Chapter 2 Application for Shortlisting
Gu Wei still plans to use Yu Nan for the film's heroine. She starred in last year's "Eclipse" and won the Best Actress Award at the Deauville Asian Film Festival in France. Even if her age is not suitable now, it can be solved with makeup.

At the end of October, Gu Wei asked the school teacher to help contact Yu Nan.

Afterwards, Gu Wei asked her to meet for a detailed discussion in a teahouse next to the school. Yu Nan read the script and agreed to take on the movie. The two parties signed the contract in the teahouse.

In early November, Gu Wei asked for a long vacation from his class teacher, took the staff and equipment of Qingying Studio, and set off for Inner Mongolia. A person in charge of Guangxian also accompanied the group.

The group took their carry-on luggage and headed straight for the train station. As for the filming equipment, films and other materials needed for filming, they arranged for a vehicle to tow them to the station and then transported them to Inner Mongolia by freight train.

The filming equipment at that time was not as light as it is today. For example, a 90-minute movie, using a 35mm film camera and 35mm film, would require about 5 boxes of film at a 1:60 film ratio. Each box of film weighed about 40 kilograms, and the total weight was over one ton.

After a day's train ride, the crew arrived at the filming location, a small town in Inner Mongolia.

The machines and equipment will be delivered later.

On November 11, Gu Wei looked at the people and equipment that had arrived, held a megaphone, and announced:
"'Tuya's Wedding' has officially started filming. Thank you all for your hard work during this period."

"It's not hard, Director."

"It's okay, director."

The people below echoed each other, and many of them had excited expressions on their faces.

The entire crew is composed of staff from Qingying Studio. The average age of the staff is not very young and the atmosphere among them is very harmonious.

The filming of this movie was not difficult. The movie just tells a story in a very peaceful manner. With the help of the employees from Qingying Studio, the film was started smoothly.

Except for the protagonist Yu Nan, the other main actors are school staff and some students, and there are no big-name stars.

By the end of November, most of the film had been shot.

In order to save time, Gu Wei hardly gave any holiday to the crew members. Everyone held their breath and tried to finish the filming as soon as possible.

The film is being shot in batches, and every shot is repeated in an effort to achieve perfection. This is an award-winning film, so Gu Wei still feels pressured.

The story of the movie is about a hardworking and kind Mongolian woman Tuya who remarries with her divorced disabled husband Bater and two children. The film revolves around Tuya's marriage.

"Tuya Story" is a typical art film style, telling the reality and using tragic stories to move the audience and judges.

Yu Nan’s acting skills are beyond reproach. She has been an actress with great acting skills since her debut.

The weather gradually turned cooler, and the filming of the crew slowly came to an end. Looking at the filmed clips, Gu Wei was full of confidence in the movie.

"The filming of Tuya's Wedding has officially finished."

"Everyone has worked hard during this period. Everyone must attend the wrap-up party tonight."

Gu Wei held a loudspeaker and spoke loudly while standing on the director's chair.

"Haha, it's done."

"Long live the director."

"See you at the wrap-up party."

That night, Gu Wei asked the crew to book a hotel, and all the staff attended the wrap-up banquet together.

The wrap-up banquet was very sumptuous. In Inner Mongolia, the thing that is most abundant is all kinds of meat. Gu Wei asked the restaurant owner to pick out the expensive ones so that everyone could eat and drink well.

Most of the crew members are employees of Qingying Studio. They are not very old. After spending some time together, they gradually developed feelings for each other.

The budget for the film was 300 million, but it was not used up at the end of the filming. He gave each member of the crew a red envelope ranging from to yuan. He kept the rest for himself and planned to return to school, rent a place and set up a studio.

It was still a little hot when we left, and when we returned to school, the first snow had already fallen.

In mid-December, the group returned to Qingying Studio, where the film's post-production editing was completed, and Gu Wei would take time to oversee it every day.

The editors took a look at the filmed footage and found nothing too complicated and no special effects were needed, so it could be completed in about a month.

Film censorship and screening permission were both handled by Guangguang. Guangguang sent someone to watch the finished film, and was relieved because it was almost identical to the submitted script.

Gu Wei asked the person in charge of Guangguang, who said that the editing could be completed in one month, just in time for next year's Berlin Film Festival.

Once the movie is completed, Guangguang will submit it for approval as soon as possible. Hearing this, Gu Wei felt relieved.

Next comes the publicity and promotion of the film.

In the early stage, Guangguang will be promoted through television and radio channels, and will also be promoted on the Internet through Sohu, NetEase and Sina platforms.

