Latest news with #Comédie-Française
Al-Ahram Weekly
27-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Al-Ahram Weekly
Remembering iconic Egyptian filmmaker Youssef Chahine - Screens - Arts & Culture
17 years have passed since the departure of the biggest and most important figure not only in Egyptian cinema but the history of Arab cinema. Youssef Chahine died on 27 July 2008 at the age of 82 after filled with vibrant clamor and spectacular successes Chahine's rebelling personality and his relentless efforts to break the mould of commonness and go beyond the familiar. He was born in Alexandria, on 25 January 1926. Since his early years, he refused to fulfill his father's wish to study engineering and preferred to go to America to study cinema. Upon his return, he made his directorial debut Papa Amin (1950) before reaching 24-years-old. Although he was a member of the aristocratic class, Chahine supported the poor in his films and believed in socialism and advocated for it in his films. He was the only director who was bold enough to execute an innocent man in Conflict in the Valley (1954) and he was the only Christian who directed a film that denounced the Crusades in Saladin (1963). While he was a Nasserite director, he didn't flinch from exposing the corruption of the Nasser regime in The Sparrow. He is also the only cineaste who returned after the 1967 defeat from Beirut to Cairo, while others went the other way round in a collective immigration that Egyptian cinema didn't witness before. He was invited to Paris to direct, not a film but the famous Albert Camus play Caligula, for the Comédie-Française. Chahine was the first to seek financing for his films through unconventional methods, which in its turn raised suspicion concerning the cinema he presented. He was engaged in the most violent clash with the highest Islamic religious authority (Al-Azhar) regarding The Emigrant, which was banned from cinemas by a legal verdict in 1994, as well as other brushes with censorship, including over The Sparrow, and Is This Chaos? The existentialist philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre described rebellion as the real motivation behind any creativity. However, it seems that Chahine's desire to go against the norm was so intense that he couldn't control it. The majority of the Egyptian films at the time Chahine made his first were either traditional love stories taking place in luxurious villas, low class comedies that combined a singer, a belly dancer and a well-known comedian, or plots and traps hatched in night clubs. Chahine's debut was a fantasy involving a middle class Egyptian family in which its breadwinner dreams that he died and was watching the downfall of his family without being able to do anything to save it. He temporarily tried to play it safe, so as to be present on the Egyptian cinematic map, making four traditional films, including The Lady of the Train and The Big Clown, albeit showing high artistic capabilities in these films. Since 1954, Chahine started to speak his mind, or more accurately commenced the big projects of his career. In that year he directed Conflict in the Valley starring Faten Hamama and his new discovery Omar Al-Sharif, in what can be considered the first direct and mature cinematic condemnation of the feudal system that was prevalent in the Egyptian countryside before the 1952 Revolution. This film and a subsequent one, Conflict in the Harbour (1956), revealed Chahine's early interest in class struggle within Egyptian society. This interest has reached its intellectual peak in his flagrantly propagandist film Dawn of a New Day (1965), and its emotional apex in The Land (1970). The former didn't just stop at denouncing capitalism but it heralded a new society where socialism would prevail, while the latter was an emotionally painful cry in the face of oppressive forces seeking to usurp the poor and deny their rights. According to Chahine, ordinary people weren't just the victims of class struggle, but also sufferers of poverty and illness, as in Qenawi's case, the protagonist of Cairo Train Station (1958), which was played by Chahine himself. It was this marginalised personality that Chahine extracted from thousands of passengers frequenting the train station daily. He did the same with 'Ouka, a monkey handler (played by Mohsen Mohie Eddine) and an ordinary mother Siddiqa (played by Dalida), the protagonists of The Sixth Day (1986), drawing each from millions of Egyptians who lived the Cholera epidemic in 1947. The pan-Arab dimension was also a very important feature in Chahine's cinema. He made Djamilah (1958) chronicling the Algerian people's struggle against French colonialists. In another direction, Chahine's The Sparrow (1972) partially tackled the reasons behind the 1967 defeat. It was the best cinematic expression capturing the first days of the defeat and was concluded with fantastic archival footage of the masses going to the streets demanding that President Gamal Abdel Nasser not step down. What's certain is that Chahine got close to the ruling institution as much as he rebelled against prevailing norms. From 1976, Chahine's rebellion grew, even attacking his own cinema and embarking on making films so particular that his audience dwindled gradually. Nobody remained but his die-hard fans who adored his art and comprehended his lofty cinematic language. Following