Awards were presented one after another.
The audience below the stage listened to the host’s beautiful Italian and the occasional English phrases from the guests, feeling drowsy.
There was no help for it—they could barely understand a few words of English, but Italian was like hearing an incomprehensible text, completely unintelligible.
The crew members were all getting sleepy, with only Zhu Xiaocai, Lu Zhiyao, and a few others still watching with anticipation.
With the experience from last time, everyone now knew that those invited to the awards ceremony would basically receive some award.
It was just a question of whether it would be a major or minor one.
However, given everyone’s expectations for “The Future You Choose,” winning a small award was equivalent to winning nothing.
They needed to win a substantial major award, such as Best Actor or the Golden Lion Award, for it to be considered a historic breakthrough.
Before coming, the crew had studied up on information about the Venice Film Festival.
It was the oldest and earliest established film festival in the world.
As a pioneer among film festivals, the Venice Film Festival had a profound historical foundation and maintained its own cultural core.
To summarize briefly: the Venice Film Festival tended to focus on individuals and encourage innovation; it encouraged bold experiments in audiovisual language; and it placed greater emphasis on the intellectual content of films.
Additionally, the Venice Film Festival had a preference for Asian films and paid considerable attention to Chinese-language films. Many Chinese-language films had been favored by the Venice Film Festival, including two that had won the Golden Lion Award for Best Film. A Chinese director had also received the Venice Film Festival’s Lifetime Achievement Award.
Chinese jurors also had certain influence at the Venice Film Festival. After the crew arrived, they met and exchanged ideas with several Chinese jurors. Everyone had high expectations for “The Future You Choose,” hoping it would continue or even surpass the success of “Beautiful Tomorrow.”
After all, these two films had certain similarities in theme and story, and “The Future You Choose” could be seen as a comprehensively improved version of “Beautiful Tomorrow.”
As one award after another was presented, the crew members yawned and chatted quietly. The first few awards weren’t very interesting, and the name “The Future You Choose” hadn’t been mentioned.
Huang Sibo also felt bored, since only directors and actors would go on stage to receive awards, which had nothing to do with him as the producer.
His presence at the film festival was purely ceremonial.
Just then, he suddenly felt Lu Zhiyao, sitting on his left, tense up. He then heard the latter half of the English award announcement.
“…for Lu Zhiyao!”
Although Huang Sibo could barely make out Lu Zhiyao’s name, his Pinyin was already displayed on the big screen.
Nowadays, nearly 90% of mainland actors and directors used Pinyin for their English names. This was also a manifestation of growing cultural confidence.
It was particularly noteworthy that the order of first and last names was not reversed.
The award Lu Zhiyao received was also displayed on the big screen.
Without a doubt, it was Best Actor, as he couldn’t possibly win any other award.
Lu Zhiyao had already elegantly buttoned his suit and stood up to go on stage.
The entire crew of “The Future You Choose” immediately erupted in excitement, joining the whole venue in enthusiastic applause. This award was an unexpected delight.
“He really won Best Actor! Now he can be called a genuine film emperor, right?”
“Indeed, the previous awards he won were all domestic and carried less weight.”
“Well, isn’t it perfectly reasonable for Lu Zhiyao to win Best Actor based on his performance in our film?”
Lu Zhiyao came to the stage and said in Chinese: “First, I wish everyone a good evening. This is my first time at the Venice Film Festival, and I never expected to receive such an honor, which makes me feel extremely privileged.”
“I especially thank the jury for this honor. Here, I would also like to particularly thank my director, the entire staff, and my fans. This film was a test for me as well as a significant opportunity…”
After thanking all the important people, Lu Zhiyao shifted his tone.
“I would also like to especially thank Mr. Pei, the investor and executive producer of the film. For me, Mr. Pei is the ‘talent scout’ who discovered me. It is under Mr. Pei’s step-by-step guidance that I have been able to continuously refine my acting skills through various roles, and finally gain worldwide recognition.”
“In the film ‘The Future You Choose,’ the acting skills I’ve accumulated finally found the best showcase. I hope to bring more brilliant performances and create more classic characters for everyone in the future. Thank you all again.”
As the translator beside him translated his speech into Italian, the venue erupted in thunderous applause once more.
Lu Zhiyao returned to his seat, and the crew members congratulated him, their faces radiating with happy smiles.
“That’s enough, the International Best Actor Award is well-deserved! With this award, our trip to this film festival has been worth it.”
“Indeed, with Best Actor, we now have enough talking points when we go back. Just with this award-winning performance, plus our story, the box office will definitely not be low when we release it back home.”
