After the call connected, Laila didn't say something brainless like "There's a film I want you to help get released" right off the bat. Instead, she approached the topic from a roundabout angle.
"I recently watched a very interesting film that someone recommended to me. It's about volunteer teaching, and it was shot quite well. The director is a newcomer, and I'm rather intrigued by him. I was wondering if you might help me get in touch with him?"
"Of course!" Yao Yingxia replied readily. Even though she didn't directly oversee cultural matters, her primary role was in foreign affairs—and Laila, as a friendly international figure, was precisely the kind of contact she welcomed. Besides, this was a foreign director expressing interest in an Eastern filmmaker—that was a point of pride! Why would she turn it down?
"What's the director's name? What's the title of the film? Do you know when it was released?"
Just hearing that it was a film about volunteer teaching, she immediately assumed it must have had government support. It never occurred to her that a movie like this might not have been released at all.
"His name is Han Mingjiang. I believe the film is called Another Home on the Snowy Mountain. I'm not exactly sure when it was supposed to be released."
Yao Yingxia patted her chest in reassurance. "No problem! With the title and the director's name, finding him should be easy. Give me a little time," she thought for a moment, "Two days at most. Once I find him, I'll let you know."
"Thank you. You've really helped me out. I genuinely admire his directing style. His film felt so rich in personal character—it made me curious about who he is. I hope we can bring more directors like him, with distinct creative voices, into our company."
Yao Yingxia was delighted. So it wasn't just about finding this director—Laila wanted to bring him to Hollywood! That made the matter even more urgent. Just think: out of a population of over a billion people, how many had ever stood on the Oscar stage?
Even if he didn't make it to the Academy Awards, just having one more Eastern director break into Hollywood was already a major achievement.
"Just wait for my good news!" Yao Yingxia ended the call and immediately ran off to report the matter to her superiors.
After hearing her report, her boss immediately gave the go-ahead. No matter what, they needed to locate this talent as soon as possible. The East desperately needed directors who could step onto the international stage.
The film industry isn't exactly small, but it's not enormous either. If Han Mingjiang had already completed a film, he would've left an impression on quite a few people. Countless people wanted to make movies—but how many actually managed to?
And because of the controversy surrounding him, his name had already circulated in the industry. Plenty of people had been mocking him behind his back, saying he'd taken a colossal fall and would never recover.
While Yao Yingxia didn't know much about the film world, she had been introduced to many industry figures over the years, all thanks to Laila. In fact, Laila had once given her a few special learning-and-observation slots at Dragon Soul Studios—an opportunity that instantly made Yao a highly sought-after figure in the directing community.
Who wouldn't want to stand on a bigger stage? Even if they couldn't take their own film to Hollywood, just learning from professionals there would be a huge advantage. If this generation didn't make it, there was always the next one. And with someone like Laila—still young herself—she could easily mentor directors for the next three or five generations.
Naturally, many people had tried to curry favor with Yao Yingxia to secure one of those coveted slots. And she had used them well—trading them for valuable connections and goodwill.
This time, the person she turned to was a fairly well-known director: Director Zhang Li.
They met at a pre-arranged teahouse.
The moment he heard that Hollywood Director Moran was interested in an Eastern rookie director, Zhang Li was visibly excited. But when he learned that the director in question was Han Mingjiang, his expression turned strange.
His reaction was too obvious for a seasoned political figure like Yao Yingxia to miss.
"What is it? Is there something wrong with this person?"
Zhang Li smacked his lips thoughtfully. "Nothing wrong with him per se. To be honest, Director Han is very talented. But…"
Yao Yingxia was growing impatient with his beating around the bush. "Come on, Director Zhang, just say it. It's just the two of us here. What are you holding back? If the person isn't the issue, then is it the film?"
Zhang Li quickly waved his hand. "No, the film's fine too. The issue is… bad luck."
Now Yao Yingxia was catching on. "What do you mean? Let me tell you something—Director Moran personally called me to ask for this guy. Even my superiors gave the order that we must get this done. If we can't even handle something this small, I won't have the face to ask for Dragon Soul's slots for your industry people again!"
Zhang Li sighed and dropped the act.
"Han really is talented. He's got the skills, the vision. He sold his house and poured everything he had into that film. The one you mentioned—the one about volunteer teaching."
"And then?" Yao Yingxia didn't need to guess to know things weren't that simple.
"And then…" Zhang Li gave a bitter smile. "Then the lead actress from his film caught someone's eye."
As a woman, Yao Yingxia immediately understood what that meant—and her face darkened. "What, someone just showed up to take her?"
"Not quite that bad." Zhang Li poured her a fresh cup of tea. "Some of these rich kids are a little out of line, but they didn't go completely overboard. They just… used some overly 'direct' methods to pursue her. Han's got a bit of a temper, and somehow, during the confrontation, he shoved someone. The guy got hurt."
"Was it serious?" Yao Yingxia's brow furrowed.
Zhang Li shook his head with a wry smile. "I don't really know. But the guy was pissed and pulled some strings behind the scenes. That's why Han's film never got screening approval."
Yao Yingxia's expression turned even colder. "And this happened right in front of you? You didn't do anything?"
Zhang Li let out a long sigh. "What could I have done? Sure, I've got seniority in the industry, but this kind of thing… It's outside my reach." He raised a hand to stop her from speaking. "I couldn't help him here, but I didn't want to see his talent go to waste either. So I recommended him to an international film festival, hoping someone overseas would appreciate his work and give him a platform. That's probably where Director Moran discovered his film."
As he spoke, even he couldn't help but marvel at Han Mingjiang's luck.
He'd stumbled at home, been forced to go abroad, and somehow ended up catching the attention of a massive backer—someone like Laila Moran.
If he held onto that lifeline, his future would be limitless.