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Broadcast Pro
10-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Broadcast Pro
Doha Film Institute unveils Qumra Masters for 2025 industry event
The Doha Film Institute has announced the distinguished global filmmakers who will serve as Qumra Masters for the 11th edition of its annual industry event, scheduled to take place from April 4 to April 9, 2025. Recognised as a premier talent incubator in the Arab world, Qumra provides invaluable support to first and second-time filmmakers from the region and beyond. The initiative fosters industry connections, mentorship, and collaboration by linking emerging filmmakers with some of cinema's most esteemed visionaries. The 2025 Qumra Masters include filmmakers Lav Diaz, Darius Khondji, Walter Salles, Anna Terrazas and Johnnie To. Through one-on-one mentorship and insightful discussions, these industry luminaries will guide participants in refining their artistic approach and enhancing their filmmaking skills. Lav Diaz, a pioneer of slow cinema, is known for his contemplative storytelling and monochrome aesthetic, exploring themes of human endurance and socio-political struggles. Cinematographer Darius Khondji has earned acclaim for his mastery of light and composition, crafting visually striking narratives in films such as Amour and The Immigrant. Walter Salles, celebrated for The Motorcycle Diaries and I'm Still Here, brings his profound storytelling style, often centered on themes of memory, displacement and identity. Costume designer Anna Terrazas, known for her work in Roma and Spectre, seamlessly integrates cultural authenticity with artistic creativity. Johnnie To, an acclaimed genre-bending filmmaker behind Election and Exiled, is recognised for his gripping narratives exploring themes of fate, loyalty and morality. Fatma Hassan Alremaihi, Chief Executive Officer of the Doha Film Institute, said: 'We are truly honoured to welcome some of the world's most celebrated creatives Lav Diaz, Darius Khondji, Walter Salles, Anna Terrazas and Johnnie To as Qumra Masters, joining the legacy of iconic storytellers who have supported us on our mission to empower important voices in film. Their artistry, innovation, and commitment to storytelling have left an indelible mark on world cinema. By sharing their knowledge and experience with our Qumra participants, they will inspire a new generation to refine their craft, and tell bold enduring stories that will shape the future of cinema.' Elia Suleiman, Artistic Advisor at Doha Film Institute, added: 'Cinema is not just the stories we tell, but the silences in between—the spaces where meaning lingers. At Qumra, these silences resonate loudly, where emerging voices are amplified by the wisdom of the Qumra Masters. It is a place of transformation, where the future of film is not dictated, but discovered.' Now in its 11th year, Qumra continues to solidify its role as a vital hub for independent filmmakers, offering an array of masterclasses, industry meetings and mentorship sessions. The event also features public Qumra Master Classes, providing access to expert insights and Qumra Screenings, showcasing regional and international films supported by the Doha Film Institute. Further details about the programme and guest participants will be revealed soon.
