Chapter 3 - Chapter 3

Eva moved out that very night.

She thought she would probably never see that arrogant man again.

From her observation, this man's personality was very complex, not someone easily understood.

It's best not to interact with such a person; it's easy to get hurt.

She found a place to stay online using her phone and paid the rent immediately.

Then, she searched for the address of the Dublin Directors Guild and went there early the next morning.

Since it was summer vacation, she had plenty of time.

She planned to register as a director so that she could get jobs and resources from the guild in the future.

Many advertisers, TV stations, MTV producers, and film companies often post director-related positions at the guild.

If a director wants to shoot a project, they can also search for suitable actors in the guild's extensive actor database.

Joining the Directors Guild was essentially the first step into the industry.

Eva didn't have much time to waste. Indeed, there were many young people on the streets, enjoying their youth and sunshine without a care.

But Eva was different from them. She had long grown tired of those things.

She felt that achieving something through her own efforts was what she wanted most at the moment.

Becoming an excellent director was her ambition in this life.

But before heading to the guild, she first visited a hardware store.

She bought a small dagger and a mobile phone with good recording capabilities.

She planned to carry these two items with her in the future for self-defense.

She had severe androphobia, as evidenced by her reaction the previous day, which could lead to unforeseen incidents in moments of panic. Given her current youthful beauty, she might easily attract some unsavory men.

For self-defense and protection.

However, a dagger was not suitable to be carried in a bag, as it would be too slow to draw in an emergency. Eva thought for a long time and finally bought a pair of high boots from a shoe store.

Then, she slipped the defensive dagger into the boot.

After settling everything, she continued on her way. She admitted that she wasn't entirely normal; no normal woman would carry a dagger and a recording phone without reason.

But that was who she was now, a person with a deep-seated wariness of men.

From afar, she saw the building of the Directors Guild.

The Irish Directors Guild shared its premises with the Actors Guild. As soon as Eva stepped into the building, she heard the pleasant voice of the receptionist.

"Hello, welcome to the Directors Guild. How can I help you?"

Eva walked in and realized she seemed quite out of place here.

Everyone else coming and going were older, mostly men.

And every one of them was dressed formally, looking successful and distinguished.

She was the only one dressed casually and, frankly, too young.

Her face was full of youthful collagen.

Passersby looked at her with curiosity because a girl like her in a place meant for seasoned directors and producers made people wonder if she was in the wrong place.

This was likely due to industry sexism.

People subconsciously thought that women were less capable directors than men, so female directors were rare.

According to a BBC report on discrimination against women in the Western film industry, the discrimination was severe. Female directors in the Western film industry only made up 4% of the total, a very sad number.

Among the top 100 box office hits last year, only one had a female cinematographer, eight were written by female writers, and twelve had female editors. Such small numbers were regretful.

The industry was male-dominated, a barrier yet to be broken.

So when a young, beautiful woman like Eva appeared here, everyone looked at her with prejudice.

Their eyes were filled with surprise, disdain, and scorn, but not appreciation or praise.

They seemed to say, "You're so pretty; why be a director? Just be an actress."

But Eva wasn't intimidated by this. She no longer cared about others' opinions.

She said to the receptionist, "Hello."

The receptionist smiled, "Hello, miss. I think you might be in the wrong place. The Actors Guild is on the other side."

Eva shook her head and said seriously, "No, I'm here to register with the Directors Guild."

The receptionist was momentarily surprised. After all, it was rare for someone like Eva to show up.

Young, beautiful girls usually wanted to be big stars, longing to be the center of attention on the big screen. She had never seen such a girl come here wanting to be a director.

The receptionist smiled slightly, "Alright, to register with the Directors Guild, you need to pay a membership fee of 300 euros."

Eva took out her wallet from her bag, "Okay, I have it."

The receptionist continued, "Before you pay the membership fee, I need to confirm a few things. First, you need to have formal work. Do you have any?"

Eva was taken aback, "Work?"

The receptionist, as if expecting that this girl would not meet the membership qualifications, said, "Yes, you need to have formally recorded advertisements, MTVs, documentaries, TV shows, movies, etc., but they must have been publicly broadcast."

