Britain

Cowboy boots and line dancing: country music fever grips UK young

BY CAROLINE TAÏX

  • "We've been learning line dancing all year to be able to come here," said Smith, who came to the festival from Peterborough, in central England, with her partner.
  • Trinity Smith has been wearing her cowboy boots all week to break them in ahead of a weekend of non-stop dancing.
  • "We've been learning line dancing all year to be able to come here," said Smith, who came to the festival from Peterborough, in central England, with her partner.
Trinity Smith has been wearing her cowboy boots all week to break them in ahead of a weekend of non-stop dancing.
The 24-year-old teacher is one of tens of thousands of British fans flocking to a London country music festival, as the genre enjoys a surge in popularity among young adults.
At the O2 Arena in east London, the sheer number of cowboy hats, fringed jackets, denim micro‑shorts and rhinestone boots on display makes you wonder if the spot should be renamed "Nashville-on-Thames".
From Friday to Sunday, stars from Keith Urban to Zach Top -- along with up‑and‑coming artists, including several from Britain -- are performing at the Country to Country (C2C) festival.
Organisers say the event, the biggest of its kind in the UK, has drawn around 45,000 people, many in their 20s and 30s.
A tattoo stand is constantly busy, with cowboy boots, cacti and bull skulls proving especially popular.
"We've been learning line dancing all year to be able to come here," said Smith, who came to the festival from Peterborough, in central England, with her partner.
"I like stomping my heels," she added.

'Massive' growth in popularity

C2C has existed for several years but has been continuously expanding with sister events in Glasgow and Belfast. Manchester will come on board next year.
In mid-May, the historic Royal Albert Hall, one of London's best known venues, will also host another country‑music festival.
Country has long since spread beyond its US heartland. 
But in the UK -- home of the Beatles, Rolling Stones and Oasis -- the genre's rise has been especially striking in recent years.
"It's the fastest growing music genre in the UK, and the UK has the fastest growth anywhere in the world," said John Finch, director of the UK Country Music Association.
Country accounts for only a small part of the British music market, but its popularity rose by almost 11 percent in the past year.
For Finch, this is "massive". Moreover, he says, the growth was mainly driven by the "younger generation" discovering it for the first time "rather than the older generation like me who's been in country for some time".

Beer, breakups and partying

A recent report by the British Phonographic Industry highlighted the "spectacular" growth of country music, driven in part by artists such as Beyonce.
Other influences have been Morgan Wallen and Post Malone. And, of course, Taylor Swift, who first rose to fame as a country singer.
TikTok has turbo-charged the trend, allowing aspiring artists to find global audiences overnight.
For Lewis Pittam, a 26-year-old actor and singer living near London, the appeal is obvious: "I think it's so much more modernised now especially with the up-and-coming artists that are around," he said.
William Martin, 22, and Cameron Fulton, 23, friends from the northeastern city of Newcastle, said it was the lyrics that hooked them.
"One minute singing about a truck and a beer, one minute singing about a girl that you fell out of love with. A different song for a different occasion," said Martin.
"You've got the sad songs, heartbreak songs, and then party in the summer," added Fulton, a mechanic.
Alyssa Flaherty, who at 22 is already well known, travelled from Nashville, the undisputed capital of country music, to perform on Sunday.
She still marvels at the enthusiasm of British crowds.
Playing her first English gig last August in York in the northeast, she said she had "no idea if these people are even going to know who I am or what they're coming to see.
"People were singing my songs back to me and I was like what is this?"
ctx/har/jj

film

Oscar nominees in main categories

  • Here are the nominees in key categories for the 98th Academy Awards, to be handed out in Hollywood on Sunday.
Here are the nominees in key categories for the 98th Academy Awards, to be handed out in Hollywood on Sunday.
Vampire period horror film "Sinners" shattered the all-time record for nominations with 16, followed by "One Battle After Another" with 13. 
"Frankenstein," "Marty Supreme" and "Sentimental Value" tied with nine nominations each.

Best picture

"Bugonia"
"F1"
"Frankenstein"
"Hamnet"
"Marty Supreme" 
"One Battle After Another"
"The Secret Agent"
"Sentimental Value"
"Sinners"
"Train Dreams"
- Best director - 
Paul Thomas Anderson, "One Battle After Another"
Ryan Coogler, "Sinners"
Josh Safdie, "Marty Supreme"
Joachim Trier, "Sentimental Value"
Chloe Zhao, "Hamnet"
- Best actor - 
Timothee Chalamet, "Marty Supreme"
Leonardo DiCaprio, "One Battle After Another"
Ethan Hawke, "Blue Moon"
Michael B. Jordan, "Sinners"
Wagner Moura, "The Secret Agent"

Best actress

Jessie Buckley, "Hamnet"
Rose Byrne, "If I Had Legs I'd Kick You"
Kate Hudson, "Song Sung Blue"
Renate Reinsve, "Sentimental Value"
Emma Stone, "Bugonia"
- Best supporting actor - 
Benicio Del Toro, "One Battle After Another"
Jacob Elordi, "Frankenstein"
Delroy Lindo, "Sinners"
Sean Penn, "One Battle After Another"
Stellan Skarsgard, "Sentimental Value"

Best supporting actress

Elle Fanning, "Sentimental Value"
Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, "Sentimental Value"
Amy Madigan, "Weapons"
Wunmi Mosaku, "Sinners"
Teyana Taylor, "One Battle After Another"
- Best international feature film - 
"The Secret Agent" (Brazil)
"It Was Just an Accident" (France)
"Sentimental Value" (Norway)
"Sirat" (Spain)
"The Voice of Hind Rajab" (Tunisia)
- Best animated feature - 
"Arco"
"Elio"
"Kpop Demon Hunters"
"Little Amelie or the Character of Rain"
"Zootopia 2"

