The audience gave a collective gasp before the loud applause and cheering ensued, mostly from the Black Stars and the general public. As for the celebrities, productions crews and nominees from the other films who were sitting at the front and centre rows, they gave a more modest applause.
Some of them thought that Iris Long deserved the win, but the others thought that it was still too early for her to win against the seasoned veterans. Many of these people worked in the film industry for a long time. And more often than not, they didn't take it well when there was a change in the status quo, especially for an individual who they perceived as not belonging to the film industry.
Indeed, Iris Long was a great and talented musician. Her film score in "Strong Yet Broken" was beautiful, creative and sophisticated, emotionally harrowing yet also dynamic at the same time. It truly enhanced the film experience and magnified the emotions the viewers felt while watching the film.
However, these people thought that she should've gathered more experience working in the film industry first before actually winning an award for it. Many of the seasoned veterans that she was up against started this way. They didn't immediately rise to the top. They started from the bottom.
There were plenty of them who thought that it was unfair for Iris Long to win such a prestigious award for the first film score that she composed. These people were forgetting that Diamond Guild Film Awards chose winners based on the nominated pieces of work and not on the creators' previous experiences.
It was inevitable that Iris Long's rise to the fame in the past few months would garner envy, even to those who weren't in the music industry.
At the moment, however, the group of "Strong Yet Broken" didn't care about any of that. They all jumped up their seats and cheered for Iris Long's win. They congratulated her and shared her victory. Even Guan Jintao and his wife joined in. Of course, JJ was ecstatic. He looked even more excited than Iris Long, as if he was the one who won the award.
Iris headed up the stage and accepted the heavy, sparkling, diamond-shaped glass award. The female presenter was very warm and sincere in congratulating her. However, Iris could tell that the male presenter wasn't too happy about her win.
Keeping a polite expression, Iris stood in front of the microphone. She swept her eyes across the front and centre rows where she could see similar discontented expressions regarding her win.
Iris didn't give a damn about any of them.
She focused on looking at her "Strong Yet Broken" group and the suits-wearing Black Stars at the far end of the audience. Then she began her speech. It started as a generic "thank you" speech. At the end, however, she added:
"I am deeply grateful for those who believed that I can do this. JJ and my fiancé never doubted that I can compose a film score and complete it. Now I am standing here in front of you with an award in my hands. Regardless of whether others think that I deserve this or not, it is enough that my loved ones and fans believe in me, that I believe in myself. I am me and I don't compare myself to others. I have my own road and others have their own.
"At the end of the day, music is my passion. I composed the film score with the goal of harnessing the film's story to enhance its emotional impact with music. That was my goal, not to win this award. Of course I am delighted to win this award and receive recognition for my work in 'Strong Yet Broken'.
"All I want to say is that my work, my film score, is the one that won this award, not me as a person. It was the one that was judged, not me. I am just the agent who created it. That is all. Thank you, everyone."
Those who resented her for winning the award felt like they were slapped in the face by her speech. They deemed her unqualified to win the award because of her youth and inexperience in the film industry, believing that the seasoned veterans were more worthy than her to win. They disregarded the criteria of judging which was based purely on the nominated piece of work and not the creator.
The general public in the audience, led by the Black Stars, all gave a loud standing ovation for her. In contrast, there was a vague sense of awkwardness among the front and centre row seats.
There were even those who glared at her while she made her way back to her delighted group. They didn't like her seemingly harmless speech but was actually quite a barbed one. Iris unknowingly made a few enemies in the film industry tonight. She herself had no idea about this.
For the rest of the ceremony, "Strong Yet Broken" won three more times. They won Best Actress, Best Director and the most important award of the night, the Best Picture Award.
Overall, they won five of the eleven awards that they were nominated for. Although they won the most sought-after awards, they didn't win the most awards. Another film won a total of seven awards. It was a blockbuster film with an all-star line-up.
The day after the awards ceremony, almost all of the news reported about the winners. People discussed the film awards and the winners.
"Dammit! I hate that movie 'Strong Yet Broken'! Made me cry like a fucking baby! But yeah, it deserves all of the awards it got. I still hate it, though! And damn you, Iris Long! I cry every single time I listen to 'Phantom of Your Love'! I request for the radio stations to stop playing that cursed song! She totally deserves to win because it's so beautiful and amazing. Doesn't mean I like it, though. "
"Total respect for making such a socially relevant film as 'Strong Yet Broken'. I wish that more films like this are made to raise awareness on the issues we as a society face. To be honest, I'm so tired of all those xianxia movies. I still like watching them, but sometimes they feel too similar and repetitive. 'Strong Yet Broken' deserves to win those five awards. But it seems like xianxia films won't die anytime soon, winning those seven awards and all."
Sentiments like these floated all over the internet. The general public accepted most of the results. Nobody raised any complaints that "Strong Yet Broken" won those five awards. In fact, some even thought that it should've won more. They also didn't complain that Iris Long won the Best Original Score Award. It was only those in the film industry who weren't completely happy with her win.
As for the Black Stars, they were absolutely overjoyed.
"Go Boss Iris! You're the best! Congratulations on winning Best Original Score! We're so proud of you!"
"We wave our mighty slippers in celebration of our Boss Iris' triumph! Begone haters! You're just envious of our boss' awesomeness!"
After a few days, the country's film industry was rocked by a shocking news. LX Productions released an official announcement. It said:
"We are excited, joyful and proud to announce that our film 'Strong Yet Broken' is short-listed for the Sommet International Film Festival. We will be proudly representing our country in this prestigious international film festival in France…."
People sent their congratulations and well-wishes to everyone involved in "Strong Yet Broken". Of course, they included Iris Long as well because her film score was such an integral part of why the movie was so memorable to the viewers after watching it.
As a result, Iris Long's reputation in showbiz was only growing better and better. All of these achievements in just a span of months were developing her prestige as one of the greatest musicians of her generation.
Although her star was still not yet on the level of someone like Jin Chonglin, she was already on her way there.