Latest news with #BerlinFestival
Leaders
23-03-2025
- Business
- Leaders
Saudi Cultural Fund Celebrates 3rd Storytellers Event
Saudi Arabia's Cultural Development Fund has held the third annual Storytellers event in Riyadh to boost the Kingdom's cultural sector, according to Arab News. The event brought together senior officials, cultural leaders, entrepreneurs and creators from various cultural fields. Therefore, it served as a valuable platform to strengthen connections and unleash new opportunities in the cultural sector. 'This annual gathering is part of the fund's efforts to foster strong partnerships with key stakeholders and sustain the cultural sector's momentum,' Nawaf Al-Owain, the fund's marketing and communication executive director, told Arab News. During the event, the fund showcased several beneficiary projects, providing guests with an opportunity to experience their creative offerings firsthand. 'It also reflects the fund's role as a key financial enabler and its commitment to empowering creatives and cultural entrepreneurship,' Al-Owain added. In line with the Year of Handicrafts 2025, the event highlighted several cultural activities. Moreover, guests participated in traditional crafts such as prayer bead-making and henna art. Meanwhile, attendees took a look at a special art exhibition displaying works by visual artist and craftswoman Naifah Al-Shahrani. Through vibrant colors and intricate details, the exhibition celebrated the rich heritage of southern Saudi Arabia. The third annual Storytellers sought to foster strategic partnerships with government entities, the private sector as well as nonprofit organizations. Such collaboration will further support sustainable growth in the cultural sector, enhance economic development and promote quality of life. 'Now in its third year, the event has become a cornerstone of the fund's outreach efforts, establishing a platform that unites creatives, entrepreneurs and influencers to exchange ideas, share perspectives, and explore collaboration opportunities across cultural and financial sectors,' Al-Owain stated. Related Topics: Cultural Fund Concludes Participation in Berlin Festival Saudi Cultural Fund to support Saudi cinema with $ 234.4 million Villa Hegra Celebrates Year of Cultural Exchange in Al-Ula Short link : Post Views: 8
Yahoo
15-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Jacob Elordi Talks Extreme Weight Loss On Burma POW Camp Drama ‘The Narrow Road To The Deep North': 'It Was A Very Calming Experience'
Jacob Elordi hit the Berlin Festival on Saturday with Justin Kurzel's WWII drama The Narrow Road to the Deep North, in which he plays a medical officer in a Japanese prisoner of war camp on the Thailand-Burma railway line. Elordi and his fellow cast members addressed the challenge of losing significant amounts of weight for their roles. More from Deadline Berlin Film Festival 2025: All Of Deadline's Movie Reviews 'Hot Milk' Review: Rebecca Lenkiewicz's Spare Adaptation of Deborah Levy's Acclaimed Psychodrama Hums With Tension - Berlin Film Festival Taiwan's Flash Forward Entertainment Unveils Fantasy Romance 'Time Loop With the Moon' & 'Moonlight Ripples' - EFM The Saltburn and Priscilla star was surprisingly upbeat about the experience, suggesting camaraderie among the cast had helped him get through the ordeal. 'It was a very calming experience to do it with all the lads. I think there was something quite profound that happened in that it wasn't a complete torture,' he said. 'There was a peace that sort of came over all of us when we were in the camps, and you reach a level of love that goes beyond what you're used to in your everyday because everything gets stripped away, and you come down to the bare bones of, 'Is my mate okay Am I okay? How can I help? Do you want a jelly bean?',' he said. 'You're watching each other and you're taking care of each other. So it becomes quite primal, and I'm just really grateful to have shared that with these lads and the other boys… it was a really beautiful experience.' Elordi plays Lieutenant-Colonel Dorrigo Evans, an Australian doctor whose all-too-brief love affair with his uncle's wife, Amy Mulvaney (Odessa Young), shaped his life. Told over multiple time periods, the five-part follows Dorrigo as a Far East prisoner of war during the construction of the Burma Railway. Decades later, he finds his growing celebrity at odds with his feelings of failure and guilt. The show – the first two episodes of which are showing as a special gala screening stars – marks a return to Australia for Kurzel, after the U.S.-set neo-Nazi thriller The Order, and Elordi. 