Best documentary feature

"The Alabama Solution"
"Come See Me In The Good Light"
"Cutting Through Rocks"
"Mr. Nobody Against Putin"
"The Perfect Neighbor"
- Films with eight or more nominations - 
"Sinners" - 16
"One Battle After Another" - 13
"Frankenstein" - 9
"Marty Supreme" - 9
"Sentimental Value" - 9
"Hamnet" - 8
bur-sst/acb

film

It's 'Sinners' v 'One Battle' as Oscars day arrives

BY HUW GRIFFITH

  • - Tight races - While suspense about best picture doesn't happen every year, what is truly unusual this time is the amount of uncertainty surrounding the acting prizes.
  • After months of expensive campaigns, the Oscars finally arrive Sunday, with all eyes on the race between "One Battle After Another" and "Sinners" for best picture, Hollywood's most coveted prize.
  • - Tight races - While suspense about best picture doesn't happen every year, what is truly unusual this time is the amount of uncertainty surrounding the acting prizes.
After months of expensive campaigns, the Oscars finally arrive Sunday, with all eyes on the race between "One Battle After Another" and "Sinners" for best picture, Hollywood's most coveted prize.
Ahead of the star-packed gala, pundits say the Leonardo DiCaprio-starring political thriller "One Battle" is neck-and-neck with Michael B. Jordan's bluesy vampire horror "Sinners," while several acting prizes are similarly impossible to call.
Either movie could "break multiple Oscar records," Variety awards editor Clayton Davis told AFP.
But until "the final envelope is opened for best picture, we're not going to know who's going to win."
The ceremony -- live on ABC and Hulu from 4:00 pm in Los Angeles (2300 GMT) -- will be hosted for a second year running by comedian Conan O'Brien, and will feature live musical performances from "KPop Demon Hunters" as well as "Sinners."
With political tensions running high and war raging in the Middle East, Los Angeles police have tightened security in the streets of Hollywood.
Inside the theater, both the frontrunner films have a chance of breaking the all-time Oscar wins record -- shared at 11 between "Ben-Hur," "Titanic" and "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King."
"Sinners," the tale of gangster twins returning home to a supernatural and segregated Deep South in the 1930s, has already made Academy Awards history with its whopping 16 nominations.
Ryan Coogler, previously best known for "Black Panther," could become the first ever Black person to win best director, in the 98 years of Oscars history.  
But "Sinners" will have to surge past "One Battle," this season's frontrunner, about a washed-up, off-grid revolutionary whose teen daughter is being hunted by a white supremacist soldier in a time of immigration raids and political extremism.
Its director Paul Thomas Anderson is one of the greatest auteurs of contemporary US cinema, but has never won any of his 11 previous nominations for films including "There Will Be Blood" and "Boogie Nights." 
One Oscars voter, who asked to remain anonymous as Academy members cannot disclose their ballots, told AFP they voted for Anderson "because of his body of work" but admitted the choice was "very tough."
"It is time. I think the Academy will honor" Anderson, they said.
"But that's not to say that Ryan Coogler is not equally deserving."

Tight races

While suspense about best picture doesn't happen every year, what is truly unusual this time is the amount of uncertainty surrounding the acting prizes.
Timothee Chalamet had long appeared a lock for his pushy 1950s ping-pong player in "Marty Supreme."
But a series of ill-advised comments, most recently dismissing ballet and opera as art forms that "no one cares about," have seen the 30-year-old golden boy's chances plummet.
The anonymous voter said they try to tune out controversy because "we honor the work and not the personality," but predicted Michael B. Jordan would win the "tight race."
The "Sinners" star plays two roles as twin brothers, and won the important Screen Actors Guild's Actor Award this month, just before Oscars voting closed.
"This is a movie star performance that we don't get very often," said Davis, who also does not rule out DiCaprio or Ethan Hawke ("Blue Moon").
The supporting acting prizes are also up for grabs.
Sean Penn could win a third acting Oscar for his comic yet terrifying soldier in "One Battle."
But he is up against international arthouse favorite Stellan Skarsgard ("Sentimental Value") and veteran Delroy Lindo, who earned his first Oscar nod at 73 for "Sinners."
Supporting actress could see a rare horror villain role rewarded for Amy Madigan in "Weapons," or go to "One Battle" revolutionary Teyana Taylor or "Sinners" Hoodoo healer Wunmi Mosaku.
The only sure thing appears to be best actress nominee Jessie Buckley, who plays William Shakespeare's wife in "Hamnet."
"It's been the steamroller all season. That's the one thing you could take to the bank," said Davis.

KPop, Redford tributes

For best international film, Norwegian family drama "Sentimental Value" will vie with Brazil's surreal political thriller "The Secret Agent."
The annual in memoriam segment for recently passed icons will honor Robert Redford, who died in September, and Rob Reiner, who was murdered in December.
Oscars producers declined to comment on reports that Barbra Streisand will sing a tribute to her "The Way We Were" co-star.
Ejae, Audrey Nuna and Rei Ami, the singing voices behind "KPop Demon Hunters" fictional girl group HUNTR/X, will perform the Netflix smash film's Oscar-nominated song "Golden." 
pr-amz/sst