The Guardian
22-02-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
From I'm Still Here to Leigh Bowery: a complete guide to this week's entertainment
I'm Still Here Out now A triple Oscar nominee (best picture, best actress, best international feature), this acclaimed drama, adapted from the book Ainda Estou Aqui, sees Fernanda Torres play Eunice Paiva, whose family was ripped apart when her husband, the dissident politician Rubens Paiva, was disappeared by the brutal military dictatorship in Brazil in the 1970s. Walter Salles (The Motorcycle Diaries) directs. The Monkey Out now In addition to some cursed vintage toy shenanigans – and who doesn't love some cursed vintage toy shenanigans? – this horror based on the 1980 short story of the same name by Stephen King provides a fun double role for Theo James (The White Lotus, The Gentlemen), playing twin brothers. September Says Out now Actor Ariane Labed (The Lobster) makes her directorial debut with this coming-of-age drama about two sisters named July (Mia Tharia) and September (Pascale Kann), whose close bond is tested after one of the girls is suspended from school. Based on the novel Sisters by Daisy Johnson. Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme Cinemas nationwide, to 31 March This year's theme for the Japan Foundation's annual touring programme of films is Justice, Justification and Judgment in Japanese Cinema, with 26 titles (a mixture of classics and new releases) playing in 32 cinemas across the UK, from Orkney to Ipswich. Catherine Bray Jack White28 February to 2 March; tour starts London While last year's No Name album failed to meet the commercial highs the former Mr Meg White has become used to, it represented a return to form after years of noodling. Lean, angry and packed with rock heaters, it should go down a treat in a live scenario. Michael Cragg Theatre of Voices Trinity College Chapel, Cambridge, 27 February; Kings Place, London, 28 February Paul Hillier's contemporary music specialists, together with oud player Rihab Azar and organist Christopher Bowers-Broadbent, bring a clutch of new vocal works to the UK. Nigel Osborne's The Tree of Life is included in both programmes, along with Arvo Pärt's Berliner Messe in Cambridge and his Missa Syllabica in the London concert, which also includes a new work by Julia Wolfe. Andrew Clements Mike28 February to 7 March; starts Glasgow The prolific Brooklyn-based rapper brings his recent ninth album Showbiz! to the UK. Across 24 tracks of densely packed rap and hip-hop, it explores both dislocation and the search for a home, creating a world ripe for full immersion. MC Misha Mullov-AbbadoKings Place, London, 22 FebruaryEducation and family beckoned to a classical career for the composer-bassist Misha Mullov-Abbado – but when he switched music courses he soon became one of the UK's most acclaimed young bandleaders. Jazz and swing will mix with minimalism, Latin music and more on this launch for his fourth album, Effra. John Fordham Leigh BoweryTate Modern, London, 27 February to 31 August A celebration of the subversive gay fashion icon, performance artist and nude model who died, aged 33, in 1994. Bowery flaunted surrealistic 'looks' that exploited his large frame. He simulated giving birth on stage. Then as he got ill, he posed naked for Lucian Freud with immense candour and nobility. Turner: In Light and ShadeThe Whitworth, Manchester, to 2 November An enlightening show to mark JMW Turner's 250th birthday. Unlike many exhibitions that wallow in Turner's abstract late paintings, this one takes you back to his early career from the 1790s to around 1812, to see how accurately and emotionally he drew the places he toured to. Absorbing and addictive. Henri MichauxCourtauld Gallery, London, to 4 June This French artist and writer took the tradition of Baudelaire and the surrealists into a new, postwar abstract realm when he experimented with mescaline in 1955. The psychedelic drug, derived from peyote, clearly had a strong effect and his drawings of what he saw are brilliantly intense, labyrinthine, funky improvisations. Resistance Turner Contemporary, Margate, to 1 June Turner winner Steve McQueen curates this history of modern British protest in photographs. It starts in 1903 and takes in the suffragettes, the battle of Cable Street, Greenham Common and other acts of collective 'resistance' right up to the Iraq war. McQueen turns his steady eye on often forgotten photos. Jonathan Jones HousematesSherman theatre, Cardiff, to 8 March Tim Green's heartwarming story of rock'n'roll returns. Performed by a cast of neurodivergent and neurotypical actor-musicians, Housemates is a witty, radical local story of institutionalised care, the fight for assisted living and the communal power of music. Kate Wyver Romeo and