Latest news with #Crossing
Boston Globe
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
A.R.T. announces 2025/2026 season, will premiere new musical adapted from the film ‘Black Swan'
In a telephone interview, A.R.T. artistic director Diane Paulus said that 'Wonder' is driven by 'a very fresh, contemporary sound,' with 'equal parts catchy pop tunes and emotional heart' in the music and lyrics by A Great Big World, a duo consisting of singer-songwriters Ian Axel and Chad King. The book is by playwright Sarah Ruhl. Advertisement (Disclosure: Paulus directed my son Matt's opera, 'Crossing,' in 2015, and Ruhl collaborated with him on 'Eurydice,' an opera that premiered in 2021 and was based on her play of the same name.) The A.R.T.'s production of With music and lyrics by Dave Malloy (' Advertisement According to Paulus, 'Black Swan' will 'delve into the theme of perfection, the world of ballet, and the pressures on women.' She said that 'a story told through dance and movement' is 'right up A.R.T.'s alley,' adding: 'For me, theater as a form is physical. It's visceral. It's about communication, not only through text and words and music, but the body, and movement.' Starting this fall, Paulus will direct a concert tour of 'Dear Everything,' which was commissioned and developed by the A.R.T., and premiered in concert form in 2021 under the name 'WILD: A Musical Becoming,' starring Idina Menzel. The overall picture for the A.R.T., which is based at Harvard, is clouded by the university's ongoing confrontation with President Trump, who has cut billions of dollars in federal grants and contracts to Harvard. Asked how concerned she is about the potential impact on her company, Paulus replied: 'It's a very challenging time. We are navigating changing waters on a daily basis.' 'As a theater, as a company like A.R.T., we are committed to continuing to bring people together,' she added. 'Theater is a community builder. That is our greatest role, right? Humans coming together in time and space and listening to stories that are not our own.' The A.R.T.'s season will launch Sept. 2-26 with Advertisement The season will also include Sam Kissajukian's autobiographical solo show, '300 Paintings,' scheduled to be at Harvard's Farkas Hall Oct. 1-19, 2025. Paulus said '300 Paintings' explores 'how all of the arts and mental health and creativity are in relation to one another.' Don Aucoin can be reached at
Scoop
02-05-2025
- Sport
- Scoop
Tararua Mountain Race Celebrates 30 Years Of Grit, Community And Wild Beauty
ŌTAKI / WELLINGTON REGION — More than 100 runners from around Aotearoa took on one of New Zealand's toughest and most iconic mountain trails on Saturday 12 April, as the Tararua Mountain Race marked over 30 years since its first running. Covering 36 kilometres of rugged backcountry terrain from Kaitoke to Ōtaki Forks, the race follows the historic Southern Crossing tramping route — a trail known for its steep climbs, rooty ridgelines, and exposed alpine tops. With over 2,300 metres of vertical ascent, the course is considered one of the country's hardest single-day mountain runs. This year, the weather played kind, offering clear skies and mild winds — a rare gift in the Tararua Range, which averages over 160 days of gale-force winds and 200 days of rain annually. The race is organised by a small team of local volunteer mountain runners, with critical support from Land Search and Rescue (LandSAR). A portion of all race proceeds is donated to LandSAR as a thank you for their vital contribution to backcountry safety. 'This event is more than just a race,' says organiser Andy Carruthers. 'It's a celebration of the Tararua Range, the people who love it, and the spirit of resilience. Every runner has a story.' Those stories were front and centre in 2025. Among the finishers: A 66-year-old Wellington local who trained for months to complete the full Crossing. A Northland woman, Deborah, who was allowed to start an hour early to ensure she could complete the course safely — and did so with a smile. A Hawke's Bay man who had dreamt of finishing for a decade, arriving at the halfway cut-off with just two minutes to spare before becoming the final official finisher of the day. 'The Tararuas tested me in every way,' said Deborah. 'But I never felt alone out there. This race was my dream.' Alongside the main event, runners also tackled the Kelly Glass Kime Climb (24 km) and the Field Dash (13 km) — two shorter courses that follow parts of the historic trail. The Tararua Mountain Race was first founded in the early 1990s by Brent Harrison, and after a short hiatus in the 2010s, has been revived in recent years by a passionate local team. 'We're proud that it remains a grassroots, community-led event,' says Carruthers. 'Whether you're racing for a podium spot or just hoping to reach Ōtaki on your own steam, you're part of something special.'