As for Tencent and Alibaba, they are still struggling in the Internet winter.

When teacher Zhao Lirong passed away, she said, “Palace Jade Wine, 180 yuan per cup,” which is an eternal classic.

"Courage" became popular all over the country.

Faye Wong released another new album.

Gong Li's role as president of the 50th Berlin Film Festival is a recognition by the world for Chinese-speaking actors.

The Hong Kong film market is shrinking rapidly, the number of people working in the industry is declining sharply, and the time is approaching when Hong Kong directors will move north on a large scale.

Regarding the application to the Berlin Film Festival, Guangguang sent people to take away the edited film, and they will take care of all subsequent matters.

Regarding the release time, Guangguang and Gu Wei discussed and decided to hold it after the Berlin Film Festival. If the film wins an award, it will greatly boost the box office.

At the end of January, Gu Wei received an invitation to the Berlin Film Festival, and "Tuya's Wedding" was shortlisted for the festival.

The news media are all reporting this matter extensively. After all, it has been shortlisted for the Berlin Film Festival, so the chances of winning an award are still very high.

Several well-known directors also cheered for Gu Wei in the media and expressed their blessings.

Gu Wei took out the Nokia 7110 mobile phone he had just bought, which was also the first mobile phone in China that could access the Internet and was launched in May last year.

Then I called the main creative team and agreed to go to Berlin together to attend the opening ceremony of the film festival. Guangguang had already sent someone to make the connection in advance.

Other domestic films participating in this film festival include "Seventeen Years Old Bicycle", directed by Wang Xiaoshuai. Yuanyuan was still very young at that time and was indeed very beautiful.

On February 2, Gu Wei, Yu Nan and others boarded a flight from the capital to Berlin.

The next morning, Gu Wei and others arrived in Berlin. The person in charge of Guangxian came to pick them up at the airport, and they went straight to the hotel after leaving the airport.

I had a meal with the crew and tried the various sausages here. They tasted good. It is said that Regensburg, the sausage capital of Germany, has an old sausage shop that claims to have a history of 850 years.

After settling in the hotel, Gu Wei went to the relevant department of the film festival with Guangguang people to sign in. On the way, he saw filmmakers from all over the world gathered here, and the streets were densely packed with movie posters. After signing in the relevant departments of the film festival, Guangguang people took Gu Wei directly to the screening room of "Tuya Wedding". The big sign at the door had the name of the movie and the director written on it, and there were staff members handing out brochures next to it.

There are many films on display, from various countries, with all kinds of customs, skin colors and languages.

Gu Wei arrived at the film festival relatively late. It was only a few days before the opening of the film festival, and he had a lot of work to do every day, from film promotion and screening to the order of walking the red carpet at the opening ceremony. There were a lot of things to deal with every day.

In the middle, I also met the crew of "Seventeen Years Old Bicycle". Directors of Wang Xiaoshuai and his generation are frequent guests at major film festivals. They are fond of various film festivals and sell copyrights.

Many of the films on display rented screening rooms. Gu Wei and the crew took time out to watch a few of them, learning from other directors’ shots and thinking and observing the shooting techniques of excellent films.

In addition to official media, domestic Internet media also came to Berlin.

Gu Wei accepted interviews from Sina and Sohu, and admitted that there were many excellent films at this film festival, and it was his first time to participate in the exhibition. No matter what the result is, he will treat it with a normal attitude.

The speech appeared on domestic portal websites the next day, and more and more domestic netizens paid attention to it.

Gu Wei did not pay attention to the comments of the online media. His mind was now filled with thoughts on whether the film could be shortlisted for the main creative unit. After all, the Golden Bear Award, the highest award of the Berlin Film Festival, was awarded to the films shortlisted for the main creative unit.

The film festival officially opened on February 2th.

This year is the 51st Berlin Film Festival, with more than 300 films of various types from all over the world participating, of which 23 films are shortlisted for the main competition unit.

Most of the films exhibited are for sale, which is also the purpose of the establishment of the film festival. In addition to awards, there are also profits.

After "Tuya's Wedding" was shortlisted for the main creative unit, according to regulations, it was required to attend the opening ceremony on the same day. The men wore suits and the women wore dresses. Several people came to the red carpet of the opening ceremony. Gu Wei saw the logo of the movie channel, and when he approached, he saw that it was a reporter from the "Sixth Princess" channel. He accepted the interview with a smile, and he had to give face to the "Sixth Princess".