his film The Return of the Prodigal Son in 1976, Chahine got carried away in transferring his autobiography to the silver screen in four films, starting with (1978) and concluding with Alexandria-New York (2004), covering a 35-year period. At the same time, he showed greater interest in religious, intellectual and political issues, such as in The Emigrant, The Destiny (1997), The Other (1999) and Is This Chaos? (2007). But we should keep in our minds that the man behind The Land, Cairo Train Station and The Choice (1970) is the same director of mediocre films such as A Lovers' Call (1960) and Silence, We're Rolling (2001), among others. Highlights of international recognition The most celebrated filmmaker of the Middle East, Chahine created films that participated in and won awards in the biggest international film festivals, including Cannes, Venice and Berlin. Chahine's film Cairo Station was the first Arab and the first African film to be submitted for consideration for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film (1958). Three more of his films were submitted for Oscars consideration: Alexandria ... Why? (1979), Alexandria Again and Forever (1990) and Destiny (1997). In 1979, Chahine won a Silver Bear for Alexandria … Why? at the Berlinale, while five of his films were nominated for the Cannes Palme d'Or. In 1997, Chahine was presented with the Cannes Festival's 50th Anniversary Prize for lifetime achievement. In 2007, Chahine was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Dubai International Film Festival. Follow us on: Facebook Instagram Whatsapp Short link:
Euronews
23-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Euronews
Disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein's rape retrial opens in New York court
ADVERTISEMENT Opening statements have been heard in Harvey Weinstein's rape retrial, five years after his original trial delivered a searing reckoning for one of Hollywood's most powerful figures. Emphasising the former studio boss's onetime influence in the movie industry, prosecutor Shannon Lucey said Weinstein used "dream opportunities as weapons" to prey on the three accusers in the case. He is charged with raping one and forcing oral sex on the other two. "The defendant wanted their bodies and the more they resisted, the more forceful he got," Lucey said. The case is being retried because an appeals court threw out the landmark 2020 conviction. The retrial is happening at the same Manhattan courthouse as the first trial and two accusers who testified then are expected to return. Harvey Weinstein appears in state court in Manhattan as jury selection continues in his retrial, 23 April, 2025 AP Photo Weinstein's retrial is playing out at a different cultural moment than the first, which happened during the height of the #MeToo movement. Along with the charges being retried, he faces an additional allegation from a woman who wasn't involved in the first case. The jury counts seven women and five men, unlike the seven-man, five-woman panel that convicted him in 2020, and there's a different judge. The #MeToo movement, which exploded in 2017 with allegations against Weinstein, has also evolved and ebbed. At the start of Weinstein's first trial, chants of "rapist" could be heard from protesters outside. Related #metoothéâtre protestors demand change at the Comédie-Française Two Chinese #MeToo movement promoters handed 3 to 5 years prison sentence 'MeToo' movement stirs few changes in European Parliament's political groups TV trucks lined the street and reporters queued for hours to get a seat in the packed courtroom. His lawyers decried the "carnival-like atmosphere" and fought unsuccessfully to get the trial moved from Manhattan. This time, over five days of jury selection, there was none of that. Those realities, coupled with the New York Court of Appeals' ruling last year vacating his 2020 conviction and 23-year prison sentence — because the judge allowed testimony about allegations Weinstein was not charged with — are shaping everything from retrial legal strategy to the atmosphere in court. ADVERTISEMENT Weinstein, 73, is being retried on a criminal sex act charge for allegedly forcibly performing oral sex on a movie and TV production assistant, Miriam Haley, in 2006 and a third-degree rape charge for allegedly assaulting an aspiring actor, Jessica Mann, in a Manhattan hotel room in 2013. Attorney Arthur Aidala, lead attorney for Harvey Weinstein, arrives at Manhattan criminal court for Weinstein's retrial, 23 April, 2025 AP Photo Weinstein also faces a criminal sex act charge for allegedly forcing oral sex on a different woman at a Manhattan hotel in 2006. Prosecutors said that the woman, who hasn't been named publicly, came forward days before his first trial but wasn't part of that case. They said they revisited her allegations when his conviction was thrown out. ADVERTISEMENT Weinstein has pleaded not guilty and denies raping or sexually assaulting anyone. His acquittals on the two most serious charges at his 2020 trial — predatory sexual assault and first-degree rape — still stand. Lindsay Goldbrum, a lawyer for the unnamed accuser, said Weinstein's retrial marks a "pivotal moment in the fight for accountability in sex abuse cases" and a "signal to other survivors that the system is catching up — and that it's worth speaking out even when the odds seem insurmountable."