Arab News
01-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Arab News
Syrian artists explore themes of forgiveness in Damascus exhibition
DAMASCUS: In a city battered by years of conflict, a quiet revolution was unfolding earlier this month inside an unfinished concrete shell. For the latest updates, follow us on Instagram @ 'The Path,' a two-week exhibition curated by the Madad Art Foundation and staged in the once-abandoned skeletal Massar Rose Building in Damascus, confronted Syria's pain, but, curator Marwan Tayara stressed: 'This is not about politics. It's about healing.' Tayara — who co-founded Madad alongside the late Buthayna Ali, a fine arts professor whose vision of a show on forgiveness inspired 'The Path' — continued: 'For us, the artist is a patriot. The bakery feeds the body, and art feeds the soul. The soldier fights for his country, and so does the artist — but with ideas, with beauty.' Ali, who died in September, had envisioned a show that would offer something softer than some of Madad's previous exhibitions around topics including war and disaster. 'She wanted to make an exhibition about forgiveness but never had the chance,' artist Rala Tarabishi told Arab News. 'We decided to do it as a gift for her — and for Syria.' Even the venue was part of the show's message. 'This is a construction site,' said Tayara. 'It's symbolic. Syria is unfinished. But we're building. Art has to be part of that process — not just rebuilding walls, but rebuilding identity.' Tarabishi's installation, 'Embed,' was a forest of resin swords frozen mid-fall, through which visitors could walk. 'When I embed my sword into the earth during a fight, I'm putting an end to it — in the most peaceful way,' she said. But none of the swords in 'Embed' had yet reached that point. 'The closer the sword is to the ground, the closer I am to forgetting, or forgiving,' Tarabishi explained. 'Some things are harder to let go of.' For viewers, she hoped, it would be 'as if the swords are memories or people who caused them pain. I wanted them to lean more into forgiveness, so they could live a more peaceful life.' But for Tarabishi, forgiveness is anything but simple. 'It's very hard. Some things feel too big for us to truly forgive, so we just coexist with our pain instead.' Eyad Dayoub's installation, 'Crossing,' was equally visceral. Suspended black and red wires hung like fishing nets. 'Each level represents a period in Syria — full of darkness and blood,' Dayoub said. 'The material looks like something that traps fish. I feel like I've been hunted by my country. I'm stuck — I can't leave it, and I can't love it either.' Creating the piece was part-therapy, part-confrontation. 'Our dreams were lost. But I'm trying to find love again between me and my country,' he continued, adding that some visitors wept when he explained the symbolism of the piece. 'People are ready to feel again. After war, we became numb. But I see us becoming sensitive again.' If Dayoub's wires evoked entrapment, Judi Chakhachirou's work addressed instability. Her installation featured a trembling platform — a metaphor for emotional imbalance. 'When someone hasn't forgiven you — or you haven't forgiven them — you feel unstable. You don't know what's wrong, but you're not OK,' she said. Her piece was a message to the living: 'Take your chances now. Don't leave people in your life hurt. Forgive — or at least try. Because one day, it'll be too late.' The war has buried so much in silence, she added, that emotions — even tears — feel like progress. 'Some people cried when they saw it. Others said it made them feel calm, like they finally understood what was bothering them,' she said. 'I hope my next work will be more hopeful.' For Mariam Al-Fawal, forgiveness is less emotional and more philosophical. Her interactive installation, 'A Delicate Balance,' draws on Karl Popper's formulation of the paradox of tolerance. Visitors can rearrange its colored puzzle pieces on wooden stands to construct a final, diverse pattern. 'If you tolerate all ideologies — including the intolerant — you destroy tolerance itself,' Al-Fawal explained. 