Chapter 481 - ZiRis

The five-star Oriental hotel where the cast and crew of "Strong Yet Broken" were staying at was partly invested by Jin Liwei himself. Not as part of Jin Corporation, but as a personal investment. It was a fairly new addition to the hotel scene in this riviera.

Grandpa Lu was slotted to be one of the original investors a few years ago, but he got bored during the process at the same time that he also got bored of his Mediterranean-style villa estate in the area. So he just dumped everything on Jin Liwei, while he cruised in the Mediterranean Sea and visited the surrounding countries in his own massive luxury yacht.

It was a different yacht to "LX" which Iris and her group used earlier to transport themselves to the riviera. The "LX" yacht was a new acquisition by Jin Liwei. He bought it during the summer because he knew that his baby girl was scheduled to attend the Sommet International Film Festival in the autumn. Of course, he named it after the two of themLiwei and Xiulan.

The cast and crew of "Strong Yet Broken"thanked the President of LX Productions for letting them stay in such a high-class, luxurious hotel. They had no idea that it was all thanks to Jin Liwei. He was actually the one financing their entire stay at the riviera for the Sommet International Film Festival.

In the less luxurious parts of the riviera, Chinese media representatives were staying at more affordable hotels and room rentals. They came to cover the Sommet International Film Festival this year. "Strong Yet Broken" was the only Chinese entry, so it was a big deal to the film industry back home.

Despite this, the general public wasn't very interested. The news wasn't important enough to become a trending topic back in China. It was just one of those type of news that made people say, "Oh, that's cool," but that was it. Nobody really thought that "Strong Yet Broken" could win awards against the other foreign films starred by some of the most famous international celebrities and made by some of the most renowned directors and producers in the world who already had experienced winning awards in the Sommet International Film Festival in the past. To them, it was already an achievement that a Chinese film was shortlisted at all in such a prestigious film festival and even nominated in a few award categories, including the most sought-after main prize, the Soleil d'Or or the Golden Sun Award.

The Black Stars, however, were super excited because they found out that their Boss Iris was nominated for the Best Soundtrack Award. Most of the other nominees she was competing against were also new to the international scene like her, but there were a couple of big name composers. Whether she won or not, the Black Stars would support her all the way.

Although the major media outlets back in China weren't giving much attention to the participation of"Strong Yet Broken" in the Sommet International Film Festival, the Black Stars were still able to get the latest updates online. Most of the Chinese reporters covering the film festival opted to publish their articles online instead where they would likely gain more attention than if they waited to be featured in traditional news.

In addition to this, Iris Long's social media pages were also frequently updated during this period by her assistant Dominic Chua and her manager Tang Yiyi. The posts showed her journey from China to France, including her modes of transportation like the private jet, limousines and luxury yacht. Her fans thought that she either rented them herself or borrowed them from her father, or maybe they were financed by Bright Summit or endorsement sponsors.

Finally, the Chinese reporters were able to take actual photos of her at the riviera. These photos were immediately posted to the online news websites and blogs for the Chinese netizens.