film

'Snow White,' 'War of the Worlds' top Razzies

  • Dopey?
Dopey? Creepy? Unnecessary? 
Bizarre remakes of "Snow White" and "War of the Worlds" have topped the Razzies, the anti-Hollywood awards show that annually shames the industry's very worst films.
Disney's latest live-action remake of "Snow White" had been mired in controversies years before its disappointing release nearly a year ago.
Its star Rachel Zegler enraged Disney fans for comments denigrating the beloved 1937 original -- even labeling its Prince a stalker.
And the casting of a Latina actress was slammed as "woke" in some corners of social media.
But ultimately it was the film's bizarre computer-generated dwarfs that drew the most flak, and earned the movie two Razzies.
"Described as frightening, actually terrifying and garishly fake, the winner of the Worst Supporting Actor goes to all seven artificial dwarves," Razzies organizers said Saturday.
"AI doesn't have to cost over $250 million -- maybe $20.50, or a seven day free trial period," they added, referring to the Disney's film's reportedly enormous budget.
The seven cartoonishly gnome-like magical creatures were also named "worst screen combo."
"War of the Worlds" -- very loosely based on H.G. Wells' seminal novel, but told entirely through Zoom calls -- was named 2025's worst movie, with worst actor honoree Ice Cube also among the film's five "wins." 
The Amazon-released movie was slammed for its awkward product placement -- not least its climactic scene in which a Prime Air drone saves humanity from an alien invasion.
Despite -- or perhaps because of -- utterly scathing reviews, the film became an unlikely hit for Amazon, thanks to a phenomenon that critics dubbed "hate-watching" by "bored masochists."
"Pinching the title of a sci-fi classic and slapping it on another reimagined movie has turned a science fiction masterpiece into an unintentional laugh riot," said Razzies organizers.
Rebel Wilson was named "worst actress" for her role in "Bride Hard," an action-comedy in which she plays a maid of honor who is secretly an international spy, at a wedding hijacked by mercenaries.
amz/sst

Canada

Ryan Gosling's 'Hail Mary' is about making theatre-going films

BY ANTOINE GUY

  • Gosling also reflected on his three-decade trajectory in Hollywood, which has seen him rise to the top tier of actors -- and, as displayed in "Barbie", show off his long-hidden comedy chops.
  • As Hollywood grapples with existential questions and fickle audiences, one of its top stars, Ryan Gosling, has a simple credo.
  • Gosling also reflected on his three-decade trajectory in Hollywood, which has seen him rise to the top tier of actors -- and, as displayed in "Barbie", show off his long-hidden comedy chops.
As Hollywood grapples with existential questions and fickle audiences, one of its top stars, Ryan Gosling, has a simple credo.
"In this stage of my life, if I'm going to make films, I want it to be a film that is worth going to the theatre to see," the Canadian actor told journalists in Paris.
The comment was made as part of a globetrotting publicity tour for his latest move, "Project Hail Mary" -- but it could be read as part of the debate over the future of cinema.
The film is a sci-fi adventure about an astronaut who awakes on a spaceship with a mission to save the Earth from a sun-dimming phenomenon. Soon, he realises he is not alone in his quest, but has to work as a team with an alien he names Rocky.
Back on our real planet Earth, Hollywood is experiencing its own gloom, as industry layoffs accelerate, productions shift away from California, and streaming platforms eat into box office revenues.
The heroes it sends out to restore the shine are A-listers like Gosling, who proved more than up to the task in "Barbie", "Blade Runner 2049" and "La La Land".
But the 45-year-old has also been in a few less-than-stellar films, such as 2024's loss-maker "The Fall Guy" and 2022's Netflix thriller "The Gray Man", which got big viewer numbers but a poor critical reception.
"Project Hail Mary", which Gosling co-produced under a first-look deal with Amazon MGM Studios, has him carrying most of the story solo in front of the camera -- along with the VFX alien Rocky, of course.
The movie is an adaptation of a novel by Andy Weir, who wrote "The Martian", about another solo astronaut overcoming hardships. That became a 2015 film starring Matt Damon.

Comedy chops

Gosling plays a not-especially-brave science teacher who has to rely on his knowhow as he pieces together his memory, and builds an alliance with Rocky.
"I felt appropriately intimidated by the challenge," Gosling said ahead of the movie's worldwide release in the coming days.
"I was really moved by Andy's point of view, or this lens that he looks at the world through, which is, he gives you this opportunity to pivot away from fear, and to maybe approach fear with curiosity, and to say maybe the future isn't something to be afraid of, but just to be figured out."
The actor added that the movie -- a dramatic comedy -- "felt like something I really wanted to make for my kids, and hopefully for their generation".
Gosling also reflected on his three-decade trajectory in Hollywood, which has seen him rise to the top tier of actors -- and, as displayed in "Barbie", show off his long-hidden comedy chops.
"It took me a while to realise that I could do things the way I wanted to," he said.
He started out in dramatic roles in serious independent films in which there "was really the unspoken rule that nothing funny can happen". Now, however, he feels the door has opened to roles offering wider range.    
Christopher Miller, who directed "Project Hail Mary" with longtime collaborator Phil Lord, said Gosling aptly married drama and comedy in the film.
"Few people can pull it off also, can make you laugh and cry at the same scene and moment... it's hard to think of other people who could have done what Ryan did in this movie and do it in a way that feels authentic and true," he said.
agu/rmb/jj

conflict

Ukraine's 'Origami Deer' sculpture rescued from frontline tours Europe

BY JAN FLEMR

  • The decision to invite Russian artists, banned from the 2022 and 2024 editions after Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, has sparked international uproar with the European Union threatening to cut funding for the Biennale.
  • An "Origami Deer" statue rescued from a Ukrainian city destroyed and occupied by Moscow's army is touring six European countries before featuring at the 61st Venice Biennale, which has sparked outrage over the inclusion of Russian artists.
  • The decision to invite Russian artists, banned from the 2022 and 2024 editions after Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, has sparked international uproar with the European Union threatening to cut funding for the Biennale.
An "Origami Deer" statue rescued from a Ukrainian city destroyed and occupied by Moscow's army is touring six European countries before featuring at the 61st Venice Biennale, which has sparked outrage over the inclusion of Russian artists.
Ukrainian artist Zhanna Kadyrova created the concrete work with her colleague Denys Ruban in 2019 for a park in the eastern city of Pokrovsk to replace a Soviet-era military plane displayed there.
In 2024, Kadyrova and historian Leonid Marushchak removed the deer, shaped like a paper origami, as Russian troops closed in and then occupied Pokrovsk.
The sculpture will be the main feature of the Ukrainian pavilion, named Security Guarantees, at the Venice Biennale.
It will feature alongside Russian exhibits at the the event that started in 1895 and comprises festivals, art and architecture exhibitions running from May 9 to November 22.
The decision to invite Russian artists, banned from the 2022 and 2024 editions after Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, has sparked international uproar with the European Union threatening to cut funding for the Biennale.
"It's very important for us to see how the entire world reacts to the situation, supporting us and opposing Russia's participation," Marushchak told AFP.
"If the Russians want to show their culture, they might as well organise a biennale in Pokrovsk which they have destroyed," he added.
En route to Venice, the deer has been exhibited in Warsaw, Vienna and Prague and will continue on to Berlin, Brussels and Paris.

