Having a beautiful dream

The main venue for this year's event was still held on Lido Island. It was only the 30th today, but the island and its surroundings were already buzzing with excitement. Film professionals and cinema enthusiasts from all over the world flew in, laughing and taking photos in the square or on the nearby lawns. As night fell, the streetlights installed around the roads had already been turned on, illuminating the surroundings with bright light, keeping everyone's energy flowing.

The local residents of Venice were also not to be outdone. Some walked with their children, while others strolled around with their elderly family members, enjoying the lively atmosphere that was different from usual. The scene was filled with laughter and joy.

Less than two kilometers away, inside a guesthouse, there were no bright lights illuminating the night throughout the night, nor the hustle and bustle of tourists. In the dim night, faint sounds of various small noises could be heard. At the end of the alley, a sign with the words "Accommodation" hung in front of a house's entrance, adorned with colored lights. Approaching closer, you could see that this hotel didn't even have a name.

At this moment, the half-opened door of the house, which was nothing more than a glass door like a salon, revealed a two-way passage. Inside the guesthouse, there was also a blackboard placed at the entrance, with the words "Special offer this month, accommodation for twenty" written in red chalk, accompanied by various peculiar lines and patterns to emphasize its uniqueness.

Upon entering the door, there was a front desk where a middle-aged woman with glasses, was watching a small television. She slightly raised her head and asked the trio, "How many rooms do you need?"

"What types of rooms do you have?" It is Lyman, René, and Thomas who had just arrived after taking a taxi from the airport to the venue. As a result, all the hotels near Lido Island were fully booked, so they had to find a place a bit further away. Of course, budget constraints were also a factor. They didn't dare to inquire about the availability of rooms in those upscale hotels.

"A single room costs €20 per night, and a double room costs €30 per night. How many rooms do you want?" The middle-aged woman responded casually while focusing on the small television hanging on the wall.

"One single room and one double room. Two rooms," Lyman spoke up.

"That will be €50." The middle-aged woman, as always, remained silent and reserved, continuing to watch her television.

"We would like to rent for a week. Is there a discount?" Upon hearing this, the middle-aged woman shifted her attention from the television screen and looked at the three of them.

After a quick glance, she casually asked, "You're from out of town, here for the Venice Film Festival?" Although phrased as a question, her tone was filled with certainty, as if she had seen many people like Lyman before.

"Yes." Lyman replied with certainty. There was no reason to hide it. They had indeed come for the Venice Film Festival.

"Then it will be €320."

"Thank you." Saying that, Lyman took out a handful of change from his pocket, counted it, and took out €320, some in coins and some in bills. "Here you go."

The middle-aged woman nodded, confirming the correctness of the amount. She then put the money in the drawer and took out a bunch of keys. "Follow me, please." She stood up from her seat and walked towards the stairs leading upstairs. Lyman and the other two followed behind.

Next to the front desk was a narrow wooden staircase. They climbed up along the way until they reached the second floor. The second floor had a long and narrow corridor with what appeared to be rooms on both sides. The doors of the rooms had engraved plaques with numbers. The first one that caught their eye had the number "203" on its plaque.

Continuing to follow the middle-aged woman, they stopped their steps when they were close to the end of the hallway. "Rooms 207 and 209, the one on the left is a single room, and the one opposite is a double room." The middle-aged woman, after fumbling around in the bunch of keys she held in her hand for a while, took out two keys and handed them to Lyman.

"You can go in and rest. Oh, by the way, if you lose the keys, I have backups, but they cost €2 each. Remember that." With that, she turned and walked back downstairs, probably going to watch TV.

"How should we divide ourselves?" René asked outside the corridor.

"I'll take the single room, and you two can take the double room," Lyman suggested.

Thomas hadn't said anything yet, but René objected, "No, I'll take the single room. I haven't spent a night in the same room with a big man before. I'm not used to it, and I definitely won't be able to sleep." He had never lived in a dormitory during college because he refused to compromise.

"Well, this is a perfect chance for you to experience it," Lyman said jokingly but still handed René the key to the single room, "Go and rest."

"Goodnight! I wish you both a pleasant night." With that, René inserted the key, gently turned it, and entered Room 207.

Outside the corridor, only Lyman and Thomas were left.

