Reshaping the landscape of the Chinese entertainment industry

Jia Zhangke then arrived with his wife, who is also his go-to actress.

He walked into the screening room discreetly, wearing an ordinary black coat.

"Director Jia! Welcome!" Although He Yi'an didn't like his movies, he still had to greet him when he came.

Jia Zhangke glanced at him, his eyes filled with complex emotions: "President Han invited me to see your film. It's not easy for someone so young to be shortlisted for the main competition."

His tone was flat, making it impossible to tell whether it was genuine congratulations, mere politeness, or envy.

But He Yi'an didn't care.

"Thank you, Director Jia. Only after making a film do you realize how difficult it is to film. I'm very happy that you could come."

"We're all Chinese filmmakers; it's not easy being abroad. Let's support each other!"

Jia Zhangke nodded, said nothing more, and led his men into the screening room.

He Yi'an waited a while longer, figuring that no one he knew was coming, and was about to go in when he suddenly caught a glimpse of a familiar figure out of the corner of his eye.

Hey, it's Wang Zhonglei.

He was wearing a well-tailored dark suit and sunglasses, and was walking unhurriedly toward the screening room with two people behind him.

He Yi'an's eyes narrowed slightly.

Why is he here?

Then he remembered that Lu Chuan's "Looking for a Gun" was also shortlisted for Venice, although not in the main competition, but was screened in the Venice Days section.

However, He Yi'an didn't even bother to look at it.

Wang Zhonglei is here to support Lu Chuan.

Their eyes met in mid-air.

Wang Zhonglei took off his sunglasses, revealing a standard business smile: "Director He, I am Wang Zhonglei from Huayi Brothers. You should know me. We finally meet."

He Yi'an also gave a polite smile, his tone neither warm nor cold: "President Wang, I am He Ye from Langyuan. You should know me. I didn't expect you to come today."

When Wang Zhonglei heard He Yi'an reply to him in the same tone as him, his smile froze slightly.

However, he is, after all, the CEO of a company, and he still has the ability to keep his emotions in check.

Wang Zhonglei's tone was emotionless: "Of course I know Mr. He. I came here today to see your film and learn what a film that can be nominated looks like, so that Huayi can accumulate experience in the future."

Oh? Huayi is also aiming for awards?

Who can we rely on?

Feng Xiaogang? It couldn't possibly be because of Lu Chuan, could it?

He Yi'an didn't respond to that, but just smiled and said, "Then please give me your guidance, Mr. Wang."

Wang Zhonglei nodded and led his men into the screening room.

After they went inside, Li Baotian walked up to He Yi'an and asked in a low voice, "Director He, you and that person...?"

"Wang Zhonglei from Huayi, he's nothing special," He Yi'an said calmly.

Seeing that he didn't want to talk about it, Li Baotian didn't ask any further.

Time was slowly approaching three o'clock.

Although the theater wasn't full, it was about 70% full, as it was the first premiere and many of the attendees were media and film critics.

He Yi'an stood at the door, looking at the sparse crowd outside, silently estimating what was going on.

The number of people who came was not large, but it wasn't small either.

For a new Chinese-language film, achieving this level of attendance at a European film festival is already quite impressive.

Just then, a commotion suddenly broke out outside.

He Yi'an looked up and froze.

Because a woman walked over first.

She wore a simple black dress, her hair was tied up, and she exuded a calm yet powerful aura.

It was Gong Li.

Behind her were several people, many of whom immediately recognized them as the film festival president, Alberto Barbara, and several members of the jury.

French director Jacques Audiard, German cinematographer Ulrich Felsberg, Italian producer Francesca Nelli, American cinematographer László Kovac, Turkish director Yesm Usdaoggu, and Russian poet Yevgeny Yevtushenko.

There were six judges in total, plus Gong Li herself, making it six out of seven judges.

This is extremely rare in the history of the Venice Film Festival.

The current film festival president is not Marco Müller, who is familiar with and close to China. Gong Li must have put in some effort to bring him here.

The screening room fell silent for a moment, then erupted into a buzz of discussion.

"Why are there so many judges?"

"Isn't it obvious? Gong Li is endorsing this movie."

"Really? I've never heard of Gong Li having any connection with this director before."

"Who knows? Anyway, today's premiere is going to be interesting."

