After 11 days of hustle and bustle, this year's Cannes Film Festival is finally coming to an end. This year's Cannes is a rare year for masters and masterpieces. Last night's FIPRESCI Award was awarded to three films at the same time: "Paris, Texas", "Memories in Prison", and "Journey to Sayser Island", which is enough to prove that there are so many good movies.

Because there are too many good movies this year, there are too many movies with the strength to win awards, and the attribution of awards is confusing, and no one can be sure which film will win which award. The attribution of each award has become the focus of everyone's attention.

Xia Meng and Jiang David got up early in the morning, dressed neatly, sat next to the phone, and waited for the final result to come out. They were all participating in an international film festival for the first time and were especially looking forward to going home with their trophies.

Xu Wangqiu did not have much hope for "Cold" to win the award, generally speaking, it is often difficult for controversial films to win awards, and he has heard that the British and American media have criticized "Cold" more severely, the chairman of the jury of this year's film festival is British, and there are Americans among the judges, so there is little hope of winning the award.

The awards of the film festival are indeed a great honor, and after winning the award, both the director and the film itself will receive great exposure. However, as an old Jianghu, Xu Wangqiu knows that the awards of the film festival are just like that, and they can be operated secretly.

For example, the president of the Cannes Film Festival wanted Tarkovsky's film "Mirror" to be contested in Cannes, and assured the Soviet Union that Tarkovsky's film would win the grand prize. The Soviet Union believed that Tarkovsky's film did not reflect the great achievements of Soviet construction, and still refused to allow his film to compete abroad. For example, when Akira Kurosawa's "Shadow Warrior" went to Cannes in 1980, Toho proposed that Akira Kurosawa was our national treasure-level director, and we could go, but you had to give us the Palme d'Or.

For Xu Wangqiu, the most important thing for him to come to Cannes is to sell films. "Cold" costs 10 million Hong Kong dollars, which is considered a high-cost film among Hong Kong films. Due to the sensitive subject matter, it is difficult to release it in the mainland, and Xiangjiang has been banned again, so it can only rely on overseas copyright to recover the original cost.

After the release of "Cold" in Cannes, it was very controversial, and some American media even said that the film was inciting hatred and should be banned.

So far, "Cold" has sold the rights of more than 50 countries and regions, and sold more than 3 million US dollars. The exchange rate between the Hong Kong dollar and the US dollar is now almost 1 to 7.5, and the conversion of US dollars to Hong Kong dollars is more than 20 million. By selling copyrights, "Cold" has not only recovered its costs, but also earned more than 10 million.

Xu Wangqiu didn't go with Xia Meng, waited for the phone in the apartment, came to the film trading market, and stood on the last shift with Hu Jian and them as members of the delegation.

Meanwhile, at Dommelgue's seaview estate, not far from Cannes, nine members of the jury are in the makings of final discussions to decide which films will win what awards. The judges begin their deliberations at 9 a.m. and must discuss the results by 12 p.m. so that there is enough time to contact the winners and inform them of their participation in the evening's award ceremony.

There are too many good movies in the main competition unit this year, "Psycho", "Paris, Texas", "Bitter Moon", "Cold" and other films can be awarded, and there are only seven awards, which is very difficult to choose. The judges decided to pick the seven best films before discussing which film would give what award.

Six films, including "Psycho" and "Paris, Texas," were quickly chosen, but when it came time to discuss the last spot, the judges engaged in a heated debate.

The president of the jury, Dirk Bogard, loved "Bitter Moon" because the main actors of the film were all British. However, his proposal was firmly resisted by the two female judges, who hated the film and felt that Polanski's portrayal of love and humanity was too unbearable. Several other judges also objected on different grounds, arguing that "Bitter Moon" was not suitable.

After The Bitter Moon was denied, Isabelle Huppert offered her own opinion. She knew Xu Wangqiu and liked "Cold" very much, so she sang praises for "Cold": ""Cold" is one of the best films at this film festival, the film depicts the bottom of society very profoundly, and the satire of the capitalist system is also very sharp. The director has created for us the appearance of all beings in the Xiangjiang society, and through the lens, we can see the characters, streets, buildings, and social features of the Xiangjiang River. The acting of the film's lead actors is also excellent, and it is one of the best performances I have ever seen. If we don't give an award to a film like this, it's a dereliction of duty on our part!"

Dirk Bogard hated the film so much that he immediately retorted: "You can give it to anyone, but you can't give it to Cold." The film lacks the most basic humane care, and there are scenes of shooting and killing children, and the director actually approves of it. The whole movie incites hatred, as if to say that everything is the fault of the rich, and only by killing them can the poor be saved. Movies should tell how to defuse hatred, not promote hatred, such films are a stain on art. ”

American director Stanley Donan is firmly on the side of Dirk Bogard: "The whole movie is a communist propaganda film, and the whole movie is about how bad capitalism is and how damn the rich." Twenty years ago, you could have bewitched young people, but now communism has become a joke!"