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein's rape retrial opens in New York court
Opening statements have been heard in Harvey Weinstein's rape retrial, five years after his original trial delivered a searing reckoning for one of Hollywood's most powerful figures. Emphasising the former studio boss's onetime influence in the movie industry, prosecutor Shannon Lucey said Weinstein used "dream opportunities as weapons" to prey on the three accusers in the case. He is charged with raping one and forcing oral sex on the other two. "The defendant wanted their bodies and the more they resisted, the more forceful he got," Lucey said. The case is being retried because an appeals court threw out the landmark 2020 conviction. The retrial is happening at the same Manhattan courthouse as the first trial and two accusers who testified then are expected to return. Weinstein's retrial is playing out at a different cultural moment than the first, which happened during the height of the #MeToo movement. Along with the charges being retried, he faces an additional allegation from a woman who wasn't involved in the first case. The jury counts seven women and five men, unlike the seven-man, five-woman panel that convicted him in 2020, and there's a different judge. The #MeToo movement, which exploded in 2017 with allegations against Weinstein, has also evolved and ebbed. At the start of Weinstein's first trial, chants of "rapist" could be heard from protesters outside. Related #metoothéâtre protestors demand change at the Comédie-Française Two Chinese #MeToo movement promoters handed 3 to 5 years prison sentence 'MeToo' movement stirs few changes in European Parliament's political groups TV trucks lined the street and reporters queued for hours to get a seat in the packed courtroom. His lawyers decried the "carnival-like atmosphere" and fought unsuccessfully to get the trial moved from Manhattan. This time, over five days of jury selection, there was none of that. Those realities, coupled with the New York Court of Appeals' ruling last year vacating his 2020 conviction and 23-year prison sentence — because the judge allowed testimony about allegations Weinstein was not charged with — are shaping everything from retrial legal strategy to the atmosphere in court. Weinstein, 73, is being retried on a criminal sex act charge for allegedly forcibly performing oral sex on a movie and TV production assistant, Miriam Haley, in 2006 and a third-degree rape charge for allegedly assaulting an aspiring actor, Jessica Mann, in a Manhattan hotel room in 2013. Weinstein also faces a criminal sex act charge for allegedly forcing oral sex on a different woman at a Manhattan hotel in 2006. Prosecutors said that the woman, who hasn't been named publicly, came forward days before his first trial but wasn't part of that case. They said they revisited her allegations when his conviction was thrown out. Weinstein has pleaded not guilty and denies raping or sexually assaulting anyone. His acquittals on the two most serious charges at his 2020 trial — predatory sexual assault and first-degree rape — still stand. Lindsay Goldbrum, a lawyer for the unnamed accuser, said Weinstein's retrial marks a "pivotal moment in the fight for accountability in sex abuse cases" and a "signal to other survivors that the system is catching up — and that it's worth speaking out even when the odds seem insurmountable."
