Chapter 721: Opening Ceremony
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Zhang Zian was very surprised with how courteous their reception was on the red carpet. If they were in another country, perhaps Famous would still attract some attention, but it would not be nearly as sensational as it was in Germany. After all, the love that the Germans had towards dogs was obvious to all.
Fans on both sides of the red carpet raised their mobile phones or their cameras to film the majestic Famous. The focus that Famous had during the red carpet was unparalleled. Even other well-known, big shot celebrities were outshined.
Fans who were unaware of the situation started to ask around, inquiring about the origins of the dog, while the more experienced, local fans flipped open their movie manual to the page with details on Dog Warrior for those asking.
The Berlin Film Festival spanned over a period of ten days and showed over a few hundred films in rotation. In the movie manual, the introduction for Dog Warrior was very brief and was paired with a cover that was not very eye-catching. If the film had not made its way into the main competition unit, there would not really be many people that would take notice of the film.
Fans who didn’t get to purchase the movie tickets for Dog Warrior immediately regretted it; they all felt that they should have bought the tickets for the movie even if it was just to see the dog. The tickets for the Berlin Film Festival were priced around 15 euros, which was very affordable with the median local income.
Several children, held in the arms of their parents, extended their short arms out towards Famous while they continued to cry out, “Doggy.”
“Hello, can I take a picture with your dog?” a female celebrity in a low-cut see-through dress asked Zhang Zian as she smiled and walked over.
Zhang Zian did not seem to have any impression of her face; she was probably not one of the more influential movie stars. Zian made a guess that she was here to mooch off of Famous’ popularity. While she was doing that, however, Famous was also able to mooch off of her popularity, too.
Zian made a “please, go ahead” gesture before he moved to the side.
The female celebrity carefully stroked Famous on the back of its neck. She noticed the gentleness in Famous’ eyes and noticed that it was so docile, so she courageously bent down and hugged Famous by its neck. She then smiled at the photographer, while being careful to not become a victim of a wardrobe malfunction in her evening gown…
The theme of beauty and the beast had always been appealing. It never went out of style, so experienced photographers seized the opportunity and snapped countless shots from various angles.
With the female celebrity as an example, other celebrities soon came forward to request a photo with Famous, too. After the end of the first wave, a new wave of celebrities stepped onto the red carpet. Famous was so busy that the staff members from the organizing committee had to step out and intervene. After the intervention, Famous finally made its way into the hall of the Berlin Film Palace with Zhang Zian and, under the guidance of the staff, they were directed into the guest area.
The magnificent Film Palace was divided into three levels. The live sound effects were excellent. It was originally a theater dedicated to musicals, but during the festival every year, it was be temporarily arranged as the main venue for the Berlin Film Festival.
In the Film Palace, almost every seat was filled up. The celebrities, jury members, and people from various industries that had entered the theater earlier were gathered together. They were all looking for fellow acquaintances to catch up with, or were chatting about various topics with various different languages and accents.
When Zhang Zian and Famous found their seats, Feng Xuan and Lin Feng came in were already quietly seated in their seats. Feng Xuan was not fond of socializing, nor was he familiar with the foreign celebrities gathered. Lin Feng, on the other hand, looked indifferent. He was looking down at his his mobile phone, his thumb swiftly sliding around the screen, as he chatted with someone on WeChat.
Zhang Zian’s phone had been vibrating nonstop since earlier, but he found no need to look at it. He figured it was the crew group chat on WeChat exploding, as no one would have expected that Famous would attract so much attention.
Modern internet media was very well developed. Although the attention that the Berlin Film Festival received was not as high as the Oscars, there were, at the very least, two or three video websites from China that had sent their reporters to the festival. The reporters were here specifically to stream a live broadcast of the opening ceremony, but what had happened during the red carpet had already spread like the ripples created by a tossed stone.
The opening ceremony was about to begin and, through the use of their microphones, the theater staff invited the guests to return to their seats. There were still people asking for a photo with Famous, however, and it was only after Famous satisfied each and every one of their requests that they returned to their seats.
After waiting for these celebrities that were hard to please to get seated, the opening ceremony officially began. The hostess for the night, dressed in a tight-fitting, evening gown, made her way to the stage with a bright smile on her face.
“Hello everyone! Good evening! Welcome to the Berlin International Film Festival!”
She circled the stage, waving to the guests under the stage, while the guests responded back with warm applause, screams, and whistles.
After the applause stopped, she said, “Ah! I noticed that there are a lot of movie stars here today. Many of them are old friends that we met last year, while we also have new friends joining us this year––there’s even a cute, lovely dog!”
Following her voice, the attention of the guests and the focus of the cameras turned to Famous. Famous remained seated on its chair, calmly accepting the attention of everyone.
It was then that the guests who had entered the hall much earlier noticed Famous; they were both surprised and curious.
“This dog, by the name of Famous, is from China and is not here at our film festival as a guest, but as an actor. The film it participated in qualified for this year’s film festival’s main competition unit!” The hostess did not have a script with her, nor did she have an earpiece on––it was all impromptu. “If I do not remember incorrectly, Audrey Hepburn also had a dog with the name Famous! It seems like the name has quite a connection with films!”
Once again, the hall resounded with another round of applause––except this time, it was all for Famous.
The experienced female host used Famous as the introductory topic before she began to introduce the other heavyweight guests and the members of the jury. In the list of guests, there was the mayor of Berlin and several other ministers in Germany. The important role that Germany played in the Berlin Film Festival could clearly be seen.
The flow of the film festival was not all that different from the film festivals back in China, there were just fewer dance performances. It started off with a speech from the German Minister of Culture and the Mayor of Berlin respectively, who both gave their blessings to the Berlin Film Festival. Next, the chairman of the film festival’s organizing committee had a chat with the host about interesting stories that related to the films before the chairman of the jury made his appearance and introduced the jury members to the guests.
Zhang Zian, Feng Xuan, and Lin Feng were more infinitely more concerned with the jury members for the film festival––as they were the ones that decided the fate of Dog Warrior––than the guests responsible for giving speeches. The jury had a total of eight members, all of whom were film related professionals, including actors, directors, screenwriters, and so on. There were five men and three women, and their professional insights and personal tastes would decide who would win the various awards for the film festival. Zhang Zian could only pray that none of them hated dogs.
In addition, the influence of the organizing committee chairman could not be underestimated.
Finally, the President of the film festival jury announced the official opening of the Berlin Film Festival. Thousands of films would be contending against one another during the ten-day competition.