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BBC News
a day ago
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Brighton pupil, 16, wins best documentary at national film award
A Brighton pupil has won a national film award for her documentary on her family's emigration from Tehran, following the Iranian Revolution in 1979, to the won the Best Documentary category in the 2025 Into Film Awards, a charity that celebrates young people's 16-year-old said her documentary, Freedom of the Sea, was a "personal project" as it explored challenges her family encountered when adapting to a culturally, socially and linguistically different country. "This award means a lot to me because it was my the first film and it's great to be recognised by Into Film. I'm grateful to have had this opportunity," she said. 'Freedom of the sea' "While I was making the film, I learnt in more detail about the joys, as well as challenges, my family left behind in Iran."Rosie said the documentary featured her family's journey to a country where they could enjoy freedom while still cherishing the memories of the home they once held dear."Growing up I don't think I had ever truly appreciated what my family had been through," she added the documentary had a strong focus on the sea."My family being able to swim in the sea together is a perfect encapsulation of the freedom they found in the UK," she explained."This film highlights the rights and liberties we take for granted, and how something as simple as swimming in the sea at my local beach is a huge privilege." The awards ceremony, which took place on Tuesday, included celebrity presenters such as Hugh Grant, Olivia Cooke, Andy Serkis, James Norton, Geri Halliwell-Horner and Archie Madekwe. Actress Rose Ayling-Ellis said she was "honoured" to be the host of the 2025 Into Film Awards."I am so impressed with the creativity and brilliance of all the young people involved," she said."The standard of the nominated films is extraordinarily high and just shows how important it is to give young people a voice through filmmaking."Fiona Evans, chief executive of Into Film, added: "These awards are a celebration of young people's talent. "The UK film industry values, nurtures and believes in the voices of the next generation."
Malay Mail
24-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Malay Mail
Cannes Film Festival hit by city-wide power outage, closing ceremony to proceed as planned
CANNES, May 24 — The Cannes film festival drew to a close today, promising to overcome a major power cut in order to hand out its prizes at a VIP-studded ceremony later. A wry Iranian film about political prisoners and a Ukrainian-directed drama about despotism are among the frontrunners after almost a fortnight of red carpets and politically charged statements. French actor Juliette Binoche and her jury will announce the winner from the 22 films competing for the Palme d'Or for best film. The best-reviewed contenders include Iranian director Jafar Panahi's It Was Just an Accident and Ukrainian director Sergei Loznitsa's study of tyranny in Two Prosecutors, according to analysis from Screen magazine. But cinema bible Variety predicted a triumph for Norwegian director Joachim Trier's Sentimental Value, a moving tale about a quietly fractured family starring Elle Fanning. It got an extraordinary 19-minute standing ovation after its premiere on Thursday. Rumours buzzed around the Riviera resort this morning about the likely winners, but the traffic did not. Traffic lights were knocked out by the power cut, causing major snarls, while the electricity supply was briefly cut at the film festival headquarters. Organisers said they had switched to an alternative supply, 'which enables us to maintain the events and screenings planned for today in normal conditions, including the closing ceremony'. The cause of the outage has not been announced, but police sources told AFP it was caused by a fire, probably an arson attack, on a nearby electricity substation. A staff member of the Festival Beach informs customers following a major electricity outage, during the 78th Cannes Film Festival in Cannes May 24, 2025. — Reuters pic Politics Amid the red carpets and parties, this year's Cannes Festival has been politically charged, with the wars in Ukraine and Gaza as well as US President Donald Trump major talking-points. The Gaza war has been on the minds of some of the festival's guests, with more than 900 actors and filmmakers signing an open letter denouncing 'genocide' in the Palestinian territory, according to organisers. Binoche, Schindler's List star Ralph Fiennes, US indie director Jim Jarmusch and WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange — in town to present a documentary he stars in — are among the signatories. Speaking at a press conference yesterday, UN special rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese, however, said that the festival felt like a 'bubble of indifference'. Trump's presidency was denounced by US filmmaker Todd Haynes as 'barbaric', while Chilean-American actor Pedro Pascal admitted it was 'scary' to speak out against the Republican leader. Norwegian director and screenwriter Joachim Trier, and Norwegian actress Renate Reinsve pose during a photocall for the film 'Affeksjonsverdi' (Sentimental Value) at the 78th edition of the Cannes Film Festival in Cannes May 22, 2025. — AFP pic Awards Other awards have already started to be announced. The first Chechen film to screen at the Cannes Festival — Imago — won best documentary, while the film about the life of Assange — The Six Billion Dollar Man — picked up a special jury prize yesterday. In the secondary Un Certain Regard section, Chilean filmmaker Diego Cespedes won the top prize for The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo, which follows a group of trans women living in a desert mining town in the 1980s. French actor-turned-director Hafsia Herzi won the unofficial Queer Palm for The Last One, a coming-of-age tale about a teenage lesbian Muslim living in Paris. 'I wanted to show that there were no borders in friendship, in love,' Herzi said. Earlier in the week, Useful Ghost, an off-the-wall Thai LGBTQ ghost story packing a daring political punch, was awarded top prize in the Critics' Week sidebar section. On a lighter note, a sheepdog that features in Icelandic family drama The Love That Remains won the Palm Dog prize for canine performers in festival films, organisers announced. Icelandic director Hlynur Palmason cast his own pet, Panda, in his poignant story about a couple navigating a separation and the impact on their family. — AFP
