Chapter 112 - Awards Night

May 28, 2012 – Monday 10 am – Clambu City

/"The nominees"/ the presenter announced. /"Polly Marsh 'Mermaids and Sirens'" *applause* "Asher Green, 'Hard Ice' " *applause* /"Harleen Novak 'Falling Memory' *applause* "Joel Lu 'MVP for Hire'" *applause* "Jouny Yalen, 'September Ninth'" *applause*./

"Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my GOD!" A woman said in excitement. The other people present are also either excited, or shocked when they heard of Jouny's name. Looking at Jouny's face along with international screenwriters on the TV, her status raised a few levels in their mind.

Kyer gathered his mutual friends with Joulen at his apartment to watch the Sorrento Film Awards. As a surprise, Kyer actually never told them that Jouny was nominated for an international award and just invited his friends under the guise of catching up. This resulted in his friends to just sit on his couch eating popcorn and snacks, clueless that they were going to see Jouny on TV.

"I know that script! I didn't know it would be made into a film!" Another friend exclaimed.. "SSHHH! Everyone!..." Another friend silenced the group as the presenter on the TV is already opening the envelope on his hand.

/"The award goes to Jouny Yalen, 'September Ninth'." Orchestral music started playing and the award attendees gave Joulen a warm applause./

"YES! YES!" "OH MY GOD! JOUNY!" "*Squeeeaaalll*" "AHHHHH--- HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" "She did it! SHE F*CKIN DID IT!" Jouny friends, including Kyer subconsciously got on their feet and Kyer's living room became chaos. They high fived and hugged each other out, and were jumping in excitement.

"Girl, look at that guy. Hisr smile looks fake. Ahahahahahaha." A friend pointed at the TV, spotting another nominee for the award who is smiling and clapping but could not hide the disappointment on his face.

/Jouny stood up from her seat, receives a hug from Tayaw and company and walked to the stage escorted by Ongki by her side. "Thank you." Jouny said in English and the crowd calmed down. "I wrote this script eight years ago, and for eight years, I never gave up pitching it to anyone who was willing to listen. Thankfully, eight years later, here I am, feeling the wait was worth it." Jouny started her speech in fluent English. The crowd gave another round of applause at the Jouny's story because they know how difficult it is for a screenwriter. /

"*Sniff* Oh Jouney." A friend who witnessed Jouny's sadness and frustration with her script could not help but cry tears of joy for Jouny. The other friends who wanted Jouny to give up selling the script and move on, however, are hiding their shame for giving Jouny such suggestion. Had Jouny shelved her script forever, her life would not have changed.

/"Writing a script is always a lonely process. I never wrote this to represent my country, but this is the first award for a Teungebian screenplay in 30 years." *Applause* *Applause*/ "I want to thank my husband, Ongki, for valuing my work just like I do. Without him, I would have thrown away 'September Ninth' a long time ago. I want to thank the director, Ta- .. uh.. Isaac Yawat, for recognizing my script and made it into a movie, in a way I never thought anyone can. I want to thank the actors for giving life to my characters… I want to thank Sorrento Film Festival for recognizing my work, and giving me this award."/

"*Sigh* We have a celebrity friend now. I wonder how the movie turned out." Kyer said,

-

Okuba, Nabla Province

Kilat and Liboo skipped work today to watch the award show as Tayaw asked them to. The two actually needed a rest from their work and when Tayaw said he was going to be on TV for a short while, the couple was glad to see him on it. *ring* "Hey. Text from Tayaw." Kilat said to Liboo. "What did he say? Can he even text in this kind of program?" Liboo said, bewildered because the award show is live.

"Oh. He said he's on the audience, who cares if he texts. He's going to be shown on TV soon anyway." Kilat said and the two focused on the TV.

/ "Here are the nominees…" The presenter announced the nominees for the Best Director Award. "Asher Green 'Hard Ice. Cory McFadden 'Fallen Memory'… Isaac Yawat 'September Ninth."/

"Oh wow. He's still wearing a suit but why those ridiculous sunglasses and cowboy hat?" Liboo commented when he saw Tayaw appear. "There he is! He directed a movie?!" Kilat said, surprise at the more important issue. "Is this what he was busy with last February?" Liboo said.

"*sigh* No wonder he didn't tell us. We would have asked a LOT of questions." Kilat said. "That's embarrassing, but it's true. Haha." LIboo agreed. "Hey. Shhh. He might actually win." Kilat said but not seriously. After all, Tayaw did not inform them how big of a deal winning an award is.

/ "The Award for Best Director goes to… Isaac Yawat! 'September Ninth'! " The presenter announced Tayaw's win. /

"WHoah! He won?!" Liboo was dumbfounded. "Looks like he did. This is an international award, honey!" Kilat said, now partly realizing the gravity of the award.