"Let's go in." Lyman held the key and accurately inserted it into the slot, turned it to the right, and pushed open the door. The two men entered Room 209. Lyman felt around and turned on the room's light switch. Instantly, the space was engulfed in orange light. The room wasn't small and had two small beds, the type that was long enough but not too wide. In the middle of the two beds, there was a small cabinet used to store small items. It had three layers.

Lyman took a stroll around and found that the conditions of this hotel were acceptable. In addition to providing a place to sleep, there was also a separate bathroom located in a corner with an approximate area of 3 square meters. He turned on the faucet and water indeed flowed out. Lyman tossed his backpack aside, took out his toothbrush, toothpaste, and towel from inside, and prepared to freshen up.

After finishing his personal hygiene, he walked out of the bathroom and said while tidying up some things, "Thomas, you should go and freshen up too. When I was washing up, the water flow from the faucet decreased. It's likely that there will be a water outage at night."

"Oh." Thomas, sitting on the bed, didn't delay any longer. He took his belongings and went into the bathroom.

After Lyman finished organizing his things, he lay down on the small bed. The sound of running water came from the bathroom. He stared blankly at the ceiling, his mind empty.

"Ah, there's really no water. I was planning to take a shower," Thomas came out after less than three minutes. His words turned out to be true. In this hotel, the water automatically shuts off after 11 pm.

"There's nothing we can do. This is Venice, and it's the time of the film festival. Where else can we find cheap accommodation with decent conditions? Let's just make do with it and sleep," Thomas said with a bitter smile. Yes, now is the time when members of the film industry from all over the world are putting in their best effort to come to Venice. Combined with some spontaneous visitors to the film festival, the business of the surrounding guesthouses is booming.

This is the busiest and most lively period of their business throughout the year.

Sigh, we have to overcome difficulties.

It's just not taking a shower. We won't die.

With this consolation, Thomas immediately felt better. As he lay in bed, an unknown amount of time passed.

Thomas still couldn't fall asleep. He glanced at Lyman and noticed that he also seemed to be awake. He asked softly, "Do you think there's a chance for our film to be screened in the exhibition hall?"

Lyman didn't say anything. Just as Thomas thought he might be asleep, his voice came through, "The chances are slim." The Venice International Film Festival has four sections: the Official Competition, Horizons, International Critics' Week, and Venice Days.

Among them, the Official Competition is the most prestigious. The coveted Golden Lion Award, the highest award of the Venice Film Festival, is presented in this section. The other international A-category awards such as the Jury Grand Prize, Best Actor/Actress, and Best Screenplay are also selected from this section. As for the Horizons section, although it also has competition criteria, its awards are not as influential and lack the same prestige as the Official Competition.

As for International Critics' Week and Venice Days, they are more like a farce. The entry requirements are also low, depending on the tastes of the film critics and screening committee members. As long as a film follows a certain path, it can almost make the list without limitations. However, they don't have awards; they are simply praised in newspapers. This can be seen from the data: only about 15 films enter the final Official Competition each year, while the number of films that can enter the Horizons section expands to around 20. As for the two less prestigious sections, there are even more spots available.

"I think there's a chance," Thomas turned over and looked at Lyman, continuing, "Maybe we can even win an award or something."

Win an award?

The Official Competition usually selects around 15 to 20 films for screening and competes for various awards at the Venice Film Festival. Even if we include the less prestigious Horizons section, the total number of slots won't exceed 40. When Lyman inquired at the registration office earlier today, he learned that over 500 films were submitted this year, and countless others, like Lyman, didn't make it to the screening. They were left to be shown to filmmakers and industry enthusiasts in the surrounding area.

When he heard these numbers, he was shocked. Who knew there were so many film directors in the world, and they all had completed works? Lyman didn't have much hope to begin with, and after obtaining accurate data, his expectations diminished even further.

With hundreds of films competing and still not getting the chance to be screened, no matter how he thought about it, he didn't believe that this miracle would happen to a genre film like "Buried".

However, Lyman didn't explain much. Whether the chance was slim or not, he knew it, and there was no need to spoil Thomas's dreams. He was still young, at an age where he loved to dream. "Thanks for your kind words. "Buried" will definitely make a big splash," Lyman could only respond like that. He turned over and looked out the window.

In the near distance, it was pitch black. In the far distance was the center of the film festival, and the bright lights could still be seen even from several kilometers away. It must still be bustling over there, with people coming and going, feeling quite overwhelmed. This artificial island in the province of Venice, Italy, radiated its splendor even under the cover of the night.