Eva looked somewhat disappointed, "I don't have any work."

The receptionist's response was very formal, "Then I'm sorry, you cannot join the Directors Guild."

Eva looked disappointed, but the emotion didn't last long.

Disappointment was inevitable. Life is often filled with setbacks, but one has to endure them, right?

She smiled politely, a charming smile, "Thank you for your time."

Then she turned to leave.

She was thinking, if this path was blocked, she would have to find another way.

But what could she do?

She only had 100,000 euros in her bank account, not enough to shoot an independent film.

It seemed she would have to find a part-time job to earn some living expenses.

Just as she turned around, she suddenly saw a familiar man walking out of the Actors Guild across the street.

If she remembered correctly, it was currently the most famous Irish actor, Colin Farrell.

He was also one of the best-performing Irish actors in Hollywood.

In Ireland, he was quite a prominent figure.

However, he was also known for his chaotic personal life and playboy reputation.

When he saw Eva, he was obviously taken aback, probably because girls as stunning as Eva were rare.

He seemed to want to say something to her, but then he saw the paparazzi swarming towards him from behind.

He frowned, turned back, and flashed a smile at Eva, then took out a business card and placed it on the counter in front of her, "I really like you. Remember to contact me."

Then he walked out the door and left, with a group of reporters trailing after him.

Colin Farrell clearly didn't want to talk to the paparazzi, so he got into his car and drove off.

Soon, the paparazzi got into their cars to chase after him.

Eva still stood there, and those rushing paparazzi obviously didn't notice her standing by the road. They got into their cars and sped away to catch up with Colin Farrell.

The tires splashed water from the puddles, and the dirty water splashed all over Eva.

Eva got soaked.

But no one cared.

No one apologized to Eva.

People only cared about chasing those who were valuable. Who would care about an unknown person accidentally splashed with dirty water by the roadside?

In fact, that was the way the world worked, and Eva had long understood this.

There was nothing to be upset about. Instead of being upset, it was better to think about how to make oneself more successful.

Then, she picked up the business card and looked at it.

It had Colin Farrell's contact information.

Eva casually threw it into a nearby trash can.

Men nowadays were increasingly boring, vulgar, and promiscuous.

After her tragic previous life, she suddenly had no interest in men and had developed androphobia, unable to have physical contact with men.

But to be a director, she would have to deal with various men. But that was different.

In her heart, she indeed had no interest in men anymore.

She didn't want to get too involved with them outside of work.

She didn't know if this was a psychological issue, but she thought it was quite good.

All her experiences warned her: men are fundamentally unreliable.

Eva wasn't impatient or annoyed. She just rolled up her wet pants, looking somewhat disheveled but indifferent, and then rejoined the crowd.

When she reached the bus stop and started waiting for the bus, she suddenly saw something that caught her eye.

The advertisement at the bus stop read: "Fourth Dublin Short Film Competition."

Participants: Everyone.

Requirements: Self-produced works, self-funded.

Conditions:

Shoot a short film of 5 to 30 minutes based on one of the six specified themes before the deadline. The length depends on the funding situation.

The best entries will be selected, and the organizers will reimburse all production costs for the winners and offer contracts for advertisements, MTVs, TV shows, and movies.

Eva's eyes lit up after reading this.

Could this mean her opportunity had arrived?

---

Eva finally smiled sincerely after her rebirth.

She had found her opportunity.

Returning home, she began to consider practical matters.

First, to shoot a short film, she needed funding.

Those with more money could make a 30-minute film, while those with less could make a 5-minute one.

Although a 30-minute film would be more engaging due to its richer content, Eva didn't have the money.

So she chose to make a 5-minute film.

Next, she needed to rent a venue. Although it wasn't necessary to use commercial premises, finding suitable places that didn't require rent was also an option.

Additionally, she needed to find actors and buy some props, which would definitely cost money.

But she was a film student, so she could recruit from her school. Since everyone was a student, their fees wouldn't be too high, and their skills