'Without exclusion, there can be no true inclusion. To see the full picture, you have to flip the pieces, adjust them. That's how people work too. You can't have one color, one shape; you have to embrace difference.' Al-Fawal's puzzle asks viewers to build balance. 'People interacted with it differently,' she said, 'But most walked away with a shifted perspective. That's why I made it interactive: the process carries the message.' Lamia Saida contributed 'To Memory, Once More,' which consisted of a set of blood-red, burned and shredded canvases suspended like raw meat. 'I thought if I wanted to express these memories visually, it had to be meat,' she explained. 'That's what they feel like. That's why they hang. That's why they bleed.' Syria's trauma, for Saida, is not abstract —it is textured, fleshy, and inescapable. And yet, through art, it is manageable. 'Art is more than therapy,' she continued. 'When I make something honest, I feel like I forgive people. I find stability.' Her final painting is a single, steady line. 'It's the calm I reached after expressing everything else,' she said. More than 400 visitors visited the exhibition daily, according to the organizers. Some brought questions. Some brought grief. Others brought quiet. 'Even political officials came,' Tayara said. 'Not to control. Just to understand.' What started as a tribute to a beloved teacher has become a mirror for the country. 'All Syrians have this memory of grief,' said Tarabishi. 'Whether from war or daily life — it's what binds us.' Madad hopes to bring 'The Path' to other cities too. 'We believe in the power of art,' said Tayara. 'It won't rebuild Syria alone. But it might rebuild the spirit. That's where everything begins.'
ABC News
22-04-2025
- Entertainment
- ABC News
Interview with the Vampire director Levan Akin takes on stunning Georgian LGBT film
If you're keen for more purrfect feline content after catching Oscar-winning animated movie Fast Facts for Crossing What: A luminous film full of cats, kindness and love. Directed by: Levan Akin Starring: Cats!!! Plus Mzia Arabuli, Lucas Kankava and Deniz Dumanli When: In cinemas from April 24 Likely to make you feel: Elated The latest luminous film from Levan Akin (And Then We Danced, They play a starring role in this beautiful film about a retired Georgian teacher, Lia (Mzia Arabuli), who's attempting to find her estranged niece, a trans woman named Tekla. Along for the ride to the city, and to offer bumbling help in the search, is the overexcitable Achi (Lucas Kankava). Lia and Achi head to Istanbul ( Supplied: Photo by Haydar Taştan ) "As a filmmaker, you try to catch life in real moments, and the cats very much helped us with that," Akin chuckles as we meet in a cinema foyer during Berlinale. "They were everywhere." Swedish-Georgian filmmaker Akin is a cat person, pausing to show me pics of his 14-year-old boy, Olaf, on his phone as we chat about Crossing's unscripted stars. "They were like, 'We're gonna make cameos and we're gonna be amazing,'" Akin says. "And I was like, 'You cats blessed us,' because making films is hard." Streetwise This is especially true when you're shooting on the streets of one of the world's most populous cities on a tight budget. "Most Turkish films are set in rural areas, and now I know why," Akin chuckles again. "Because in Istanbul, it can't just be empty streets, and we couldn't afford thousands of extras, so we had to be very inventive, but that's the fun art of filmmaking." There's sadness in the regrets of an often-cranky Lia, grieving her sister's recent death and having not supported her niece's transition. But Crossing is also a classic cinematic misadventure full of fun and abundant love. The glittering Bosphorus Strait makes a stunning backdrop throughout Crossing. ( Supplied: Photo by Lisabi Fridell ) Lia and Achi make for a great odd couple as they hunt for Tekla with no leads. After a few false starts, they fall in with Evrim (Deniz Dumanli), a lawyer and trans woman who looks out for the local LGBTQIA+ community, particularly trans sex workers. Arabuli is a renowned theatre actor with several movie credits to her name, and embodies Lia perfectly. "She's a 70-plus woman from Georgia, where they don't really talk about the queer community," Akin says. "She