film "Rosetta."

So when they co-directed "Children" again, they felt they could win a big award. Actually, a Jury Prize would be great, but this year's Jury Prize was split between Jim Jarmusch's "Broken Flowers," which made them feel that the award was less significant.

However, all three of them stood up with smiles and composure to accept their awards on stage.

At this moment, Wu Yuchen applauded the three with an even wider smile. "Broken Flowers" had won the Jury Prize in its previous life, while "Child" had won the Palme d'Or in this year's competition. Undoubtedly, both were formidable rivals to the renowned director Wu, and now they had shared the Jury Prize. So, who would win the Palme d'Or was practically a foregone conclusion…

Wu Yuchen is now full of confidence. He doesn't think Cannes will fool him and let him go empty-handed. Even if this year's jury is out of their minds, the president of the Cannes organizing committee, Jacob, won't allow that to happen!
Many people had already guessed who would win the Palme d'Or, including Jiang Qinqin next to Wu Yuchen, who was looking at the presenter with excited eyes, eagerly waiting for her to announce the winner.

"The winner of the Palme d'Or at the 58th Cannes Film Festival is..."

Nothing unexpected happened:
"Departures!"

The auditorium erupted in applause, cheers, and shouts. Jiang Qinqin excitedly threw herself into Wu Yuchen's arms, exclaiming, "The Palme d'Or! We won the Palme d'Or!"

Although Jiang Qinqin hasn't won any Best Actress awards, now that "Departures" has won the Palme d'Or, she, as the leading actress, naturally benefits greatly and feels honored!
Moreover, Cannes is the most influential of the three major European film festivals, and to date, only one Chinese-language film, *Farewell My Concubine*, has won the Palme d'Or. Now, *Departures* has also won the Palme d'Or! Jiang Qinqin's desire for awards and honors has been instantly fulfilled, filling her with joy!

Wu Yuchen hugged Jiang Qinqin, gently patted her back, and whispered in her ear, "Okay, okay, there are still other people here~"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Qinqin released Wu Yuchen. Then, Wu Yuchen took turns hugging and shaking hands with Zhao Wenxuan and others, quickly celebrating together. Clearly, the members of the "Departures" crew were overjoyed, after all, this was the Palme d'Or!
Everyone gave the "Departures" crew enough patience; they were the ultimate winners, and this is the treatment they deserve.

Afterwards, Wu Yuchen straightened his suit slightly, then walked gracefully towards the stage with a smile on his face.

Although this is his first time winning the Palme d'Or, Wu Yuchen is no ordinary person. He has won numerous Oscars and experienced all kinds of big events, so the Palme d'Or is not something that will make him dizzy.

After walking onto the stage, Wu Yuchen received the Golden Palm from the presenter and gave the presenter a polite hug. He then looked at the trophy in his hand, which was made entirely of crystal and inlaid with gold palm branches. It was said to be made of 24K gold, and the palm leaves were also inlaid with diamonds, which complemented the delicate and exquisite stems and made it shine brightly.

It's said that the material cost of this trophy alone is worth 2 euros, making it the most valuable trophy among international film awards. To put that in perspective, the Oscar statuette only costs $900 to make. Of course, whether it's $900 or 2 euros, it's not what people care about; what they care about is the honor the trophy represents.

Wu Yuchen then looked up, held up the trophy in his hand, gestured to the crowd below, and then smiled into the microphone, saying, "It's really beautiful!"

Upon hearing Wu Yuchen's words, the audience couldn't help but laugh good-naturedly.

"I am very grateful to the jury for their appreciation of 'Departures' and for awarding us the Palme d'Or. This is the best reward for all the hard work our crew has put in! I would like to say to our crew members, lead actor Winston Chao, lead actress Jiang Qinqin, director You Benchang, cinematographer... you all deserve this award!"

At Wu Yuchen's current level, he doesn't really need to promote himself much anymore. Therefore, his speech will mention more members of the crew and share this honor with them.

The audience readily joined in, bursting into applause and cheers for the "Departures" crew. Zhao Wenxuan, Jiang Qinqin, and others were beaming with joy, their faces radiant. They felt they had reached the pinnacle of their careers!
After the applause subsided, Wu Yuchen said again:

"Departures" is a typical Eastern film about Eastern culture, but that doesn't stop Western audiences from enjoying it. Death is something that people of any nationality and skin color will experience, but so is love!

In this film, which brings us so close to death, I hope everyone can find the purest and most genuine kind of love. Thank you!

After Wu Yuchen finished speaking, he nodded to the crowd below and then stepped down from the podium.

Clap clap clap clap, thunderous applause erupted from below.

At that very moment, the news from inside the venue had already reached outside, and a group of reporters were excitedly shouting:

"Departures won the Palme d'Or?!"

"Director Wu won the Palme d'Or!"

"The Palme d'Or! Long live Director Wu!"

While celebrating verbally, these reporters were also busy making international calls to relay the news back home.

The internet sector was naturally the fastest to react, with the three major portal websites—Sina, NetEase, and Sohu—all issuing headlines one after another.

"Warmest congratulations to Wu Yuchen for winning the Palme d'Or at Cannes for 'Departures'!"

Tencent also launched a pop-up window in the lower right corner of QQ: "Celebrating Wu Yuchen's new film 'Departures' winning the Palme d'Or at Cannes!"

The news quickly spread across the Chinese internet.

"Holy crap! Director Wu won the Palme d'Or!"

"As expected of Director Wu!"

"Hahaha, I guessed before we went that Director Wu might win the Palme d'Or!" "The Palme d'Or! We won it before for 'Farewell My Concubine,' this is our second time!"

"Director Wu has already won an Oscar, so what's so special about winning the Palme d'Or at Cannes?"