Wang Zhonglei sat in the corner, watching this scene. His expression changed slightly. He was also a little curious. He had never heard of any connection between Gong Li and He Yi'an.

When he learned that Gong Li was the chair of the jury, he felt a little regretful, regretting that Huayi had not taken this opportunity to win an award.

Now it seems that He Yi'an is going to get the better deal.

Wang Zhonglei, who had been in the industry for a long time, knew perfectly well that Gong Li's gesture was not just a simple "support," but a signal.

Han Sanping was standing inside the screening room when he saw Gong Li walking over. He was a little surprised, so he took the initiative to come out and said, "Gong Li, welcome, welcome."

"President Han." Gong Li nodded slightly, her gaze passing over him and looking at He Yi'an beside her.

Their eyes met in mid-air.

He Yi'an didn't step forward, but just blinked slightly as a greeting.

Gong Li didn't say much, just nodded slightly, then introduced the film festival president, Alberto Barbara, before leading the jury into the screening room.

There was no extra communication between them.

Like two strangers.

But this is precisely the smartest approach.

At this critical juncture, the best approach is to say nothing and do nothing.

Do not touch them, and do not leave any evidence against them.

This is also why He Yi'an has not contacted Gong Li since April 2nd when it was confirmed that she would star in the film.

In fact, Gong Li was quite surprised when she learned at the end of July that she was the chairman of the judging panel. At that time, she wondered if He Yi'an would call her.

But seeing that He Yi'an hadn't contacted her at all still moved Gong Li somewhat.

Today marks their first meeting in several months.

……

At 3:00 PM sharp, the lights in the screening room went out.

The screen lights up.

As the lights of "Fireworks in the Human World" came on, the words "Director He Yi'an's Work" appeared on the screen.

The scene slowly unfolds.

One hundred and twenty-eight minutes later (ten minutes less in China), the screen went dark.

The lights in the screening room came back on.

After several seconds of silence, applause finally broke out.

The response wasn't enthusiastic. He Yi'an stood up and, together with the cast, bowed to the audience.

He glanced at Gong Li.

Gong Li sat on the judges' panel, her face expressionless, simply clapping softly.

The judges next to her had different reactions.

Some people were expressionless and simply clapped politely a few times, while others frowned, seemingly deep in thought.

Most people's expressions were somewhat subtle, making it impossible to tell whether they liked it or not.

Only Laszlo Kovac and Yevgeny Yevtushenko smiled sincerely and clapped enthusiastically.

The applause lasted for about a minute, then gradually subsided.

Unlike what others had written, it didn't last for several minutes before the audience began to leave.

That evening, the program scores were released.

"The Human World of Fireworks", 3.0 points.

Out of 5 points, 3.0 points is just above the threshold.

But what truly surprised everyone was not the score, but the comments from all sides.

Moreover, the reviews directly revealed an extremely polarized trend.

Among them, the review in *Cahiers du Cinéma* (France), representing positive feedback, was the first to cheer for He Yi'an:

"The film 'Fireworks in the Human World' uses a bowl of hot soup noodles as a mirror to reflect the government's actions and the warmth of the people in China's urbanization process. The policies are implemented without being rigid, the family emotions are not sentimental, and the ample use of blank space makes the theme of 'the unpredictability of fate' even more powerful... This is a high-level expression of Eastern cinema."

The reviews from *Asian Film Information* are more specific:

"The protagonist neither evades nor praises the government's policies, but objectively and fairly writes about 'how the government's policies change the fate of ordinary people'... The demolition of the old wharf, the perseverance of the noodle shop, and the separation of families are all transformed into gentle sighs in the steam of 'hot soup noodles'... The blank spaces are not empty, but leave enough room for the audience to think."

It can only be said that France, being an old-fashioned region, has a relatively high acceptance of this kind of film.

Of course, where there are good things, there are bound to be bad things.

Moreover, the negative reviews are extremely sharp.

Variety's commentary was scathing:

"The drama 'Fireworks in the Human World' is too 'safe'! Its direct portrayal of the Z government greatly diminishes its critical impact; its humanistic expression is superficial, and its family dramas lack conflict; its so-called 'leaving blanks' feel more like narrative laziness, and the capriciousness of fate doesn't truly resonate with the audience."

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