“This trip was worth it, truly worth it.”
The group passed around Lu Zhiyao’s trophy, and everyone was very satisfied.
After all, although the Best Actor award was an individual honor, it was also an honor for the entire crew of the film. After all, without a good story, an actor could hardly win the Best Actor award no matter how well they performed.
Good acting still needed to be supported by a good plot.
The crew’s goal for attending this film festival had been achieved. They had won the relatively substantial Best Actor award, not some insignificant minor prize.
After the excitement died down, the crew fell into a relaxed state.
During the Best Director award presentation, Zhu Xiaocai sat up straight, but the award wasn’t presented to him, which left him slightly disappointed.
His disappointment was not only due to missing out on the award itself but also because the later the award, the more significant it was, and the lower the possibility of winning.
Finally, the awards ceremony reached its final segment. Even the Silver Lion Award had been presented, and the name “The Future You Choose” still hadn’t appeared.
At this moment, the crew members’ feelings were somewhat mixed, similar to employees at an annual company party who hadn’t won any small prizes when the final grand prize was being announced.
On one hand, they felt a bit nervous, thinking it unlikely that the biggest award would fall on their heads just like that, but on the other hand, they harbored a strong expectation.
Either it would end so unceremoniously, or they would win something big. The feeling was truly exciting.
For the crew of “The Future You Choose,” bringing home a Best Actor award was considered a pass, making the trip worthwhile. But having only this one award was still somewhat disappointing.
After all, the crew members all felt that “The Future You Choose” was excellent in every way, almost perfect. It would be reasonable even if it won the Golden Lion Award.
The host said a bunch of things in Italian, then looked at the presenter on the opposite side of the stage, presumably asking him to announce the final grand prize.
The presenter was a chubby, jovial man, a world-renowned director.
Smiling, he said, “Let me just announce the winner directly.”
“Zhu Xiaoce, for ‘The Future You Choose’!”
As soon as these words were spoken, the venue immediately erupted with enthusiastic applause and cheers.
Zhu Xiaocai’s suspended heart finally relaxed, followed by a surge of ecstatic joy.
As the music played and amid the audience’s enthusiastic applause and cheers, Zhu Xiaocai calmed his emotions. Pretending to be very composed, he slowly walked to the stage.
After warmly embracing the elderly white-haired judge on stage, Zhu Xiaocai received from him the highest award—a small golden lion with wings.
After about two minutes of the lengthy photo session, Zhu Xiaocai finally held the small golden lion and approached the podium. The enthusiastic applause gradually subsided.
Zhu Xiaocai slightly adjusted the microphone and delivered the acceptance speech he had rehearsed many times in his mind.
“First, I would like to thank all the judges for their recognition and appreciation of this film. ‘The Future You Choose’ is a film that crystallizes the dedication of the crew, filled with profound implications and rich imagination, while also being rooted in real-life material, drawing valuable nourishment from it. For me, it marks a vibrant stroke in my entire directing career and is also a milestone in which I once again break through myself and challenge higher artistic realms.”
“I want to thank the entire crew, my lovely actors, and the audience who have supported us all along…”
“In addition, all of us in the crew would like to especially thank Mr. Pei. It is your spiritual essence that has given soul to this film. Real events from reality have given flesh and blood to the film. Without you, this film would not have been born.”
“So this award is the result of the collective efforts of all of us, including all fans who support the Tenda Group. I am willing to share this honor with all of you.”
“Thank you everyone!”
The venue once again erupted in thunderous applause.
Meanwhile, various news reports were immediately transmitted back to China. A domestic film boldly winning the Venice Film Festival’s highest award, the Golden Lion Award, was definitely something worthy of extensive coverage and emphasis in the film industry.
…
…
Sunday, September 8th.
As soon as Pei Qian woke up, he quickly grabbed his phone to check on last night’s Venice Film Festival situation.
His feelings were mixed.
As a friend, he actually hoped that Zhu Xiaocai and his team could win a minor award, such as Best Actor or Best Director. These awards were actually acceptable.
After all, these people were genuinely making films with dedication, and winning awards would be well-deserved.
As long as it didn’t cause the film’s box office to explode, it would be fine.
But Pei Qian didn’t expect that as soon as he turned on his phone, he would receive several notifications in succession.
“Domestic Film Wins Venice Best Film Golden Lion Award for the Seventh Time!”
“Lu Zhiyao Wins Best Actor, Film Emperor Finally Crowned!”
“Director Zhu Xiaocai: Thanks to Mr. Pei for Giving Soul to the Film!”