Stanley Donan's words Soviet judge Vidi Yusov: "What's wrong with communism? I'm a communist, are you going to shoot me? We're talking about the artistry of the film, what kind of communism is it." Is the film festival about art or politics?"

Italian jury member Ennio Morricone echoed: "Many of us in the Italian film industry are members of the Communist Party, so can't we participate in the film festival in the future? Why can't "Cold" expose the problems of capitalism? This film was banned by the British government in Hong Kong because it criticized capitalism and the British government in Hong Kong, and it is also a suppressed film, so why can't it be awarded? You are too double standard, right?

French judge Jorge Semplen said in a weird way: "If you don't have double standards, is that still American?"

Stanley Donan glared at Jorge Semplen: "How can we Americans have double standards?"

Favre Lebret, the president of the festival, saw that the two sides were about to fight, and hurried out to extinguish the fire: "Girls and gentlemen, everyone calm down, everyone discuss calmly, don't get angry." ”

Due to the deliberate suppression of "Cold" by the chairman of the festival, Dirk Bogard, and American director Stanley Donan, it caused strong dissatisfaction among the other judges, and everyone unanimously agreed that "Cold" should be awarded. Dirk Bogard had no choice but to pinch his nose and admit it, agreeing to give the last spot to "Cold".

At six o'clock in the evening, the red carpet of the closing ceremony of the Cannes Film Festival began. The light rain falling in the sky did not stop the enthusiasm of the filmmakers. Celebrities from all walks of life are dressed up to show their best side in front of the world.

This year marks the last time Favre-le-Brey will be president of the festival, which he will step down from 1 July, and will be succeeded by Gilles Jacob, the current artistic director of the festival.

Before Favre-Lebret took over the Cannes Film Festival, Venice was the leader of the three major film festivals, with Cannes coming in second. After the chairmanship of Ferret-Lebret, he did everything he could, inviting well-known directors and stars to Cannes, and constantly discovering new directors, coupled with the Venice Film Festival's own death, Cannes finally surpassed Venice and became the leader of the three major film festivals.

This night is the last time Favre-le-Brey will stand on the red carpet steps in front of the Palais du Cinémale de Cannes Lumière to greet guests. For more than 20 years, the white-haired man has welcomed 3,000 guests every night during the 12 days of Cannes in May. Whether it's a superstar or a movie master, they all take pride in climbing the steps, shaking hands and hugging him. And today, when Favre-Lebret shakes hands and hugs, everyone sends their blessings to the old man.

Xu Wangqiu walked the red carpet and walked up the steps, shaking hands with Favre Lebret and hugging. When Xu Wangqiu hugged Favre Lebre, he also blessed: "Mr. Lebre, I hope you can enjoy your old age in peace after retirement." If you have the chance, you can take a walk around China. ”

Favre-lebret smiled: "Thank you, I will definitely go to China to have a look." You are very good, and I hope you will be able to make more and better movies in the future. ”

After Xu Wangqiu and the others entered the movie palace, they sat next to the crew of "Paris, Texas".

Natasha Kinski saw Xu Wangqiu, greeted him warmly, and said that she liked "Cold" very much. She also said that if Xu Wangqiu wants to shoot American or European stories in the future, she must find her, and she very much hopes to cooperate with Xu Wangqiu. Xu Wangqiu is not interested in making European and American movies, but in order not to spoil the interest of beautiful women, he still smiled and said that he must cooperate with her if he has the opportunity.

The director of "Paris, Texas", Wim Wenders, is one of the four masters of the New German Film Movement, he knows more about Toei films, and Yasujiro Ozu is his spiritual mentor, but he does not know much about Chinese films. However, he knows Xu Wangqiu better, and feels that Xu Wangqiu's films are suspected of being over-commercialized, but he does have his own things in audio-visual language, and he is a very creative genius director. He took the initiative to talk to Xu Wangqiu and said his feelings about "Cold".

Xu Wangqiu saw that Wimwenders was interested in his film, so he chatted with him with great interest.

Soon after, the host took to the stage and kicked off the awards ceremony. The first award was the Caméra d'Or, also known as the Best Debut Female Film, which judifs the director's debut in various categories, including the main competition. In the end, the young American director Jarmusch won the award with "Stranger in Paradise".

Then the president of the festival, Favre Lebret, was invited to the stage by the host for a final farewell speech.

Favre-lebret gave a brief assessment of the work of the festival and then began to give a farewell speech. He briefly reviewed the gains and losses of his more than 30 years as the chairman of the film festival, and then looked at the guests and the audience, and said affectionately: "Although I will no longer serve as the chairman of the film festival in the future, my heart will always be with you, and I will always remember you and remember the days with you." I promised my wife a long time, no longer working, and spending all my time with her, and now it's time to make good on that promise. My presidency is over, but my heart will always be with Cannes, with the movies, with you. Goodbye, dear friends!"

Everyone at the scene stood up and saw off the old man who had dedicated his life to movies with a wave of applause.

After the applause, Favre-Lebret left the stage with nostalgia and reluctance. The president of the jury, Dirk Bogard, took to the stage with eight judges, and the award ceremony for the main competition unit officially began.