/ "Thank you.. Thank you.." Tayaw started. "I first want to thank Jouny Yalen for bringing such a great story to me. Without your great script, there's no film for me to make. I also want to thank Mr. Uranto Virenza and Iliene Partros, without them, I don't think I would have had a hard time making this movie. I want to thank the crew, Mr. Garra Muloyan, my cinematographer … for going along my crazy ideas. Finally, I want to thank my parents, Kilat and Liboo, for their supporting my endeavors."/

"Pfft. He didn't tell us sh*t!" Liboo was dumbfounded. "Oh my. He's a good liar." Kilat said in embarrassment.

/ "The first time my friends found out that I was going to make a film, they thought I was going crazy. Me too, I thought I was going crazy when I submitted my film to the festival." The audience was tickled at this. They all know who Tayaw is by now and his status as a musician. "But when I saw Ms. Yalen's screenplay, I could not help but want to tell it in. Her screenplay was also overlooked and without anyone else interested, I just had to give it a try.

"I know nothing about film aside from being a viewer and a silent critic, so I was not expecting my film to even be selected. However, I made this film with my heart and I'm glad that the festival recognized that. Thank you for giving this award to an outsider like me." Tayaw concluded./

"Hmm. He's like saying 'I know nothing but I still beat y'all.' Our son is a genius, honey." Liboo quipped. Kilat slapped Liboo's shoulder for his childish remark. "Oh my god. Please… Don't go around telling other people that!" Kilat said, but giggled nonetheless.

-

Nabla Observer, West Ouigab

"Ophelia. This is huge!" Nabla Observer's editor-in-chief said in concealed excitement.

Ophelia, her boss, and other journalists who are not busy, are currently watching the award show in the boss' office. Chala informed her of Tayaw's newest project and that he received a nomination for it, so she was curious to see Tayaw's success in film. Ophelia and the other people present just saw Tayaw receive the award for the Best Director. Tayaw also received Camera D'Oro award, or the Golden Camera, an award given to the best debut directors.

Because of this, Tayaw in her mind is getting more and more mysterious and she could not help but become obsessed. She was not a fan of film awards but because of Tayaw, she researched what each award meant.

/ "This year, the festival received more than 2000 film submissions from all over the world. After a process by our Jury, we chose the 50 of the best films in the world to show. After ten days of screenings, with the vote of various industry professionals, we present to you, the nominees for 'Fiore D'oro', or the 'Golden Flower'." The presenter introduced how important the award is.

" 'Hard Ice'… 'Fallen Memory' … 'September Ninth'. The Fiore D'Oro goes to … "The presenter opened her envelope. "SEPTEMBER NINTH!" She announced."/

Ophelia almost had a heart palpitation at the announcement. She still could not believe it. This award means very much to the Teungeb film industry. *SLAM* Ophelia was startled when her boss slammed his fist on his office table. When she looked though, her boss looked excited.

"F*CK! HEY! THOSE WHO DON'T HAVE ANYTHING TO DO! HELP OPHELIA IMMEDIATELY! Research! Interview! Whatever! Start writing! NOW!" The editor in chief commanded. The journalists in the room immediately stood up and flooded out the office and some approached Ophelia. "Alright. Madi, please contact…" Ophelia started delegating for the impromptu arrangement. 'This is going to be a long day.' Ophelia thought to herself, but she's currently feeling very happy.

--

Naples, Italy

Tayaw, while he was confident with his film, could not believe it received 'Best Picture'. Tayaw stood up and gestured for his mates to join him on stage. As the group made their way on stage, they received high-fives from many award attendees they passed by. Tayaw and his group never expected to receive such treatment. They were able to receive congratulations from famous actors, famous socialites, famous directors and other big names in the film industry.

Arriving on stage, the group bowed to the audience. Tayaw then leaned in on the microphone and started his third speech of the night.

"Thank goodness we didn't leave immediately." Tayaw said which made both his friends and the audience smile. "This night is probably the time I've given thanks to people the most, and I'm glad to do it…

"Anyway, 'September Ninth' is not just a romantic movie, but about a story of a man who changed for good. Since I started my music career, I noticed how hostile the music industry really is. Not only in the music industry, but I realized how selfish everyone in the world really is. While greed is evil, being selfish is not a bad thing. We have to do everything for ourselves to survive after all.

"Through this movie, I want to remind everyone that although we must do our best to survive, we should not forget to care for each other. One person doing good is insignificant, but if everyone does good deeds, just every once in a while, then we might just see a better world. If the world is too big for you, do it for your loved ones." Tayaw said and he concluded his speech.