'It was a dream come true, and it was a filmmaking experience that I haven't quite had in my life. And honestly, like long live Australian cinema, it is truly a beautiful thing, and I hope to spend a lot of my time there making pitches,' said Elordi. Based on the 2014 Booker Prize winning novel of the same name by Richard Flanagan, the mini-series reunites Kurzel with long-time collaborator, writer Shaun Grant. Both men said they had drawn to the novel for how it chimed with the World War Two prison camp experiences of their grandfathers. 'I grew up with these two very important men in my life that lived with the fog of war and in the midst of it, and I could feel the sort of shadow of that past, very deeply,' said Kurzel. Grant revealed that one of his grandfathers had been even worked on the Thailand-Burma railway line, and spent many years as POW. 'I saw the effects that it had on him and I remember the first time I read Richard's book, I walked away knowing my grandfather better than I did prior to that. He didn't speak about it. I was fortunate that Richard's father, who also served on the line, did, and otherwise we wouldn't have the text,'said Grant. 'So that was the personal reason. But with any project, it's just story, and it's just a beautifully constructed story. I think there's a reason why war stories are continuing to be told. They show the extremity of humanities in all its highs and lows, good and bad, love and loss.' Best of Deadline How To Watch The 'SNL50' Anniversary Concert And Three-Hour Special This Weekend Everything We Know About Christopher Nolan's Next Film – 'The Odyssey': Release Date, Cast And More 'Bridgerton' Season 4: Everything We Know So Far
Yahoo
27-01-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
French Film Academy Quits Elon Musk's X
France's Academy of Cinema Arts and Techniques, the group behind the country's national film awards, the Césars, is quitting X. In an announcement on Monday, the César Academy said it had deleted its account on the platform, noting that the public positions taken by owner Elon Musk means X 'no longer corresponds' to the Academy's stated values. More from The Hollywood Reporter Berlin Festival Adds Final Titles to Panorama, Forum,and Generation Sidebars Freed Israeli Hostage Wears Justin Bieber's Clothing Line Upon Release; Co-Founder Reacts (Exclusive) Bowen Yang, Lily Gladstone Dramedy 'The Wedding Banquet' to Open London's LGBTQIA+ Film Fest 'The Academy's mission is to promote cinema in all its diversity,' read the statement. 'It supports all forms of artistic expression, without distinction of origin or identity of those who contribute to the creation or distribution of films. The César Academy believes that the X platform, particularly due to the actions and stances of its leader, no longer aligns with its values. Therefore, it is withdrawing from the platform effective immediately.' The César Academy's decision to ditch X follows a similar exit by the Berlin Film Festival last November, though Berlin did not explicitly say it was Musk's politics that prompted the move. Venice Film Festival director Alberto Barbera also publicly quit X last year, noting that he had 'definitely lost the desire (already weakened) to remain on a platform, the objectives and purposes of which I no longer share,' a clear reference to the platform's political shift under Musk's leadership. The tech billionaire has used the social media platform to actively support far-right groups in Europe and attack more mainstream government leaders. On Sunday, Musk took part in the official campaign kickoff for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party — a group that has called for the 'reimmigration' of ethnic minorities, including German citizens, to their 'countries of origin' — joining the event via live video link. The decision to leave X follows the César Academy's move last week to suspend any member currently under investigation for sexual violence. The organization has been implementing #MeToo measures to prevent and address misconduct within the French film industry, spurned on by public outrage over public #MeToo allegations, including multiple charges of assault and misconduct filed against French star Gerard Depardieu and the sentencing of Dominique Boutonnat, the president of the National Film Board (CNC), to three years for sexual assault of his godson. The 50th César Awards take place in Paris on Feb. 28. Best of The Hollywood Reporter Dinosaurs, Zombies and More 'Wicked': The Most Anticipated Movies of 2025 From 'A Complete Unknown' to 'Selena' to 'Ray': 33 Notable Music Biopics 25 Christmas Comedies to Watch This Holiday Season