New York Times
25-02-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
At France's Oldest Theater, Things Change, but They Also Stay the Same
Later this year, the actor and director Clément Hervieu-Léger will assume one of the most influential positions in French theater: general administrator of the Comédie-Française, the country's oldest active company. France's culture ministry announced the appointment last week. For now, however, Hervieu-Léger, 47, remains a player in the company's acting ensemble, and through June 1, he is starring in a production of Chekhov's 'The Cherry Orchard' that he also directed. Onstage on Sunday, Hervieu-Léger blended in discreetly as Trofimov, an aging student who hovers around the play's central landowning family. (It took me a minute even to recognize him.) The venerable Comédie-Française was founded in 1680, when a troupe begun decades earlier by the playwright Molière merged with a rival institution. With Hervieu-Léger's appointment, it has opted — as so often — for continuity. Since 2001, every general administrator has come from the company's ranks. Éric Ruf, who holds the position until this summer, had over two decades of experience as a Comédie-Française actor before his appointment in 2014. His successor has followed a remarkably similar path. A lithe, elegant performer, Hervieu-Léger was hired by the troupe in 2005 and has since been seen in a vast repertoire of plays, including Molière comedies and Tony Kushner's 'Angels in America.' In 2018, he joined the ranks of the 'sociétaires,' or 'shareholders,' a core group of company members who own stakes in the Comédie-Française, make up the board and oversee the theater's operations. All must abide by the company's motto: 'Simul et singulis,' which means, 'Together and individual.' In the past, this ensemble-led system has made it difficult for outsiders to come in and manage the Comédie-Française effectively. Even former sociétaires have faced internal mutiny: Muriel Mayette-Holtz, the first female general administrator, was replaced by Ruf in 2014 after company members protested her tenure in a letter to the French culture minister. Still, the prestige of the position is such — the administrator is personally appointed by the French president — that Hervieu-Léger faced serious competition. According to the French newspaper Le Monde, two high-profile candidates had thrown their hats in the ring: Arthur Nauzyciel, who is currently at the helm of the National Theater of Brittany; and the film and stage director Christophe Honoré, known for movies including 'Love Songs' and 'Sorry Angel.' While Hervieu-Léger is less of a household name, he will be able to draw on his wide-ranging experience. Alongside his acting career, he has directed over a dozen productions across theater and opera, with a pronounced taste for classic plays: in addition to Chekhov and his countryman Ivan Turgenev, Hervieu-Léger has tackled Molière and the 18th-century comic playwrights Pierre de Marivaux and Carlo Goldoni. He has also overseen plenty of projects beyond the Comédie-Française. In 2010, he co-founded La Compagnie des Petits Champs, a theater company based in rural northern France. His affinity for ballet has also translated into a number of side gigs, including a position as drama teacher at the Paris Opera Ballet School. In early April, his hybrid dance-theater adaptation of 'They Shoot Horses, Don't They?,' a co-creation with the choreographer Bruno Bouché and the actor Daniel San Pedro for the Ballet du Rhin, will have its Paris premiere at the Théâtre de la Ville. As a director, Hervieu-Léger's style leans toward understated, period-appropriate sophistication; a history buff, he was elected president of the French Society of Theater History in 2021. His production of 'The Cherry Orchard' is a case in point. In Hervieu-Léger's interpretation, Chekhov's 1903 play unfolds on a wood-paneled stage decorated with refined paintings, evoking the country lifestyle of the aristocratic family; the minutely cut costumes are demure enough to suit early 20th-century characters. The craft of the Comédie-Française's famed in-house set and costume departments are evident in every scene, to a degree that outside directors don't always exploit. 'The Cherry Orchard' is also a showcase for Hervieu-Léger's colleagues, with smart casting across several generations of actors. Florence Viala, a company member since 1994, brings a flighty self-assurance to the central role of Lyubov. Loïc Corbery, often seen in romantic leading roles, is an unexpected choice as the coarse Lopakhin, yet he owns the role with mercurial energy. As Firs, the elderly butler, Hervieu-Léger brought back the retired sociétaire Michel Favory, who acts as an earnest, serious anchor throughout. Hervieu-Léger's intimate knowledge of the troupe will serve him well as the general administrator, and Ruf leaves behind an institution in good shape. Over his three terms, Ruf struck a balance between the house's traditions and a newfound openness. In addition to bringing in star directors like Thomas Ostermeier and Ivo van Hove, he worked quietly behind the scenes to increase diversity, hiring several Black actors and achieving gender parity among the directors he programed. The Comédie-Française said last week that Hervieu-Léger would unveil his plans this summer, though the company seems set to continue on its steady course. If it ain't broke, don't fix it: It's a view that the Comédie-Française is entitled, by nearly 350 years of history, to hold.
