"Welcome, Mr Page and Mr Nolan."
When Kyle and the other person were walking across the red carpet and were about to go directly into the venue, they were called over by the host outside the red carpet for a brief chat.
The off-site host is a brown-haired woman under 30 years old, Villa Letován, who is the host of the French Paris TV and entertainment channel and enjoys a high reputation in France.
"Mr Page, according to the Audit Committee's statistics, your short film, 'The Tuner,' attracted a total of 16,752 viewers during the two-week Cannes Film Festival. This figure is not only the most-attended film of this year's festival, but also breaks the record for the most viewers of any film festival. What are your thoughts?"
Hostess Villa Letovan asked with a smile.
"Thanks!"
Kyle expressed his gratitude: "As a young director, I am extremely grateful that The Piano Tuner has received so much love from the audience."
"Mr Page, 'The Tuner' is currently the most popular film in the short film competition unit of this film festival. I believe it will be able to defeat all competitors today and win the first prize in this unit without any pressure." said the female host.
Upon hearing this, Kyle shook his head immediately.
Damn it!
This female host is not a good person either!
This is not a congratulations to Kyle, this is clearly setting a trap!
Although Westerners will speak frankly in front of a group and say that they are full of confidence, looking at the three major European film festivals, the American Oscars, etc., almost no one dares to say directly that they will definitely win an award!
Why?
Because once you stand up, but fail, it's so embarrassing!
Moreover, the major media outlets on the next day would definitely not miss the opportunity to ridicule!
Haven't you seen that even the "set tyrant" James Cameron, such a madman, when he participated in the 1998 Oscars with the record-breaking film "Titanic", was extremely humble in interviews with the media before the results were announced?
You can't set them up randomly!
"It's okay to be humble now. Besides, I, Kyle, am a very humble man." Kyle thought to himself.
The female host didn't get any good results from Kyle, so she immediately turned her attention to Christopher Nolan.
"First of all, congratulations to Mr Nolan. Congratulations on the movie 'Wrong Turn 2' directed by you, which has grossed $120 million worldwide since its release," the female host congratulated.
"Thanks!"
Nolan is still quite shy now, and he didn't express himself freely in front of the media.
"Director Nolan, your film Memento has won the favour of many audiences with its complex plot. Even among the series of films in the main competition unit, it has achieved outstanding results. I believe it will stand out and win the grand prize." This time the host did not play tricks.
....
An hour later.
Except for a few absentees, most of the guests invited to attend this year's Cannes Film Festival have basically arrived.
Normally, a new director like Kyle, who is attending the Cannes Film Festival for the first time, would be seated at the back, but this time Kyle's seat was very close to the front!
Third row.
It's almost a golden location.
This is the charm of money!
In other words, if Kyle didn't have a net worth of over one billion dollars and was the owner of Page Pictures, would the film festival organisers provide Kyle with such a front-row seat?
The answer is definitely no.
"Hmph! It's just a few bucks, is it necessary to be so arrogant?" A young director sitting in the back row couldn't help but feel jealous.
As soon as these words were spoken, they were immediately recognised by many people.
"First place in the short film competition comes with a €15,000 prize. Are you going to give it to that American tycoon?"
"That's right. Kyle Page has already directed a movie like Run Lola Run, which grossed over $100 million worldwide. Why would he still want to participate in the short film competition? You're totally bullying me."
"Damn Americans!"
Aren't these young directors jealous of Kyle at the same time as they're feeling bitter?!
Adam is a French director. His film "Jakub" was shortlisted for the short film competition unit of this year's film festival and is a film with high chances of winning an award.
Of course, compared with such excellent films as Kyle's "The Tuner", "Jakub" is far inferior!
At this moment, Director Adam frowned tightly.
He felt that the possibility of defeating "The Tuner" was very slim.
....
Really!
The first list announced at this year's film festival awards ceremony was the final ranking of the short film competition unit.
The Sheep Thief won third place and won a prize of 7,500 euros;
"Jakub" won second place and won a prize of 11,250 euros;
The first place, is "The Piano Tuner" directed by Kyle!
As for the €15,000 first-place prize, Kyle naturally didn't care much. The prize money wasn't even enough to cover the cost of filming "The Tuner."
The champion, runner-up and third place winners of the short film competition unit received very little attention, and since it was the first edition, they did not have the opportunity to speak on stage alone.
However, after receiving the trophy, Kyle was interviewed by dozens of reporters backstage.
This directly caused the directors of the two films "The Sheep Thief" and "Jakub" to lose their minds.
"Mr Page, congratulations!"
"Mr Page, I'm a reporter from Cannes Fortnightly. Could you give us an exclusive interview?"
"Congratulations, Mr Page, you've won first place in the inaugural short film competition. Your name will forever be remembered at the Cannes Film Festival!"
"Sir, I know that the Berlin Film Festival and the Venice Film Festival will also have short film competition units. Will you participate?"
A group of reporters gathered around to grab the headlines and started talking at once.
Of course, some critical reporters say that Kyle is bullying the weak.
After winning the award, Kyle was in a very good mood and answered their questions in a rare friendly manner.
"Bullying the weak?"
"Guys, are you kidding me?! I, Kyle Page, won first place based on my own strength. You're saying I'm bullying the weak. Are you mocking me or looking down on those young directors who are also competing in the competition?"
"Oh? Are you asking me if I will donate the 15,000 euros to charity?"
"Why donate?!"
"It's good that I have money, and I donate to charity every year, but this 15,000 euros is my prize money, it has extraordinary meaning, and I will keep it."
Are you kidding? Why should I donate the money I won myself?
Do not do to others what you do not want others to do to you!
Not long after, Christopher Nolan also won the award!
——Jury Award!
Although the value of this award is not as high as that of the Palme d'Or, Best Director Award, or Best Actor and Actress Award, it is still a considerable award, equivalent to the second-best film after the Best Picture.
Christopher Nolan became famous with "Memento"!
After winning the award, Nolan enjoyed being surrounded by the media, and the gloom that had been hanging over him for days was gone. You know, before the film festival opened, he didn't receive an invitation to the cocktail party. Although it seemed like a small matter, he was actually upset.