Therefore, only films with strong logical coherence, excellent cinematography, and outstanding artistic merit could win the Golden Plum Blossom Award.
Furthermore, the Golden Plum Blossom Award was the most prestigious among the three major awards.
The judges for the Golden Plum Blossom Award were also top-tier figures from the older generation in the film and television industry.
The peony, hailed as the king of flowers and the leader of all blossoms, symbolizes wealth and prosperity.
The phrase "blooming with wealth and unparalleled beauty" describes the peony.
Precisely because the peony represents wealth, it has become one of the most beloved flowers by the general public.
Correspondingly, the Golden Peony Award was the most down-to-earth among the three major awards.
Expert evaluations accounted for only 20%, with the remaining 80% of voting power given to netizens across the internet.
Netizens could vote for their favorite films and television dramas based on their personal preferences.
The winner of the Golden Peony Award was determined by the highest combined score from experts and netizens.
Orchids are the gentlemen among flowers.
Compared to the opulent and approachable peony, the orchid appeared exceptionally aloof.
This aloofness destined the orchid to have a less widespread popular appeal than other flowers.
The beauty of orchids in secluded valleys could only be appreciated by a select few.
Precisely because of the orchid's characteristics, the Golden Magnolia Award was established as an exclusive award for niche and less mainstream films.
With the announcement of the Golden Plum Blossom Award and Golden Peony Award results, audiences could understand the story and the reasons for the awards simply by looking at the film titles.
The Golden Magnolia Award, however, often produced major upsets, with films that had flopped in cinemas appearing on the winners' list from time to time.
This left audiences bewildered, unable to comprehend why these films had won.
In addition to this, the Golden Magnolia Award had another unique characteristic.
The Golden Plum Blossom Award and the Golden Peony Award featured fierce competition with highly divided winner lists; often, one film would win Best Picture, while the Best Director and acting awards would go to others.
The Golden Magnolia Award, however, practiced a "winner-take-all" approach, where one film would often sweep multiple awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor and Actress, and Best Supporting Actor and Actress.
All three major awards utilized film and television awards; television awards were presented in the first half of the year, and film awards in the second.
"Phantom Realm" was released precisely on time, and Ge Ying of Liuyun Media quickly contacted the director and production company to submit the film for consideration.
With the strategy of casting a wide net to catch more fish, they submitted the film for all three awards, hoping for success in at least one.
Jiang Ling's fans, upon hearing that "Phantom Realm" was participating in the film festival selection, rushed to the official website of the Golden Peony Award to cast their votes.
In their eyes, their idol's acting was so superb that she deserved an award long ago.
Her failure to win an award would be an injustice to her breathtaking and impactful performance that captivated for an eternity.
If Jiang Ling could win an award this time, she would completely shed the label of a "traffic flower" and bid farewell to her past of terrible acting, becoming a true powerhouse.
Therefore, her fans attached great importance to this award.
Among the three major awards, the Golden Peony Award was the only one they could influence.
On the first day of film selections, the official website was flooded by frenzied fans.
In just one day, Jiang Ling garnered twenty-seven million votes for the Best Actress category, more than seven times the number of votes for the second-place nominee, and the count was still increasing.
Witnessing these numbers, major celebrities in the industry felt both envy and awe.
Jiang Ling was truly the top among the top tier; her fans were indeed incredible!