Symbolises Ukrainian refugees

Displaced from its pedestal, the deer symbolises "millions of Ukrainians who have lost their home" and moved abroad, Kadyrova told AFP during a stopover in Prague.
The resemblance to paper origami refers to the Budapest Memorandum of 1994 which saw Ukraine yielding its nuclear arsenal to Russia in exchange for security guarantees that did not materialise.
"So it's no more than paper," Kadyrova said.
Marushchak has been evacuating works of art from eastern Ukraine since the war started.
He has saved scores of objects, often taking huge risk with his team, to protect them from looting or theft.
One of the most dramatic rescue operations involved a 700-year-old stone lion statue evacuated from a museum in Bakhmut in 2023, just before the Russian army took the city, as Marushchak's car was hit by a shell on the way out.
"Other evacuations were difficult in that we didn't succeed as much as we wanted because the front line was too close and the danger was too big," Marushchak told AFP.
The Venice Biennale typically attracts more than 600,000 visitors to pavilions set up by participating countries.
Kadyrova said the Ukrainian team was not planning any protest over Russia's participation as "it's up to politicians".
"But I hope that some community will gather to pressure the Biennale, pressure Italy, and I hope that it will not happen."
frj/ach

film

Best picture Oscar winners of past 20 years

  • This year, 10 films are in contention for the top prize: "Bugonia," "F1: The Movie," "Frankenstein," "Hamnet," "Marty Supreme," "One Battle After Another," "The Secret Agent," "Sentimental Value," "Sinners" and "Train Dreams."
  • The following is a list of the best picture Oscar winners from the last 20 years, ahead of Sunday's 98th Academy Awards in Hollywood.
  • This year, 10 films are in contention for the top prize: "Bugonia," "F1: The Movie," "Frankenstein," "Hamnet," "Marty Supreme," "One Battle After Another," "The Secret Agent," "Sentimental Value," "Sinners" and "Train Dreams."
The following is a list of the best picture Oscar winners from the last 20 years, ahead of Sunday's 98th Academy Awards in Hollywood.
This year, 10 films are in contention for the top prize: "Bugonia," "F1: The Movie," "Frankenstein," "Hamnet," "Marty Supreme," "One Battle After Another," "The Secret Agent," "Sentimental Value," "Sinners" and "Train Dreams."
2025 - "Anora"
2024 - "Oppenheimer"
2023 - "Everything Everywhere All at Once"
2022 - "CODA"
2021 - "Nomadland"
2020 - "Parasite"
2019 - "Green Book"
2018 - "The Shape of Water"
2017 - "Moonlight"
2016 - "Spotlight"
2015 - "Birdman"
2014 - "12 Years A Slave"
2013 - "Argo"
2012 - "The Artist"
2011 - "The King's Speech"
2010 - "The Hurt Locker"
2009 - "Slumdog Millionaire"
2008 - "No Country for Old Men"
2007 - "The Departed"
2006 - "Crash"
bur/sst/jgc

film

Oscars: the 10 nominees for best picture

BY ANDREW MARSZAL

  • It took the top prize at the influential Toronto film festival.
  • It's Oscars time, and 10 films are in the running for best picture -- Hollywood's most prestigious prize. 
  • It took the top prize at the influential Toronto film festival.
It's Oscars time, and 10 films are in the running for best picture -- Hollywood's most prestigious prize. 
Pundits predict either "Sinners" or "One Battle After Another" will triumph, but could the likes of "Hamnet" or "The Secret Agent" spring a surprise?
Here are the 10 nominees for best picture at the 98th Academy Awards on Sunday:

'Bugonia'

The latest pitch-black, absurdist offering from the director of "Poor Things" and "The Favourite," Yorgos Lanthimos' "Bugonia" dives headfirst into the untethered world of conspiracy theorists.
Jesse Plemons' Teddy is convinced that Emma Stone's big pharma CEO Michelle is really an evil alien, and coerces his guileless cousin into kidnapping her to prove his case and save the planet.
Could he possibly be right? And why are we rooting for him?
Lanthimos keeps us guessing until the jaw-dropping end. There will be no such suspense at the Oscars though, as "Bugonia" proved a little too much for the tastes of many Academy voters.

'F1: The Movie'

The Academy likes to nominate one or two lavish blockbusters each year, rewarding movies that spend big and hire the industry's best craftsmen to create that only-in-Hollywood magic.
This year, "F1: The Movie" -- from the director behind "Top Gun: Maverick" -- pipped "Avatar: Fire and Ash" to that best picture slot.
Starring Brad Pitt as a racing driver who just won't quit, this is old-school filmmaking wrapped up in cutting-edge technology -- and a hefty dose of Formula One product placement.
Its nomination was a surprise, and "F1" -- which grossed $630 million at the box office worldwide -- is not expected to make the top podium.