JulietBelgrade theatre, Coventry, to 8 March The original play, originally scored. Shakespeare's classic tragedy is told through typical verse and less expected rap in this new production directed by Corey Campbell, creative director of the Belgrade. It's rare to see a production that makes this 400-year-old work feel new. This might just be it. KW Joel Dommett 23 February to 5 June; tour starts Bristol The standup-to-TV presenter pipeline is well established, but few have segued on to the shiny floor as effortlessly as Dommett, whose nerdy hunk shtick has made him a Saturday night staple. Now, the 39-year-old is returning to the stage with a new show fuelled by gossip from his showbiz career. Rachel Aroesti Ockham's Razor: TessNew Theatre Royal, Portsmouth, 25 February, then touring The start of an eight-date tour across the UK for circus-theatre company Ockham's Razor and their impressive show Tess. An unexpectedly warm and meditative take on Thomas Hardy's Tess of the D'Urbervilles, bringing some sense of light to this a sorrowful tale of a woman who pays dearly for the actions of a man. Lyndsey Winship Sign up to Inside Saturday The only way to get a look behind the scenes of the Saturday magazine. Sign up to get the inside story from our top writers as well as all the must-read articles and columns, delivered to your inbox every weekend. after newsletter promotion Dope Girls BBC One/i Player, 22 February, 9.15pm Capitalism meets hedonism meets feminism in this spicy new period drama from playwright Polly Stenham about sex, drugs and nightclubs in interwar Soho. Julianne Nicholson plays Kate Galloway, a single mother who establishes a successful den of iniquity, while Eliza Scanlen is the undercover police officer on her tail. Toxic Town Netflix, 27 February Jack Thorne, king of the socially conscious British drama (Help, Kiri, Best Interests and The Accident) returns with this dramatisation of the Corby toxic waste case, which led to a huge rise in birth defects in the Northamptonshire town. Jodie Whittaker, Aimee Lou Wood, Robert Carlyle and Rory Kinnear star. Small Town Big StorySky Max/Now, 27 February A Hollywood production descends on the tight-knit rural community of Drumbán, Ireland, where it manages to churn up some long-buried drama. Chris O'Dowd's quirky series fuses mystery, romance and movie business satire with an impressive cast including Mad Men's Christina Hendricks, Paddy Considine and Tim Heidecker. Dave Gorman: Modern Life Is Goodish U&Dave, 24 February, 9pm Time was when Gorman's multimedia-heavy brand of standup felt like the future. Nowadays PowerPoint is largely a thing of the past, yet the comedian's cheerfully indignant geekery still has its charm. After a seven-year hiatus, he returns to muse further on such modern phenomena as AI, big tech and contemporary celebrity. RA Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in HawaiiOut now, PC, Xbox, PS4/5 The name tells you most of what you need to know about this cheerfully ludicrous piratical action game, in which zany yakuza boss Goro 'Mad Dog' Majima gets amnesia and ends up putting together a crew in paradise. Lost Records: Bloom & Rage Episode 1Out now, PC, Xbox, PS5 In the summer of 1995, a group of teenagers form a band and have a memorable summer. Twenty-seven years later, the estranged pals are all drawn back together to confront what happened at the summer's end. An ambitious branching narrative that plays out across two timelines. Keza MacDonald Nao – Jupiter Out now The Grammy-nominated UK singer-songwriter returns with her fourth album and second planetary opus after 2018's Saturn. While that record was emotionally tricksy, Jupiter searches for joy via soulful songs such as the loved-up Light Years and the buoyant, self-explanatory Happy People. Sam Fender – People Watching Out now In the space of just three albums, 30-year-old Fender has quickly become one of Britain's biggest acts, headlining arenas and his own festivals. The signs are People Watching should shift things up another gear, with the galloping, Springsteen-esque rock of the title track crashing into the Top 5 last year. Tate McRae – So Close to What Out now Clearly a big fan of her female pop forebears, Tate McRae's third album references Britney and, on recent single Sports Car, the choreographed sass of the Pussycat Dolls. On the Ryan Tedder-produced 2 Hands, the Canadian suggests maybe her partner ditch the flowers etc and focus on just being around. The Murder Capital – Blindness Out now The Irish quintet make the kind of music that feels mildly terrifying. Even when they're aiming for melodic prettiness, as on album highlight Words Lost Meaning, they can't help throwing in a rumbling bassline to make your bowels shift slightly. MC Pepperoni Pizza DreamsPodcast This quirky