Huayu Entertainment 1995 started with hijacking.

Chapter 65 Capturing the Golden Bear

The next day, at the closing ceremony, it seemed as if the entire city of Berlin had flocked there. The red carpet was lined with media outlets of all sizes, and flashes from all directions bombarded the area.

Wu Yuchen and Jiang Qinqin also got the chance to walk the red carpet this time. Neither of them had any formal attire, and they were wearing new clothes that they bought for a few hundred yuan before leaving Beijing. They just waited for the staff to greet them.

Jiang Qinqin was quite nervous at this moment; her smile was already a little stiff even before she stepped onto the red carpet.

Seeing this, Wu Yuchen laughed and said:
"Qinqin, what's there to be nervous about?"

“There are so many people!”

"Hehe, so many people didn't come for us. Look at these two sides, more than 90% of the audience came for the feature film."

Upon hearing Wu Yuchen's words, Jiang Qinqin's spirits immediately collapsed, and along with her disappointment, she felt a significant relief from the pressure.

"When we were in the exhibition hall a couple of days ago, I really thought we were famous..."

"A short film is, after all, a short film."

"You're really good at taking things easy~"

"Hehe, there will be plenty of opportunities in the future!"

The two were chatting casually when staff urged them to walk onto the red carpet.

When he walked the red carpet, there wasn't a huge cheer, but he wasn't as unknown as Wu Yuchen said either. After all, through word of mouth, many people had seen this sharp-style film, "Car 44".

"Go Bus 44!"

"Number 44, you guys are the best!"

"44, Best Short Film!"

Encouraging and cheering voices came from both sides of the red carpet, which surprised Wu Yuchen. He then waved to them with Jiang Qinqin to express his gratitude.

The Berlin Film Festival is generally quite pragmatic, unlike Hollywood or Cannes which tend to pull off various gimmicks. The red carpet doesn't last long; once the film crews are seated, the lights dim, the host gives a few words, the jury appears, and the awards ceremony begins.

There are two Chinese faces on the judging panel this time: Ann Hui and Joan Chen.

Seeing these two, and considering the great success of Chinese films at the Berlin Film Festival, it's not surprising that Wu Yuchen felt this way.

Don't assume that the jury is completely objective and fair; in fact, everyone has a strong sense of subjectivity. Also, Chinese people tend to stick together a lot at international film festivals.

In 93, the fledgling director Li An won the Golden Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival with his film *The Wedding Banquet*, thanks in part to the jury chairman, Zhang Yimou. In 2007, Zhang Yimou again awarded the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival to Li An's *Lust, Caution*. Li An himself has stated that Zhang Yimou was his benefactor.

This kind of fellow countrymen helping each other is very common in the international film industry.

The first awards were all small prizes or less popular categories.

To be honest, Wu Yuchen has always been a bit confused about the three major awards, because he doesn't know what many of them are.

For example, the Caligari Prize, the Don Quixote Prize, and the Berliner Morgenpost Readers' Jury Prize that were just awarded earlier—we don't even know what they're trying to achieve. And these awards might be here one year and gone the next, only to reappear in a couple of years. Who knows what they were thinking when they came up with them?

Soon, it was time for the short film awards. Wu Yuchen stared intently at the awards stage and the big screen, sitting upright.

The first award was the Teddy Bear Award, which was pretty much a foregone conclusion and was taken by the film "Alkali, Iowa," which deals with the theme of same-sex relationships.

The remaining short film directors couldn't help but feel a little nervous; only the Silver Bear and Gold Bear awards remained. Wu Yuchen glanced at them as well; he had two major competitors this time.

One is the British animated short film "The Forgotten Toys," and the other is the Norwegian short film "Kinobilletten."

"Now, please welcome Mr. Thomas to present the Silver Bear Award to the Short Film Jury."

After the award presenter came on stage, he didn't say anything and went straight to reading the award speech:

"This is an animated film about love and friendship, a heartwarming story between rag doll Annie and teddy bear Teddy..."

At the same time, an animated scene appeared on the screen, which was "The Forgotten Toy".

The director breathed a sigh of relief, then went on stage with a smile to accept the award.

Wu Yuchen couldn't help but feel nervous. Although there was one less competitor, which greatly increased his chances of winning the Golden Bear, he was afraid of winning nothing at all! Every year at film festivals, there are often films that are highly anticipated but ultimately fail.

"Please welcome Mr. Wagner to the stage to present the Golden Bear Award for Best Short Film!"

Wagner, a little old man, stood in front of the podium, opened the envelope in his hand, glanced at it, and said with a smile:
"Wow, this is a fantastic short film, I personally loved it!"

He then paused, glanced at the audience, and then announced loudly:

"Bus 44!"

Although it's a short film, it's still a Golden Bear, so the treatment is different.

The large screen displayed footage from "Car 44," accompanied by a voiceover:
"An ordinary bus, a test of humanity, a shocking ending, and a thought-provoking smile..."

At this moment, Jiang Qinqin screamed and hugged her boyfriend tightly.

Wu Yuchen no longer hid his feelings, clenched one fist and waved it, and smiled freely on his face.

At this moment, the entire audience erupted in applause, and the Chinese-language film crew cheered loudly: "Well done!"

Wu Yuchen released Jiang Qinqin, then hugged or shook hands with several short film directors sitting next to him, before straightening his chest and walking confidently onto the awards stage.

The old man Wagner first hugged Wu Yuchen, then handed him a red box containing medals.

Only the main competition category features real gold and silver bear trophies; the other categories award medals. Wu Yuchen's medal has a gold bear design printed on it.

Wu Yuchen doesn't care whether it's a trophy or a medal; what matters is the honor!

"Wow! I still can't believe it. After all, this is my first film, and it actually won the Golden Bear for Best Short Film. Thank you to the organizing committee for recognizing me!"

As Wu Yuchen spoke, he waved the medal in his hand, and the people below smiled kindly.

"This film, 'Car 44,' is not solely my achievement. Those who have seen our short film may know that there is a long list of acknowledgments at the end."

There were 27 of us in total, and we scraped together less than $4000 to make this movie. So I want to thank them here; without them, there would be no "Bus 44"!

This truly surprised everyone present; they hadn't expected such a story behind this short film. With such a low budget, and with only 27 people contributing, one can imagine the difficulties involved in its production.

Then someone else started clapping again, and the applause grew louder and louder, with everyone joining in. This was encouragement for the "Bus 44" crew, and also a testament to their passion for film!
(End of this chapter)