became inseparable with a trans girl called Yasmin, and when we had our wrap party, she told me, 'I've never met such colourful people in my whole life,' and she meant us, the gays. It was such a beautiful experience for her, that journey, and for me to see from behind the scenes." Evrim is a tough lawyer protecting trans sex workers, played by newcomer Deniz Dumanli ( Supplied: Photo by Edje Ali ) These are the debut screen roles for both Kankava and Dumanli, but you'd never know it as they hold their own with Arabuli. "I really wanted people working on the film from the community, and when Deniz came in to audition for a smaller role, she was just so fantastic, I was like, 'This is a next-level, next-generation star,'" Akin says. "Lucas worked in a beauty salon in Tbilisi and sent a self-tape from there," Akin says. "He has this energy and holds his own with these women. There are so many fun stories from making this film with them." Reclaiming tradition (and vampires) Akin was born in Sweden to Georgian parents. "If you're dark in Sweden, it's always like, 'Where are you from?' But I don't fit in in Georgia either. I'm an outsider everywhere, and that has shaped my filmmaking." He's long bristled at the idea that cultural traditions do not belong to queer people. Levan Akin has had support throughout his career from the production company of ABBA member Benny Andersson, who is a producer of Crossing alongside his son Levin. ( Photo by) "It's one of my biggest gripes in life," Akin says. "Conservatives have hijacked them. Like, those are my traditions, too. Why are you monopolising them? We need to monopolise it back." Akin danced as a young man and loves traditional music, spinning beautiful gay romance And Then We Danced around the art form. "It really created a movement, because so many young people in Georgia were turning their backs against that tradition, because they feel it's suffocating," Akin says. "And I was like, 'No, make it your own.'" Like many closeted queer teenagers, Akin was drawn to the blood-sucking novels of Interview with the Vampire author Anne Rice, and was in the fan club. He still follows Instagram groups dedicated to her work and went on a holiday with his boyfriend to New Orleans to take a book-related tour. Lia and Achi seek help finding Tekla from Evrim and the trans community ( Supplied: Lisabi Fridell ) He even asked his agent to reach out to Rolin Jones, showrunner of Jones attended the premiere of Akin's film And Then We Danced, they geeked out over their shared love of Rice, and Akin got a gig directing on the show. "Sometimes strange things happen," he says. He hopes Crossing will help make conversations between queer kids and their families feel less strange. "Lia gets a chance to have the conversations she never had with Tekla," he says. "Many young Georgian people, and around the world, aren't able to have that conversation with their family. I never had it with my grandparents. "I just wanted to make a film where everyone has that unconditional love." Loading YouTube content
CNN
18-04-2025
- Entertainment
- CNN
World Press Photo 2025: Award Winners Unveiled
"Mahmoud Ajjour, Aged Nine." Mahmoud Ajjour, who was injured during an Israeli attack on Gaza City in March 2024, finds refuge and medical help in Doha, Qatar, on June 28, 2024. Winner, World Press Photo of the Year. Samar Abu Elouf/The New York Times/World Press Photo "Night Crossing." Chinese migrants warm themselves during a cold rain after crossing the US–Mexico border in Campo, California, on March 7, 2024. Finalist, World Press Photo of the Year./World Press Photo "Droughts in the Amazon." A young man brings food to his mother who lives in the village of Manacapuru. The village was once accessible by boat, but because of the drought, he must walk two Kilometers along the dry riverbed of the Solimoes River to reach her, in Amazonas, Brazil, on October 5, 2024. Finalist, World Press Photo of the Year. Musuk Nolte/Panos Pictures/Bertha Foundation/World Press Photo "Life Won't Stop." The groom poses for a portrait at his wedding in Omdurman, Sudan, on January 12, 2024. In Sudan, announcing a wedding with celebratory gunfire is a tradition. Regional