"The Palme d'Or is the top prize among the three major European awards! It's no easier than the Oscars!"

"The Oscars are the Oscars, and the Big Three are the Big Three. Their selection and judging rules are different, but they are all world-class anyway, and the Palme d'Or is pretty awesome!"

Soon after, Princess Six began live broadcasting: "Congratulations to our director Wu Yuchen for winning the Palme d'Or at the 58th Cannes Film Festival with 'Departures'! At the same time, Director Wu Yuchen has also achieved a great feat, which is to achieve a grand slam of the three major film festivals!"

The sixth princess's television broadcast sparked even more heated discussion:
"Holy crap! I just realized, Director Wu has achieved a grand slam! He's won the Palme d'Or, the Golden Lion, and the Golden Bear!"

"Director Wu is awesome! He's amazing!"

"Holy crap! That's a Grand Slam! An achievement that many people thought was almost impossible to achieve in modern times!"

How difficult are the three European Grand Slams? Are they harder than the Oscars? Has anyone ever achieved them before?

"Of course it's harder than the Oscars! The Oscars are given out every year, and only four people have ever achieved a grand slam of the three major film festivals!"

Soon, someone knowledgeable posted a professional explanation:

Explanation of the "Grand Slam" of the three major film festivals:
The "Grand Slam" refers to winning the best film award at the three major film festivals: the Palme d'Or, the Golden Bear, and the Golden Lion. The following individuals have achieved this feat:

1. Henry-Georges Clouzot

In 1949, the film *Manon, the Mistress* won the Golden Lion at the 10th Venice International Film Festival.

In 1953, "The Price of Fear" won the Palme d'Or at the 6th Cannes Film Festival.

In 1953, "The Price of Fear" won the Golden Bear at the 3rd Berlin International Film Festival.

2. Michelangelo Antonioni
In 1961, the film *Night* won the Golden Bear at the 11th Berlin International Film Festival.

In 1964, the film *Red Desert* won the Golden Lion at the 29th Venice International Film Festival.

In 1967, "Blow-Up" won the Palme d'Or at the 20th Cannes Film Festival.

3. Robert Altman

In 1970, the 23rd Cannes Film Festival Palme d'Or was awarded to "The Army Field Hospital".

In 1976, the 26th Berlin International Film Festival won the Golden Bear for "The Heroes of Cisse".

In 1993, the film "Crossroads" won the Golden Lion at the 50th Venice International Film Festival.

It is evident that these three directors achieved this accomplishment in their early years. For example, Henri-Georges Clouzot won both the Palme d'Or and the Golden Bear in 1953 with "The Price of Fear," which is simply impossible today. This only shows that the three major systems were not yet mature in their early days.

Let's take a look at Wu Yuchen's three movies:
In 1999, "Mr. Donkey" won the Golden Bear at the 49th Berlin International Film Festival.

In 1999, the film *Amour* won the Golden Lion at the 56th Venice International Film Festival.

In 2005, "Departures" won the Palme d'Or at the 58th Cannes Film Festival.

Nowadays, the three major film festivals have been operating for many years and have formed a well-established system, making it impossible for a film to be shown multiple times.

Furthermore, the three major film festivals each have their own factions, meaning they each have their own supported directors. For example, Michael Haneke, the Best Director at this year's Cannes Film Festival, is a Cannes loyalist director who only attends the Cannes Film Festival.

For example, Wong Kar-wai, whom everyone knows, is also a Cannes Film Festival director, but he has hardly been to Berlin or Venice in recent years.

Therefore, it has been said that it is virtually impossible for a team to achieve a grand slam of all three major European film festivals to emerge again. This is extremely difficult, even more so than winning an Oscar!
But Wu Yuchen did it! He single-handedly conquered all three major tournaments! It's simply a miracle!
All I can say is, that's absolutely awesome!

Below the post, after the explanation, many people left comments:

Director Wu is awesome!

Director Wu is awesome!

Soon, this science post was widely shared and sparked further discussion.

The news was spreading, and Wu Yuchen was already attending the post-Cannes Film Festival dinner. He and "Departures" naturally became the focus, and many people came to congratulate and chat with him.

The original purpose of a film festival is to provide a venue for filmmakers to exchange ideas; however, it has evolved to include a hierarchy of awards. Wu Yuchen, whether because of tonight's Palme d'Or or his own fame and status, is naturally the most eye-catching.

At that moment, Jacob, the president of the Cannes Film Festival organizing committee, walked over with a wine glass and clinked it against Wu Yuchen's: "Wu, congratulations!"

Wu Yuchen also expressed his gratitude, saying, "Mr. Chairman, Cannes is truly wonderful! Everything is perfect!"

Jacob smiled and said, "Since you like Cannes, I sincerely invite you to come to the Cannes Film Festival more often. Cannes will always welcome you!"

Jacob's meaning was clear: he wanted Wu Yuchen to attend the Cannes Film Festival more often in the future.

He didn't expect all of Wu Yuchen's films to compete at Cannes in the future. In fact, even if Wu Yuchen came again, it was unlikely he'd win the Palme d'Or again. He'd already given the jury a hint this time; it wouldn't be appropriate to do the same thing again next time. They couldn't just give him the Palme d'Or every time, could they? Cannes wouldn't be able to continue.

Therefore, he hopes that Wu Yuchen's films will be exhibited at festivals as much as possible in the future. Well, not necessarily for competitions, but his commercial films are also welcome to participate. For example, Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith was exhibited at Cannes this year and served as the opening film, bringing considerable attention to the festival.

Jacob also hopes that Wu Yuchen's future big-budget commercial productions can do the same, attracting attention to Cannes by participating in the festival, which would be a win-win situation for both parties.

(End of this chapter)