549: The press conference for Chapter 549 is here.

Two days passed in the blink of an eye, and the press conference arrived as scheduled.

At the press conference venue, media reporters from all over the world had already set up their equipment.

The specific process was not complicated: the organizers would announce the shortlisted films for all sections, and the opening film would be revealed as the grand finale in the last few minutes.

Among these, the most anticipated ones were the main competition section and the opening film.

Especially the opening film, which marked the official start of the Venice Film Festival and served to set the atmosphere and tone for the entire event.

Generally speaking, the organizers would choose films with broad attention, topicality, or high artistic standards to attract the eyes of global media and audiences, earning a good start for the Venice Film Festival.

However, to be honest, domestic attention toward this film festival was relatively low.

The reason was simple: the number of mainland films shortlisted was too small, and even if they were, most were not in the main competition section and were mostly obscure, niche, low-budget films that struggled to arouse public interest.

To put it bluntly, it wasn't that the Chinese people didn't want to pay attention, but that there wasn't much worth watching even if they did.

Of course, there were still people livestreaming, and Gao Jun, an UP creator in the film and television section of Bilibili, was one of them.

Although he hadn't gone there in person, he could achieve the same effect by broadcasting the foreign livestream video.

There weren't many people in the livestream room; basically, they were all cinephiles with a keen interest in film.

Gao Jun was just bored and streaming for a while, chatting with netizens along the way.

"Any chance of being shortlisted for the main competition section this year? I don't know much, but the European films 'The Unbloomed Painted Dream' and 'Berlin Echo' are very good, so they should have no problem."

"As for domestic ones... 'Whispers of the Sea and Island' and 'Small Town Factory' might have a chance to be shortlisted for the Orizzonti section? I can only say, they are worth encouraging. They might be critically acclaimed but not commercially successful, and if they are released in the mainland, the box office probably won't be very good."

"Oh, right, I have a rumor, though it's not guaranteed to be true: the Spring Festival Movie Season film 'the dragon lantern chronicle' seems to have been included in the special screenings."

"I said it's not guaranteed, we'll know for sure once it's announced in a bit. Maybe it's just to show its face! After all, ordinary people don't understand all the ins and outs, and it still sounds good when you say it out loud. But for insiders, special screenings, you know, since it's a new work by a famous director, it's not hard to give some face."

'the dragon lantern chronicle' was precisely the new work of Director Qi Kai and Ouyang Xi.

The main purpose of the special screenings was to increase the watchability and topicality of the film festival, but the films included did not participate in the competition, so their importance was relatively low.

Gao Jun's prediction was very accurate; the special screening section was announced first, and 'the dragon lantern chronicle' was indeed on the list.

Director Qi Kai was impressive; without making a sound, he had promoted at the Hong Kong Film Awards and gone to Venice as well.

After the Venice Days section and the Orizzonti section lists were announced, the main event finally arrived.

The films shortlisted for the main competition section began to be announced one by one, and soon it reached the last one.

The voice of the Venice organizer's jury president came clearly from the livestream video: "Colleagues in the film industry, media friends, after strict selection by the jury, Director Lin Chuyan's 'la la land' has officially been shortlisted for the main competition section of the 73rd Venice Film Festival.

The film stood out among many submitted works due to its wonderful song and dance elements and delicate narrative.

We look forward to it competing with other films in Venice and bringing a wonderful artistic feast."

The barrage comments surged at this moment.

[Holy shit]

[Holy shit]

[Holy shit]

Gao Jun was also stunned: "Holy shit, did I hear that right? Lin Chuyan? 'la la land'? main competition section?"

"Don't ask me, I don't know, nobody knew about this!"

As a fan of Lin Chuyan, Gao Jun was truly excited: "Everyone, this is solid! What does being shortlisted for the main competition section mean? It means it has gained the recognition of the professional jury! Also, this is the core section of the film festival! It means the story and form of expression of 'la la land' can transcend cultural differences! Conquer global audiences!"

Gao Jun was still chattering on, not knowing that even more shocking news was yet to come.

As the shortlisted works for all sections were announced, the jury president began to announce the opening film for this year.

Gao Jun's mood had not yet calmed down, and taking advantage of the time the foreigner was talking nonsense on stage, he squeezed in to continue explaining: "Everyone, the opening film is an important window for the film festival to show the world the latest achievements and trends in film creation this year.

Works selected as opening films are often forward-looking in artistic style, narrative techniques, or technical innovation, representing the film festival's recognition and admiration for the excellent films of the year.

Don't ask me to predict this one, I don't know who will win it either."

As for 'la la land'? Being able to enter the main competition section was already very good, Gao Jun dared not be greedy.

However, reality is often more dreamlike than fiction.

Since the opening film bears the important task of building atmosphere and attracting attention, when it is announced, compared to other films, more emotion and praise will be incorporated to mobilize everyone's anticipation for the film festival.

The jury president's voice sounded again: "dear friends, at this moment full of anticipation and surprise, I am honored to announce to the whole world: the opening film of the 73rd Venice Film Festival comes from Director Lin Chuyan's 'la la land'!

Film, as an art form that transcends language and culture, has always been the core and soul of our Venice Film Festival.

And 'la la land' is undoubtedly the best masterpiece this year to raise the curtain on this film event—it opens with a grand song and dance, instantly taking us into that world full of dreams and passion.

We chose 'la la land' as the opening film not only because of its excellent artistic quality, but also because the love for life and dreams it conveys is highly consistent with the spirit of the Venice Film Festival.

At this moment, let us look forward to starting an 11-day film carnival journey under the guidance of this wonderful film, and witness together the art of film blooming with more brilliant light in Venice!"

The barrage comments surged again.

[Holy shit]

[Holy shit]

[Holy shit]

Gao Jun was already incoherent: "Quick! Someone hit me, am I hallucinating? 'la la land'? Opening film? Holy shit, is this film that awesome? Even as a fan, I can't believe it! Someone wake me up!"

Lin Chuyan's team had also been paying attention to the film festival's dynamics, and as soon as the news was announced here, the official Weibo of 'la la land' had already posted a new Weibo.

This Weibo had no text, just a long image!

Starry sky, street lamps, small chairs by the street.

The main visual of the image was still Lin Chuyan and Ruan Xingyu, but their actions had changed from dancing in the previous release date poster to embracing and kissing.

Ruan Xingyu's left lower leg was still playfully raised ninety degrees backward, fully displaying her liveliness and cuteness.

Further down, a series of heavyweight promotional slogans appeared, each one dazzling the netizens' eyes:

Congratulations to 'la la land'!

Shortlisted for the main competition section of the Venice Film Festival!

Selected as the opening film of the Venice Film Festival!

Kicking off the world premiere at the Venice Film Festival!