'Frankenstein'

Oscars voters love Guillermo del Toro, showering him with statuettes for "The Shape of Water" and his animated "Pinocchio." "Frankenstein" was the Mexican auteur's decades-in-the-making passion project.
So it was little surprise the stately horror flick earned a pile of nominations, even with the lukewarm reviews it drew following its splashy Venice festival premiere last fall.
The film's masterful costumes, makeup and sets are almost certain to win, but best picture looks like a stretch.
- 'Hamnet' 
If there is a genuine dark horse beyond the two runaway favorites, it is surely "Hamnet."
Based on a novel imagining the grim, plague-ravaged lives of William Shakespeare and his wife, "Hamnet" ticks a lot of boxes -- sumptuously shot, emotionally devastating filmmaking based on classy literary IP, and from an Academy Award-winning director in Chloe Zhao ("Nomadland").
It took the top prize at the influential Toronto film festival.
But decades after "Shakespeare in Love" stunningly took best picture, there seems little chance that the Bard will crash the party this time around.

'Marty Supreme'

The semi-fictional tale of an international ping-pong champion, "Marty Supreme" rests entirely on the performance of Timothee Chalamet as its cocky protagonist.
Its Oscars chances reflect that.
Chalamet still has a strong shot at best actor, despite his well-documented recent controversies, but the film is unlikely to be crowned champion.

'One Battle After Another'

Paul Thomas Anderson's madcap thriller about a former revolutionary emerging from a decades-long drug and booze-addled haze to save his daughter has picked up one prize after another this season, making it the wire-to-wire frontrunner.
Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, it has already been named the year's best movie by Hollywood's producers and directors guilds, as well as top critics' organizations and Britain's BAFTAs.
Tackling timely topics from immigration raids to white supremacists, and packing an A-list cast including Sean Penn and Benicio Del Toro, it is clearly the film to beat. 

'Sentimental Value'

Danish-Norwegian director Joachim Trier came onto the Academy's radar with his stunning dark romantic drama "The Worst Person in the World."
He returned with the same lead actress, Renate Reinsve, added a dose of Hollywood glamour with the casting of Elle Fanning, and wowed Oscars voters again to earn his first best picture nod.
A meta-movie about filmmakers and their families, "Sentimental Value" is a frontrunner for best international film, but is likely too introspective for the top prize.

'Sinners'

With its wild blend of bloodthirsty vampires and bigots, blues music and Black folklore, "Sinners" has surged late in the Oscars race, and has a very strong chance of winning best picture.
Ryan Coogler's crowd-pleasing and critically acclaimed vampire horror and race allegory surpassed all expectations following its relatively low-key release last April, earning $370 million at the global box office.
Momentum has built to a fever pitch with key wins from the Hollywood actors' guild this month, including for star Michael B. Jordan, who plays gangster twins returning home to a supernatural 1930s Deep South.
It is rare for a horror movie to win big at this Oscars -- but can anything stop this audacious, genre-defying blockbuster now?

'The Secret Agent'

If "The Secret Agent" wins best international film Sunday, it would represent back-to-back wins for ever-rising cinema powerhouse Brazil.
But could it go a step further and claim best picture?
Probably not, but this chaotic thriller set against the backdrop of the country's military dictatorship, which packs its own supernatural folkloric twist, is undoubtedly timely and has its ardent supporters.

'Train Dreams'

A historically fascinating glimpse into the settling of the US Pacific Northwest, anchored on a tragic human story, "Train Dreams" is a beautifully composed slice of indie filmmaking.
It earned a massive boost when it was picked up in January 2025 at the Sundance festival by Netflix, which propelled it into the awards conversation with a typically smart and lavish campaign.
A nomination is already a win for "Train Dreams," arguably the smallest film on the list.  
amz/sst

film

Spielberg defends ballet, opera after Chalamet snub

  • "I mean, it happens in movies, it happens at concerts and it happens in ballet and opera.
  • Legendary movie director Steven Spielberg on Friday defended enjoying the arts as a shared live experience, appearing to take aim at Oscar nominee Timothee Chalamet's controversial remarks about ballet and opera.
  • "I mean, it happens in movies, it happens at concerts and it happens in ballet and opera.
Legendary movie director Steven Spielberg on Friday defended enjoying the arts as a shared live experience, appearing to take aim at Oscar nominee Timothee Chalamet's controversial remarks about ballet and opera.
The man behind "Jaws" and "Saving Private Ryan" told a South by Southwest audience in Austin, Texas that communal artistic experiences — from cinema to the opera house — must be preserved.
Speaking at a keynote panel to promote his upcoming sci-fi film "Disclosure Day," the 79-year-old director drew cheers when he invoked the performing arts forms that Chalamet seemed to dismiss in a recent appearance.
"The real experience comes when we can influence a community to congregate in a strange, dark space," Spielberg said.
"All of us are strangers, and at the end of a really good movie experience, we are all united, with a whole bunch of feelings that we walk into the daylight with, or into the nighttime with, and there is nothing like that."
"I mean, it happens in movies, it happens at concerts and it happens in ballet and opera. And we want that to be sustained."
Spielberg grinned as the audience broke out into cheers.
The remarks landed as a pointed rejoinder to Chalamet, who sparked a firestorm last month after appearing to question the cultural relevance of classical performance arts. 
Speaking at a CNN and Variety town hall event, the "Marty Supreme" star said he feared cinema could become like ballet or opera -- describing them as art forms people feel obliged to champion even as audiences drift away.
He added that he had no interest in working in a field sustained by advocacy rather than genuine demand.
Spielberg, for his part, was careful not to disparage streaming. 
"We make Netflix movies, and I like working with Netflix," he said.
"Disclosure Day," Spielberg's return to extraterrestrial science fiction starring Emily Blunt and Josh O'Connor, is slated for release in June.
Spielberg, whose "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial" remains one of cinema's defining alien stories, told the crowd he had believed since childhood that humanity was not alone in the universe.
He also said he was working on a western, a genre he had never attempted but had long aspired to tackle. 
"There will be horses. There will be guns," but "no stereotypes," he promised.
arp/sst