series features host Julie G softly reading menu items in an effort to send listeners off to sleep. Episodes provide a window into everything from New York's late night eateries to food on the Sopranos. David BruceYouTube Composer David Bruce's YouTube channel is an invaluable resource for introductions to classical music, as well as deep dives into the art of orchestration. Highlights include an examination of Chopin's melodies and 'shocking' chords in film. Storyville: The Battle for LaikipiaBBC Four, 25 February, 10pm Charting the ongoing land rights struggle between the nomadic Samburu people and British settlers in Kenya's Laikipia county, this film explores the modern legacies of colonialism and their intersection with the worsening climate crisis. Ammar Kalia
Los Angeles Times
14-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
Oscars flashback: When Beyoncé performances did not translate into gold
Beyoncé can seemingly do just about anything — but as it turns out, her performing a nominated song on the Oscars telecast is no guarantee of victory. That's something everyone at L.A.'s Kodak Theatre learned 20 years ago when she sang (or duetted on) three of the five tunes nominated for original song. And the winner? A self-acknowledged 'totally unknown person.' Though in 1963 Robert Goulet performed all the nominated songs at the Oscars, since 1973 priority has primarily gone to the original artists who performed the song in the film. But things went a bit retro in 2005. The winner, 'Al Otro Lado Del Río' ('The Other Side of the River') came from 'The Motorcycle Diaries,' with music and lyrics by Uruguayan singer Jorge Drexler. But it was performed onstage by Antonio Banderas and Carlos Santana, neither of whom was involved with the film. As the L.A. Times reported after the ceremony, Drexler — a physician who turned musician at 30 — wasn't well-known enough to sing his own song on the show. That's not to say he didn't perform his song, though. Instead of a speech, Drexler accepted the award from Prince and sang several lines from his song a capella, ending with, 'Ciao. Thank you. Gracias. Ciao.' 'I'm very bad at giving speeches, and I just really wanted to sing,' Drexler told The Times the day after his win. 'Since they didn't let me sing on the show, but they gave me 45 seconds to do something, I just decided to do what I do best.' The version Banderas and Santana performed of his song was not really his first choice, he said, but was gracious in victory during his interview: 'I'm so grateful to the academy for giving us all a lesson in openness. Against all predictions, they voted for a totally unknown person who had no type of lobby behind him and who made no move to even get nominated.' This was Drexler's first and only Oscar, and the only Oscar for 'Diaries,' which had also been nominated for adapted screenplay. It was the second non-English song to ever win in the category. Drexler wasn't alone, though, in being pushed aside for more ratings-friendly performers. Beyoncé duetted with American Boychoir on 'Vois sur ton chemin (Look to Your Path)' from 'The Chorus.' The song was written by Bruno Coulais (music) and director Christophe Barratier (lyrics). It was Coulais' first and only nomination; first-timer Barratier's film was nominated in the foreign language film category, though it didn't win. In the movie, it had been sung by Jean-Baptiste Maunier, from the choir Les Petits Chanteurs de Saint-Marc. Beyoncé went solo on 'Learn to Be Lonely' from 'The Phantom of the Opera,' written by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Charles Hart. Oscar nominee and 'Phantom' actor Minnie Driver performed the song during the closing credits and on the soundtrack. Webber had previously won an Oscar for 1996's 'Evita' and was nominated for his work on 'Jesus Christ Superstar' in the early 1970s; it was Hart's first and only nomination. The film was also nominated for cinematography and art direction but didn't win either of those trophies . Beyoncé returned again to duet with Josh Groban on 'Believe' from 'The Polar Express'; Groban had performed the song in the film and on the soundtrack. It was written by Glen Ballard and Alan Silvestri; this was Ballard's first nomination and Silvestri's second — he had previously been recognized for his original score on 1994's 'Forrest Gump.' The only nominees who got to perform their own song in their entirety were the members of Counting Crows. Adam Duritz, Charlie Gillingham, Jim Bogios, David Immerglück, Matt Malley and David Bryson were nominated for their music, while Duritz and Dan Vickrey received recognition for their lyrics. The band performed 'Accidentally in Love' from 'Shrek 2,' and were all first-time nominees. The film was nominated for animated feature but didn't win.