winner, Africa. Mosab Abushama/World Press Photo "Gabriel Medina during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games." Brazil's Gabriel Medina bursts out triumphantly from a large wave in the fifth heat of round three of men's surfing, during the 2024 Olympic Games in Teahupo'o, Tahiti, French Polynesia, on July 29, 2024. Regional winner, Asia Pacific and Oceania. Jerome Brouillet/AFP/World Press Photo "Kenya's Youth Uprising." Protesters chant slogans and push a makeshift barricade as they clash with Kenyan police officers during an anti-government demonstration in Nairobi, Kenya, on July 2, 2024. Regional winner, Africa. Luis Tato/AFP/World Press Photo "Women's Bodies as Battlefields." Yohanna, 22, resting next to her mother after she received treatment for complications arising from kidney removal. Shot by Eritrean police at the border, she woke up at a hospital where she learned that one of her kidneys had been removed in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on October 31, 2017. Regional winner, Africa. Cinzia Canneri/Association Camille Lepage/World Press Photo "Four Storms, Ten Days." A man wades through a street flooded by heavy rains from Typhoon Toraij in Ilagan City, Isabela, northern Philippines, on November 12, 2024. Four consecutive cyclones, three of which developed into typhoons, hit the Philippines in a matter of days in late October and early November 2024. Regional winner, Asia Pacific and Oceania. Noel Celis/AP/World Press Photo "Attempted Assassination of Donald Trump." Members of the United States Secret Service help Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump off stage moments after a bullet from an attempted assassin hit his ear during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, United States, on July 13, 2024. Regional winner, North and Central America. Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post/World Press Photo "Te Urewera, The Living Ancestor of Tūhoe People." Children from the Teepa family drive the younger siblings home, after a swim in the river. Tūhoe children are taught independence and to care for other family members in Ruatoki, New Zealand, on January 27, 2022. Regional winner, Asia Pacific and Oceania. Tatsiana Chypsanava/Pulitzer Center/New Zealand Geographic/World Press Photo "Beyond the Trenches." Anhelina, 6, is traumatized and suffers panic attacks after having to flee her village near Kupiansk (a frontline city in Russia's invasion of Ukraine). She now lives with her grandmother in Borshchivka, 95 kilometers from Kupiansk. Anhelina is pictured in her new home in Borshchivka, Ukraine, on March 7, 2024. Regional winner, Europe. Florian Bachmeier/World Press Photo "Life and Death in a Country Without Constitutional Rights." A group of arrested people awaits entrance to Ilopango jail in Ilopango, San Salvador, El Salvador, on September 27, 2022. El Salvador has the highest incarceration rate in the world, and prisoners face harsh conditions. Regional winner, South America. Carlos Barrera/El Faro/NPR/World Press Photo "Aircraft on Flooded Tarmac." A stranded Boeing 727-200 surrounded by floodwaters at Salgado Filho International Airport in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, on May 20, 2024. Between April and June 2024, record-breaking rainfall in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, led to the worst flood in the area's history. Regional winner, South America. Anselmo Cunha/AFP/World Press Photo "Jaidë." María Camila, Luisa, and Noraisi Birry, members of the indigenous Emberá Dobida community, stand by the grave of their sister Yadira, while wearing the paruma shawls Yadira left behind in Chocó, Colombia, on June 20, 2024. Yadira Birry, 16, took her own life with a paruma on April 7, 2023. Regional winner, South America. Santiago Mesa/World Press Photo "Paths of Desperate Hope." Luis Miguel Arias takes a break with his daughter Melissa as they climb a hill in the Darién Gap, a 100-kilometer-long stretch of dense jungle connecting Colombia and Panama, on September 23, 2022. They are from Venezuela and joined the over 250,000 migrants who traversed the gap in 2022. Regional winner, South America. Federico Ríos/World Press Photo