US

Trump administration lashes out at CNN over Iran war

  • His father, Oracle billionaire Larry Ellison, one of the world's richest men, largely financed the takeover and is also a longtime ally and financial backer of President Donald Trump.
  • The Pentagon and White House slammed CNN over its Iran war coverage Friday -- with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth saying he looked forward to an ally of President Donald Trump taking over the news network.
  • His father, Oracle billionaire Larry Ellison, one of the world's richest men, largely financed the takeover and is also a longtime ally and financial backer of President Donald Trump.
The Pentagon and White House slammed CNN over its Iran war coverage Friday -- with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth saying he looked forward to an ally of President Donald Trump taking over the news network.
Hegseth spent part of a news conference on US military operations against Tehran criticizing the media and CNN in particular, urging for what he called an "actual patriotic press."
The former Fox News host was particularly incensed by a story the channel ran suggesting Washington had underestimated Iran's ability to disrupt global oil traffic in the Strait of Hormuz.
"Patently ridiculous," Hegseth told reporters, before adding: "The sooner David Ellison takes over that network, the better."
David Ellison is the head of Paramount Skydance, which is set to complete a landmark takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery, the current owner of CNN, after beating Netflix in a bidding war.
Earlier this month Ellison vowed to protect CNN's editorial independence.
His father, Oracle billionaire Larry Ellison, one of the world's richest men, largely financed the takeover and is also a longtime ally and financial backer of President Donald Trump.
The White House also blasted the CNN story on the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway for the world oil trade.
"This story is 100% FAKE NEWS," Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a post on X.
"The Pentagon has been planning for Iran’s desperate and reckless closure of the Strait of Hormuz for DECADES, and it has been part of the Trump Administration's planning well before Operation Epic Fury was ever launched," Leavitt said.
In response, CNN chief Mark Thompson said that "our only interest is in telling the truth to our audiences in the US and around the world and no amount of political threats or insults is going to change that."
Trump himself has frequently lashed out at CNN reporters, particularly anchor Kaitlan Collins, whom he scolded in February for failing to "smile" when she was asking him a question about the victims of late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
dk/bgs/jgc

art

Trump replaces head of troubled Kennedy Center

BY DANNY KEMP

  • President Trump then announced in February that he was closing the center for two years for a thorough renovation starting on July 4 -- the 250th anniversary of US independence.
  • US President Donald Trump announced Friday the replacement of the head of the Kennedy Center, the storied Washington arts venue he renamed after himself then closed for two years for refurbishment.
  • President Trump then announced in February that he was closing the center for two years for a thorough renovation starting on July 4 -- the 250th anniversary of US independence.
US President Donald Trump announced Friday the replacement of the head of the Kennedy Center, the storied Washington arts venue he renamed after himself then closed for two years for refurbishment.
Richard Grenell, an ally and former ambassador from Trump's first term, oversaw major changes at the center to clear out what the Republican leader called "woke" ideology.
"Ric Grenell has done an excellent job in helping to coordinate various elements of the Center during the transition period, and I want to thank him for the outstanding work he has done," Trump said on his Truth Social platform.
Grenell will be replaced by Matt Floca, the current vice president of facilities at the center, whose official biography says he has a background in construction management and real estate.
The outgoing Grenell has also served as a special envoy for Trump on Venezuela, where he was involved in negotiations for the the release of several detained Americans.
In that role, Grenell pushed for engagement with then-president Nicolas Maduro -- but lost out to hawks in the administration, and Maduro was captured by US special forces on January 3.
Trump has stamped his mark on the Kennedy Center since the start of his second term, as part of an assault on US cultural institutions that his administration has accused of being too left-wing.
The 79-year-old installed himself as chairman of a hand-picked board to lead the center, originally named after president John F. Kennedy, who was assassinated in 1963.
Then in December the board voted to rename it the "Trump-Kennedy" center.
A host of artists canceled concerts at the venue in response, while US media reported that Kennedy Center ticket sales had plummeted to their lowest levels since the Covid pandemic.
President Trump then announced in February that he was closing the center for two years for a thorough renovation starting on July 4 -- the 250th anniversary of US independence.
Trump has denied that he plans to knock down the center, and earlier Friday he posted two renderings on social media of what it would look like when it was refurbished.
dk/jgc

Global Edition

South Sudan models dominate global catwalks but visas a problem

BY ROSE TROUP BUCHANAN

  • All skinny-long limbs and charming attitude, Agou has what it takes for the runway, but politics is standing in the way of her dream. 
  • Heels click on cracked paving stones as fantastically long-limbed men and women practice moves they hope will whisk them away from South Sudan, one of the fashion world's favourite scouting locations.
  • All skinny-long limbs and charming attitude, Agou has what it takes for the runway, but politics is standing in the way of her dream. 
Heels click on cracked paving stones as fantastically long-limbed men and women practice moves they hope will whisk them away from South Sudan, one of the fashion world's favourite scouting locations.
Many hope to follow in the footsteps of their compatriot Awar Odhiang, who went from a refugee camp in Ethiopia to closing Chanel's Paris Fashion Week show last year. 
South Sudan has been mired in conflict, poverty and corruption since its independence in 2011, but the success of its models has been a ray of positivity. 
No less than nine of the top 50 models currently listed on Models.com are originally from the east African country. 
"Paris, Milan, London -- the fashion industry is dominated by South Sudanese boys and girls at the moment," said Doris Sukeji, founder of the Jubalicious modelling agency in the capital Juba. 
"Mostly it's the skin colour. That is how most of the South Sudanese get signed. They are looking for very dark models," she said. 
One of the first to blaze a trail was Alek Wek, scouted in London in the 1990s after her family fled an earlier war. 
It was an image of Wek on her mother's Facebook feed that inspired Yar Agou, 19, now signed with Jubalicious. 
"Damn! I saw her and I thought that is me one day if God is there. I want to make it like her," she told AFP in Juba. 
All skinny-long limbs and charming attitude, Agou has what it takes for the runway, but politics is standing in the way of her dream. 
She was supposed to be working at the recent Milan Fashion Week, but her visa was rejected at the last minute. For now, she is working as a cleaner, hoping there will be more opportunities.