"Hello, Director Gu," the other party said politely.

Then he asked, "Director Gu, your first film was shortlisted for the Berlin Film Festival. Are you confident that you will win the award?"

"It depends on the judges' scores. Of course I hope to win the grand prize."

He then answered a few questions from reporters and was urged by the staff to enter the auditorium.

"Director Gu, come on!"

“It’s sure to win a big prize.”

Several reporters gave the crew a thumbs up as they spoke.

"Thank you."

Then I followed the staff to the auditorium.

Jury chairman Bill McNicol delivered an opening speech on stage, thanking filmmakers from all over the world for gathering here, saying that this was a feast for filmmakers, and he guaranteed that the subsequent film selection would be fair and just.

After the opening ceremony, the jury began to review the films and the film trade fair outside was also in full swing.

The person in charge of Guangguang was talking to Gu Wei about the copyright of "Tuya's Wedding". Several potential buyers were also in contact with the person in charge of Guangguang, including film producers from Europe and North America.

"No rush, it's not too late to talk about it after the closing ceremony," Gu Wei said to the person in charge of Guangxian.

The latter also understood the reason and said that they would drag several film producers to the closing of the film festival.

Gu Wei will definitely stay in Berlin for the next period of time. According to the private rules of the film festival, films shortlisted for the main creative unit will generally participate in the final closing ceremony red carpet.

As time goes by, all the movies exhibited in the exhibition hall have been sold, and for the rest, I have to figure out a way to sell them myself.

Major film producers are all eyeing the main competition units, and some are even buying out copyrights in advance.

The competition at this film festival was fierce. As time went by, news came out from somewhere that the film "Intimacy" directed by French director Patrice Chéreau was well received by the jury, and the pressure came to Gu Wei.

The juries are also voting fiercely for various film awards.

On the 18th, Gu Wei, who was at the hotel, received an official call from the film festival, inviting him and the crew to attend the closing ceremony and awards ceremony.

That afternoon, the news broke in domestic news media, and all major media outlets rushed to report it.

On the day of the award ceremony, the red carpet started at 2pm. The crews of the competing films, producers, major film companies and special guest crews all made their appearances. There were so many people on the red carpet that the procession did not end until the evening.

"Tuya's Wedding" is the main competition unit, and the red carpet is arranged in the second half, which also shows the importance the film festival attaches to the works in the main competition unit.

The directors of various crews who came to participate in the film talked about art, but they were all eyeing the awards. Art also needs awards to set it off, and everyone wants to gain both fame and fortune.

Gu Wei and his team came to the red carpet waiting area. The closing ceremony was about to begin. The on-site host was introducing the data of the works participating in this film festival, including how many works were exhibited, which works were shortlisted, how much the transaction amount was, etc.

In the waiting area, Gu Wei communicated with several foreign directors and shared his thoughts on participating in this film festival. Several directors were amazed at Gu Wei's youth and spoke highly of the sincere emotions and exploration of human nature in "Tuya's Wedding".

Director Zhang Yimou was also mentioned during the conversation. Gu Wei had no connection with him, so he just praised him a few times and passed it off.

The red carpet continued, and Gu Wei's crew was notified that it was the turn of "Tuya's Wedding" to enter the red carpet.

Yu Nan and several main creators followed Gu Wei to the exit. In front of them was the crew of "Italian Language Learning Class" directed by Danish director Basil Shafie.

The host began to introduce:
"The following are the crew of "Tuya's Wedding" from China. Director Weigu and the main creative staff are coming to you." This is their first time to participate in the Berlin Film Festival. The director is very young and this is his first work. Let us wish him good results.

Gu Wei and the crew members all kept smiling. The cameras of various media on both sides of the red carpet were flashing and taking pictures crazily, which was a bit dazzling. Gu Wei was trying hard to adapt.

Halfway through the walk, we saw domestic media and several Internet media outlets, and the crew members smiled and waved at their cameras.

The red carpet gave Gu Wei and his team three minutes. After the host introduced them, he did a brief interview and asked a few questions, to which Gu Wei gave brief answers.

I walked into the venue and looked around. The seats for thousands of people were slowly filling up.

The crew of "Tuya's Wedding" is located in the middle left of the venue, with the Danish crew on the right and a British crew in front.

As other crews and related personnel entered the venue, the host announced that the closing ceremony and awards ceremony of the 51st Berlin Film Festival officially began.

All the guests looked towards the stage and stared at the big screen on the podium.

The most exciting moment of the film festival is about to come...

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(End of this chapter)