Euronews
30-01-2025
- Entertainment
- Euronews
#metoothéâtre protestors demand change at the Comédie-Française
Protesters have called for deep rooted change at the Comédie-Française, the world's oldest running theatre company, to demonstrate against its inaction following allegations of assault by one of its actors, Nâzim Boudjenah. Around 50 people on Wednesday night armed with slogans like 'We're throwing the pigs away, you're fattening them up' and 'No applause for violent men' were at the entrance of one of Paris' most important theatres. The demonstration was organised through #metoothéâtre in reaction to Nâzim Boudjenah – an actor at the Comédie-Française since 2010 – over accusations of his violent behaviour toward Marie Coquille-Chambel. In 2020, Boudjenah entered into a relationship with Coquille-Chambel. Coquille-Chambel testified in court in 2021 that Boudjenah had become violent in the relationship and threatened to kill her. Boudjenah denied the accusations but was sentenced to six months in prison. He was later acquitted of the charges of violence due to procedural irregularities. Boudjenah is currently still under investigation following an indictment by a judge on accusations of rape by Coquille-Chambel. View this post on Instagram A post shared by TicketNunc (@ticketnunc) Following Coquille-Chambel's accusations, the Comédie-Française immediately removed Boudjenah from the stage. 'The Comédie-Française is deeply shocked by the discovery of the unbearable acts of violence attributed to one of its employees. It condemns them in the strongest possible terms and will take all necessary measures,' the theatre said in a press statement at the time. However, the theatre didn't also dismiss the actor immediately and maintained his salary. This is the basis for #metoothéâtre's protest. In a hearing on 13 January over Boudjenah's dismissal, Sandrine Rousseau, MP and president of the commission on violence in the arts sector, reported that Boudjenah had made death threats against both Coquille-Chambel and herself. Boudjenah made death threats against Rousseau after he became aware that the MP was informed of the death threats he'd made against Coquille-Chambel. Comédie-Française managing director Eric Ruf was present at the hearing as the theatre was told to initiate dismissal proceedings against Boudjaneh. #metoothéâtre posted a message on Instagram to explain the reason for their demonstration despite Boudjaneh's imminent dismissal. 'We can only welcome this decision which takes into account the violence of this man. However, we can only regret that the Comédie Française did not consider it necessary to do so after the conviction of its resident on June 29, 2021'. View this post on Instagram A post shared by #metootheatre (@metootheatre) 'Boudjenah was condemned for such acts almost 4 years ago, is this not enough to consider that he cannot have the honour of sitting among the residents of this illustrious institution?' the account wrote. 'We also regret that no media relays the information according to which Madame Coquille Chambel was forced on July 18, 2024 to file a complaint for new death threats and crimes on the social network X by Mr. Nâzim Boudjenah.' Outside of the theatre, some of the employees registered their concern about the negative impact of the protest on the company. 'This story has nothing to do with the Comédie-Française, it's something that happened outside, in a private setting. It's false to say that the house supports rape culture. It hurts us, it penalizes us and it's false,' a manager for 30 years told French daily newspaper Le Monde. Originally, the Comédie-Française didn't dismiss Boudjenah with this explanation: 'In labour law, you need a real and serious reason to separate from someone. Here it was a conflict external to the company, not professional misconduct, we did not have the necessary elements,' echoing the sentiments of the frustrated manager. It was Boudjenah's death threats and derogatory remarks that put him over the threshold for harming the theatre, according to this month's hearing. The latency and prioritising of the institution over the victim is the core of the group's protest. As actor and director Séphora Haymann said at the protest: 'We can testify today that things are not changing. The victims' words create a huge amount of declarative effects. But, in reality, there is no less violence. We have a collective responsibility: management, supervisory authorities, institutions have a responsibility. We must take action.'