'Heartbroken'

Successful models can earn tens of thousands of dollars in a season, a life-changing amount in South Sudan where 92 percent live under the poverty line.
But Sukeji said seven men and women had been rejected for visas in recent months despite having work sponsors, as the climate against immigrants hardens in the West. 
"You get heartbroken," she said.
Bichar Hoah, 24, raised by a single mother in Kakuma refugee camp in neighbouring Kenya, was recently rejected for a European visa.
"There are some people who discourage us by saying that we tried and failed... (but) I want to represent South Sudan as a model," he said, hoping to change the narrative around his country.

'A chance'

But even those who make it abroad face immense challenges in an industry known for relentless turnover. 
Clients constantly want "new faces," Sukeji said.
There are added challenges in a conservative country like South Sudan. 
As well as physical requirements -- tall but not above 5 foot 11 (1 metre 80) for women -- Sukeji must also contend with families who view modelling as a cover for prostitution.
"I always ask them to give the boy or the girl a chance," she said.
She brings them in for free training, which can take up to three months, taking a 10-percent cut if they get work.
Her trainer, drilling the models with the precision of a military sergeant when AFP visited, said many were like "newborn babies" when they started.
But as the young models gathered on a Juba rooftop to practice their struts, there was hope for a future beyond South Sudan's poverty and ever-present threat of war. 
"One day, really, South Sudan will change," said Agou.
All hope they can emulate the likes of Anyier Anei, who landed international modelling gigs and recently starred in French film "Coutures". 
"Failure is less frightening than having dreams you never try to achieve," Anei told Harper's Bazaar recently. "Even with fear, you have to take that risk."
rbu/er/ach 

film

Brazil's Recife basks in success of 'The Secret Agent' before Oscars

BY CARLOS FABAL WITH LUCIA LACURCIA IN RIO DE JANEIRO

  • - 'Huge impact' - Right after seeing "The Secret Agent," tour guide Roderick Jordao was inspired to create a tour of film locations in the city.
  • The northeastern Brazilian city of Recife, where the Oscar-nominated movie "The Secret Agent" is set, is revelling in its moment in the limelight as tourists flock to film locations and a classic local shirt flies off the shelves.
  • - 'Huge impact' - Right after seeing "The Secret Agent," tour guide Roderick Jordao was inspired to create a tour of film locations in the city.
The northeastern Brazilian city of Recife, where the Oscar-nominated movie "The Secret Agent" is set, is revelling in its moment in the limelight as tourists flock to film locations and a classic local shirt flies off the shelves.
The movie has already received numerous awards worldwide, and is nominated for four Oscars -- best picture, best international feature film, best actor, and best casting.
Starring magnetic Brazilian actor Wagner Moura, it blends suspense, dark humor, magical realism and pop culture as it follows a university professor stalked by hitmen amid the political tensions of the 1964-1985 military dictatorship.
The movie casts a rare spotlight on Brazil's marginalized northeastern region, giving a nod to its folkloric side but also portraying it as cosmopolitan and intellectual.
It also shows off Recife's little-known Brutalist architecture.
"Historically, audiovisual production has always been concentrated in the southeast, in Rio and Sao Paulo," director Kleber Mendonca Filho, a native of Recife, told AFP.
"It's very interesting that the spotlight and the microphone have been taken elsewhere."
Historian Durval Muniz de Albuquerque Junior said the film dismantles a "stereotypical" image of the northeast often shown on television, as a "caricatured, inferior, backward and traditional" place.

'Huge impact'

Right after seeing "The Secret Agent," tour guide Roderick Jordao was inspired to create a tour of film locations in the city.
The film "put Recife in the spotlight in a way that no government campaign could have achieved," he said while leading a group through several sites.
Already popular after the film won two Golden Globes, tour demand soared after its Oscar nominations were announced about 10 days later, with a "huge demand" from Pernambuco state and other parts of the country, he said.
Tomas Santa Rosa, a 22-year-old actor, traveled from Rio de Janeiro to Recife after seeing the film. 
"It's usually the other way around; artists from the northeast have to go to the southeast to work, to consume cultural references. Having that axis reversed is incredibly exciting," he said.
One of the tour stops getting daily visitors is the Ginasio Pernambucano, a 200-year-old school transformed into a civil registry office in the film.
The film had a "huge impact," said principal Antonio Rosa.

Giant hairy leg?

The region's pride in the film exploded during the city's Carnival celebrations in February, with giant effigies of Moura and Mendonca paraded in the streets of neighboring city Olinde. 
Revellers were also seen with a curiosity from the film: a giant hairy leg.
It is a reference to a well-known local urban legend from Recife about a disembodied hair-covered human leg that wanders the streets at night attacking people.
It is seen as a metaphor for repression and used in the film to evoke a sense of paranoia and absurdity.
"It's incredible that a great film from Pernambuco is vying for an Oscar!" Matheus Vitoriano, a 25-year-old video editor, told AFP during Carnival.
He and others wore the yellow and black shirt that the Pitombeira Carnival group wore in 1978 under the dictatorship, which was donned by Moura in two scenes in the movie and has become a cult item.
A member of the group, Erivelton Martins Torres, said their official store had sold some 30,000 of the shirts, many to the United States and Europe.
ll/fb/sst

