Chapter 709: Itinerary

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

It was daybreak.

Sleeping in a hotel was never as comfortable as the bed, or the home, that one was used to.

Zhang Zian got out of bed right as his alarm went off. He woke the elfins up and started to prepare breakfast for them.

The film crew was in charge of preparing food for Famous, so there would be no issues for its meals, but the food for the other elfins would have to be prepared by Zian himself. Before they had set off for their trip, Zian had bought a few packets of chicken slices that bodybuilders usually ate––those instant types that were ready to be consumed after they were heated up. Every packet had smaller, separate packages wrapped within them, so there was no worry about the leftovers––if there were any––going bad.

The chicken slices were definitely not as fragrant as the ones that were freshly prepared, and it did not have any extra seasoning included in it; it was basically plain chicken meat prepared for passionate bodybuilders and, most importantly, it was convenient. Zian would have faced some difficulties in taking care of the meals for the three elfins if it was not convenient.

There was also a separate bag that Zhang Zian had prepared for Richard.

Even though Fina grumbled that the food was not good, it still ate more than the rest of the elfins.

China’s time zone was seven hours ahead of Germany, so it would be in the afternoon there. Zhang Zian sent both Pi and Lu Yiyun a message, checking on how things were going within the shop. Pi and Lu Yiyun both replied that everything was all right.

Zhang Zian thought about his conversation with Professor Wei Kang the day before. The expedition dates had yet to be confirmed and there was also the chance that the school might disapprove of his participation in the expedition. Since the situation was still open to change, Zhang Zian temporarily had no intention of sharing it with the elfins until everything had been confirmed. Even if the school decided to disapprove of his participation, Zhang Zian had decided to find out more about the expedition team’s itinerary and join them at his own cost. It was still better than going alone.

As for assisting Wei Kang in the matter of looking for Egyptian Maus––if Fina was there, and as long as Egyptian Maus still existed in Egypt, then there was a very high chance that Fina would be able to locate them.

While the elfins were having their meal, Zian opened up the schedule arrangement sent to him by the film crew and carefully browsed through it.

Today was the opening ceremony for the Berlin Film Festival and they were required to participate in walking the red carpet.

Tomorrow was going to be more interesting; it was the premiere of the Dog Warrior film.

Although the Berlin Film Festival wasn’t the most famous film festival out of the top three European film festivals, every festival had its own individual pride. The Berlin Film Festival, for example, had stipulated that the films participating in the segment for their main competition had to be a film that had not participated in any other film festivals prior. Most of the films were world premieres, or at least overseas premieres.

It could be said that the Dog Warrior film crew that had worked overtime, pushing forward their after-effects and editing work, had bet everything on the Berlin Film Festival.

Aside from the main competition segment, the Berlin Film Festival also had other segments that included a few other competitions and out of competition segments. In particular, there was a “Generation” segment, which included two competitive sub-segments: Kplus and 14plus.

To date, Generation had a 40-year-long history. The films that were played under that segment were all meant for the younger generations. This was a very unique aspect of the Berlin Film Festival when compared with the other film festivals: it clearly showed that the Berlin Film Festival organizing committee valued the younger generation and placed a lot of importance on them.

Kplus was for kids that were above the age of four, while 14plus was for teenagers above the age of 14.

That was how the grading system for the film festival went, since not all of the participating films were suitable for kids. Some of the experimental films would even creep adults out or make them feel depressed.

Many children raised in Berlin had grown up with the Generation competition, and, after they grew up, they joined the Berlin Film Festival as a member of the organization committee. They rendered their services to the Generation competition, showing the children above the age of four the first film of their life. They would then repeat the cycle and pass down the torch.

Although Dog Warrior was selected to enter the segment for the main competition, it was said that the organizing committee for Generation had previously fought for it, too, as they felt that the film was also suitable for teenagers above 14; yet, regretfully, the same film was unable to enter two different competition segments.

The organization committee for Generation had also made a special arrangement for an additional screening of Dog Warrior in the Cubix7 Theater at Alexanderplatz. It was open to all teenagers above the age of 14 and was arranged for tomorrow as well––it just wouldn’t go on during any assessments.

Zhang Zian would have to first take Famous to participate in the premiere showing at the Berlinale Palast, and then rush down to the Cubix7 Theater for the additional screening.

From the third day of the festival forward, Zhang Zian would be taking Famous around to participate in promotion and publicity activities when required. He would work together with the premiere screening to promote the sales for the rights to overseas screening. If there was nothing arranged for them, then they were free to go around by themselves, as long as they let the film crew know.

The members of the film crew would start their return to China the day before the premiere, while the main actors and Zian would remain here.

The tenth day of the festival would be their last day in Germany, as the assessments and awards for the main competition segment would be announced then. Every member of the film crew was hoping that their film would win an award––even if it was not the best film award––or else everyone would be sad. Since they participated in the Berlin Film Festival, they wouldn’t be able to participate in any other film festivals.

Everyone hoped that their film would win an award, but the decision for the ownership of the award would be in the jury’s hands. The jury for the Berlin Film Festival was voted for by the Central Berlin Film Advisory Commission’s Board and was comprised of well-known directors, producers, screenwriters, and actors. There were also the occasional composers, authors, or other people from the film industry.

To be fair, the taste of the professionals was not exactly the same as that of the public. Some of the films that might be highly rated in the eyes of the public, might not be seen as such in the eyes of the professionals. Because of this, it was really hard to predict the film that would win the award; it was affected by their own personal aesthetics.

The reason why Feng Xuan had insisted on participating in the Berlin Film Festival was because Germans were fond of pets. There was a great number of them that raised cats––and dogs, as well. The most well-known pet in Germany was the German Shepherd. Based on an unreliable source, it was leaked that there was more than one member of the jury who had a German Shepherd at home, which was a hidden advantage for the Dog Warrior film.

When Zhang Zian heard of this insider information, he could not help but mutter, “Shrewdness really comes with age. Even an eagle would have trouble catching an old rabbit…”

Once Zian was done looking through the daily schedule, the elfins had finished their breakfast.

“The opening ceremony will begin tonight, so let’s not waste this Germany trip. Let’s walk around for now,” Zian suggested.

“Ga ga! Are we going to Germany’s red light district? Should I drive you out to flaunt and take you up to the sky?” Richard exclaimed as it flapped its wings.

Zian glared at Richard, even though he was really curious about it, as well…

“Are we going to the town that is covered in 72,000 tons of diamond?” Fina asked, still holding onto the town with the diamonds.

“Cough! About that, we’ll only be strolling within the city of Berlin today. We can’t go too far, so the visit to that town will have to wait a few more days,” Zian said, trying to brush off the subject with some difficulty.

“Meow meow meow! He’s being frivolous again!” Snowy Lionet said, immediately seeing right through Zian.

Zian argued, “I’m not being frivolous! It’s that… only you guys have had your fill. What about me and Famous? We haven’t had anything for breakfast, so we’ll be going out for a walk and we will get our breakfast on the way.”

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