Boston Globe
30-01-2025
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
‘I'm Still Here' tells the powerful real-life story of resilience under military dictatorship
Director Walter Salles returns to the political filmmaking he employed in the 2004 Che Guevara film, 'The Motorcycle Diaries.' Like that film, this one follows a protagonist who becomes an activist after being jarred by political events. Eunice's story hits close to home for Salles; he knew the Paivas, including their son, Marcelo Rubens Paiva, upon whose memoir 'I'm Still Here' is based. Selton Mellon and Fernanda Torres in "I'm Still Here." Alile Onawale/Sony Pictures Classics Advertisement For the first 40 minutes or so, we also get to know Eunice and Rubens, their five children and their housekeeper, Maria José (Pri Helena). The youngest kids, Marcelo (Guilherme Silveira), Babiu (Cora Mora), and Nalu (Bárbara Luz) are blissfully oblivious of the ramifications of living under military rule. Their oldest, Veroca (Valentina Herszage), is fast becoming politically aware, to the point where she's sent to London to keep her out of trouble. The dramatic story arc of daughter Eliana (Luiza Kosovski) reveals the dangers Eunice feared Veroca would face. The family lives across the street from a gorgeous, white-sand beach with pristine waters — an idyllic locale lushly shot by cinematographer Adrian Teijido. (His occasional use of Super-8 film is also visually intriguing.) The opening scene puts us in the water with Eunice as she floats in meditation. Her kids play on the beach, eventually finding a stray mutt they name after Veroca's boyfriend, Pimpão (Caio Horowicz). This section unfolds leisurely, with scenes of parties, get-togethers, and beach volleyball games. But Salles never lets us get too comfortable. A military helicopter breaks the tranquillity of Eunice's swim. Veroca and her friends are stopped in a tunnel and manhandled by soldiers looking for the kidnappers of several foreign ambassadors. And Rubens takes secret phone calls, the kind that would surely arouse suspicion. Advertisement Fernanda Torres as Eunice in "I'm Still Here." Adrian Teijido/Sony Pictures Classics 'I'm Still Here' takes a darker turn once Rubens is kidnapped by strange men from the government and plainclothes guards start surveilling the house. Eunice and Eliana are also removed from the house, with the former being tortured for days. Though these scenes are understated, they're still harrowing. Salles is more concerned with exploring Eunice's resolve and desire for justice than showing explicit brutality, as evidenced by the two jumps in time the film employs in its final moments. We check in on the family 25 years later, in 1996, and again in 2014, when Torres's own real-life mother, Fernanda Montenegro, appears in an effective cameo. Torres does an excellent job here. We watch Eunice struggle to keep the truth from her youngest kids while simultaneously downplaying Eliana's fears that her father is dead. Later, we see her make personal and professional choices that lead her closer to a small but effective modicum of closure. The Paiva family, in 2014, in "I'm Still Here." Adrian Teijido/Sony Pictures Classics For her performance, Torres was nominated for the best actress Oscar, the second best actress nod for a Brazilian actor. (Montenegro received the first, for Salles's masterpiece, 1998's 'Central Station.') In an even bigger surprise, 'I'm Still Here' was also nominated for best picture alongside its expected best international feature nod. I wonder if the political timeliness of this film spoke to voters. Because, at one point, Eunice asks a witness who was kidnapped along with Rubens for help. 'My husband is in danger,' she pleads. The witness responds 'We're all in danger.' In today's environment, that exchange ought to hit a nerve. Advertisement ★★★½ I'M STILL HERE Directed by Walter Salles. Written by Murilo Hauser and Heitor Lorega, based on the memoir by Marcelo Rubens Paiva. Starring Fernanda Torres, Selton Mello, Pri Helena, Guilherme Silveira, Cora Mora, Barbara Luz, Valentina Herszage, Luiza Kosovski, Caio Horowicz, Fernanda Montenegro. At Coolidge Corner, AMC Boston Common, Landmark Kendall Square, Alamo Drafthouse Seaport. 137 minutes. PG-13 (profanity, torture, brief nudity) Odie Henderson is the Boston Globe's film critic.
