Chapter 17: Selected for the Main Competition Category

On the third day after summer vacation began, Cheng Sheng finally received a phone call from Xu Xiaozhong, who delivered good news.

*The Great Tang Dynasty: Origins* had successfully been selected for the Main Competition section of the 61st Venice International Film Festival.

Cheng Sheng leaped up in joy.

Unfortunately, he was the only one in his dormitory, so there was no one to share this honor with.

Immediately after, Cheng Sheng quickly shared the good news in his group chats.

Before long, Cheng Sheng's phone wouldn't stop ringing. Zhang Yang and Teacher Yang Chao called, Fu Dalong called, Zheng Guolin called, Zeng Li called, even the coal boss's mistress called him...

Afterward, Su Chang also called.

He shared another piece of news: in addition to Cheng Sheng's film, Jia Zhangke's *World* had also been selected for the Venice Main Competition this year.

According to another memory, Jia Zhangke was a heavyweight; his works had repeatedly won honors internationally, especially *Xiao Wu*, which had won multiple international awards and was hailed as "the lightning-bright hope of Asian cinema."

Unfortunately, after the filming of *Xiao Wu*, the General Administration issued a ban on him making films, and it was only officially lifted this year.

Furthermore, rumors at the time suggested that Jia Zhangke was banned because a certain Fifth Generation master director had filed a report against him.

Jia Zhangke claimed that he saw the signature on the report at the time: "X.X." That "X.X" was precisely the literary consultant for that Fifth Generation master. "I cannot believe it. What does my business have to do with yours? We are colleagues; why must you be so eager to burn your own kind? One should be decent; why speak ill of a peer! I am lost, truly lost!"

A famous media personality once remarked: "The only ones called Fifth Generation masters are Zhang Yimou and Chen Kaige. Since Chen Kaige doesn't use a literary consultant, that leaves only the other one."

The fact that Cheng Sheng's very first film had been selected for the Venice Main Competition brought congratulatory calls from everyone who heard the news, whether they were classmates, teachers, or acquaintances.

For a newcomer director, whether or not they won an award wasn't the point; being selected was already a success.

Even more astonishing was that Cheng Sheng's film wasn't one of those award-winning films focused on humanism or "misery exposés."

Instead, it was a film about Chinese history.

For such a film to be selected for the Main Competition, it was evident just how formidable Cheng Sheng's directorial abilities were.

Although it was selected, most people still didn't think he would win an award. However, Cheng Sheng didn't care; in his view, being selected was already a victory.

Now that the film was selected, the remaining task was to decide how many people would go to Venice.

The cast of *The Great Tang Dynasty* was massive, with over a hundred people having lines.

It was absolutely impossible for everyone to go; the Venice organizers likely wouldn't allow it either, as there had never been a red carpet procession of over a hundred people.

Moreover, Xu Xiaozhong mentioned that Venice had only provided coverage for ten people's accommodation and airfare, clearly limiting the number of attendees.

This put Cheng Sheng in a difficult position.

The dozen or so coal bosses from Xishan definitely had to go. After all, he had signed a contract promising to take them to show off their prowess if the opportunity arose.

And the grand stage of the "Big Three" European film festivals was the best opportunity to gain face.

With the dozen coal bosses alone, the headcount was already over the limit.

However, that wasn't a major issue—it was just the cost of flights and accommodation, after all.

The coal bosses had plenty of money.

So, Cheng Sheng didn't think much about the coal bosses' side.

As for the remaining slots, the main actors definitely had to go.

Then there were his two teachers, Yang Chao and Zhang Yang, who had helped him immensely before and during the filming.

Ultimately, after much cutting and deciding, Cheng Sheng selected ten people.

However, he did not refuse the others who wanted to go.

After all, out of the hundred million invested by the coal bosses, there was still over a hundred thousand left.

He would treat it as a benefit for the rest of the crew!

Once the list was finalized, Cheng Sheng notified the ten people one by one and then posted a message in the group chat.

He asked if anyone else wanted to go and told them to sign up directly.

Upon seeing Cheng Sheng's message, Tong Yaya and Wang Zhi signed up immediately.

They had originally thought there would be no chance, but now that Cheng Sheng was offering one, how could they not seize it?

The others who hadn't received individual notifications immediately followed suit and signed up.

In the end, about forty people wanted to go.

As for those who didn't go, it was either due to lack of time or because they were already filming with other crews.

Qiao Shan received a private notification from Cheng Sheng.

He happened to be working as an extra in a production at the time; he was so happy that he grabbed another extra and started shouting excitedly.

When the coal bosses from Xishan received the news, they were so excited they started throwing money directly at the girls at the nightclubs.

Originally, they had only invested in Cheng Sheng's film because they had been swindled, and they had felt some regret afterward.

But the contract was signed, and regret was useless; they had just assumed the money was gone.

As for whether Cheng Sheng could fulfill the contract, they had actually prepared for failure.

They just hadn't expected that Cheng Sheng would actually do it.

Venice!

Walking that red carpet would absolutely bring them immense prestige.

Coal bosses are generally very concerned with "face." As a group of nouveau riche, they often display their social status and success through the flaunting of wealth.

For example, some coal bosses might serve delicacies and expensive wine when hosting guests, but only drink cheap liquor at home—a behavior driven by the need to maintain appearances.

Furthermore, when coal bosses invest in films or sponsor cultural activities, it is often not to make money, but to appear cultured and satisfy their vanity.

This was exactly why Cheng Sheng had been able to swindle so much investment from them.

One hundred million sounded like a lot, but there were over a dozen coal bosses investing in Cheng Sheng's film.

Split up, it was at most a few million each.

A few million is a lot to an ordinary person, but it wasn't even the amount some coal bosses spent on a single mistress.

Originally, they only hoped that when Cheng Sheng's film was released, he would take them to the premiere to walk the red carpet, let the reporters take some photos, and perhaps get them in a newspaper—that would have been enough to satisfy their pride.

But they never expected Cheng Sheng to be so capable as to actually take them to Europe to walk the red carpet. This was like their ancestors' graves emitting green smoke; in ancient times, they would have earned a whole new page in the family genealogy!

The excited coal bosses almost popped champagne to celebrate.

Bai Baihe also wanted to pop champagne to celebrate.

A few months ago, she was just a junior in the acting department, and she was due to graduate next year, worrying about what to do after graduation.

Should she go to Hengdian to look for opportunities, or see if she could sign with an entertainment company?

She hadn't expected news of Cheng Sheng's first film to arrive, and even the principal had encouraged everyone to participate enthusiastically, even making exceptions for freshmen to join the shoot.

Regardless of the investment size, Bai Baihe wasn't very optimistic about a newcomer director's first work, and some online comments were very unfavorable toward Director Cheng Sheng.

Most celebrities in the entertainment industry had even stated bluntly that this would be a massive flop.

From the fact that so many artists in the industry hadn't even come for auditions, it was clear that no one had high hopes for Cheng Sheng's film.