film

Casting directors finally get their due at Oscars

BY ROMAIN FONSEGRIVES

  • But if the director and his casting pro don't agree on an actor, alternatives must be offered without any dispute, she explained. 
  • When a film stays with you, it is often because of the magical chemistry among the actors.
  • But if the director and his casting pro don't agree on an actor, alternatives must be offered without any dispute, she explained. 
When a film stays with you, it is often because of the magical chemistry among the actors. You can thank casting directors for that, and finally, the Academy is honoring them too.
After nearly a century of handing out golden statuettes, the motion pictures Academy on Sunday will present its first Oscars to the professionals -- often women -- who create the perfect alchemy on set.
"I'm really happy for us all," Nina Gold, a nominee for her work on Shakespeare family tragedy "Hamnet," told AFP.
"I hope that people will see that casting is a creative -- really, truly creative -- endeavor."
Gold, a Briton in the casting business for more than 30 years, knows that her work -- which lives or dies on the performances of other people -- is somewhat difficult to quantify and evaluate.
But casting is as essential to a film's success as screenwriting or costume design, which have been honored at the Oscars for decades.
For "Hamnet," Gold not only suggested Jessie Buckley -- the clear frontrunner for best actress -- to play William Shakespeare's wife Agnes, who is haunted by the death of their son.
She also made sure that Paul Mescal, who plays The Bard, was a good fit for Buckley, organizing a script reading to ensure their compatibility.
"What makes a good casting director is a sort of intuition for not only spotting somebody's talent, but for putting together the chemistry of a whole picture, how each thing fits in," said Juliet Taylor, one of only two casting professionals with an honorary Oscar for lifetime achievement.

A film's 'therapist'

The casting director is one of the main creative forces as a film takes shape, says the 80-year-old Taylor, who was once Woody Allen's key partner and who worked on classics such as "The Exorcist" and "Taxi Driver." 
She was also responsible for getting Oscar winners Meryl Streep and Joaquin Phoenix their first roles.
Once a casting director has read a script, they must be able to plug into the filmmaker's artistic vision in order to suggest the actors that can best make it come to life.
"It's a little bit like being a therapist. You have to learn to really appreciate people for what they are, whether you like them or not," Taylor said with a laugh.
Casting directors must rely on their extensive knowledge of the film and theater communities, and hold auditions in person and by video.
Gabriel Domingues, nominated this year for his work on "The Secret Agent," chose many unknown actors to create scenes evoking 1970s Brazil under the military dictatorship.
Sometimes, casting directors find talent in the streets.
That is how nominee Cassandra Kulukundis recruited her background cast of immigrants for "One Battle After Another."
Since the advent of the internet, the possibilities have multiplied exponentially, "Sinners" casting director Francine Maisler, the Oscar favorite, told AFP.
Director Ryan Coogler told her he wanted to make a "very personal" film, and was particularly interested in making sure that the role of Sammie, the young blues musician at the center of the plot, was perfectly chosen. 
Maisler launched a worldwide search and ended up with Miles Caton, a young New Yorker who was opening on tour for R&B singer H.E.R. until he was tapped to make his film debut in the blockbuster vampire period piece.
"We got this tape in, and it was just undeniable how special he was," Maisler said.

Guiding directors

The profession relies on a casting director's ability to subtly guide a filmmaker towards their ultimate goals, according to Maisler, an American who has also worked with A-listers Denis Villeneuve, Greta Gerwig and Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu.
But if the director and his casting pro don't agree on an actor, alternatives must be offered without any dispute, she explained. 
"I'm not going to push back on Jacques Audiard," who worked with the French director on his western "The Sisters Brothers."
"This is his movie, and he has a special vision that he has in his mind," Maisler added. "What I can do is show him all the options that are possible."
This delicate work in tandem took on an artistic dimension in the 1960s thanks to pioneers like Marion Dougherty, who discovered James Dean and Dustin Hoffman, and was a mentor to Taylor.
Before Dougherty, casting was seen as basically a secretarial job.
But afterwards, many women went into the profession, Taylor recalled.
"That may be why it remained not that well paid and not that well recognized for such a long time."
rfo/sst/mlm

film

AI offers hope for young filmmakers dreaming of an Oscar

BY ROMAIN FONSEGRIVES

  • "That's a chance for beginners like me who can use AI to just make a film and to announce to the world that I have the ability to be a director," he told AFP. Zheng, 29, who hails from China, is one of a burgeoning class of students at USC's School of Cinematic Arts, studying animation in a place that has long been a training ground for future Pixar and DreamWorks talent.
  • Studying at the film school where Oscar-nominated "Sinners" director Ryan Coogler honed his craft, SiJia Zheng dreams of winning an Academy Award.
  • "That's a chance for beginners like me who can use AI to just make a film and to announce to the world that I have the ability to be a director," he told AFP. Zheng, 29, who hails from China, is one of a burgeoning class of students at USC's School of Cinematic Arts, studying animation in a place that has long been a training ground for future Pixar and DreamWorks talent.
Studying at the film school where Oscar-nominated "Sinners" director Ryan Coogler honed his craft, SiJia Zheng dreams of winning an Academy Award.
Now with the recent developments in artificial intelligence, he can see a shortcut to achieving his ambition.
"That's a chance for beginners like me who can use AI to just make a film and to announce to the world that I have the ability to be a director," he told AFP.
Zheng, 29, who hails from China, is one of a burgeoning class of students at USC's School of Cinematic Arts, studying animation in a place that has long been a training ground for future Pixar and DreamWorks talent.
He has used his time at the Los Angeles university to learn about the emerging field of AI animation.
That has included producing his seven-minute short film "Torment" about a masked killer terrorizing a high school. 
The film, which was recognized at the LA Shorts festival, was generated entirely by AI -- in just one week. 
Zheng recorded himself in front of a green screen and then asked the software to modify his face to make him into all the different characters in the movie.
The technology also allowed him to set his story in an Asian school and have scenes in a swimming pool -- two things that would have cost a fortune if he had filmed them traditionally.
"As a student, it's impossible to have that much money" to produce a film, he said.
- 'Tool' - 
Not everyone in Hollywood feels so positively about AI.
The technology was one of the key sticking points in the writers' and actors' strikes that paralyzed Hollywood in 2023.
Guillermo del Toro, the director of "Frankenstein," which will compete for the best picture Oscar on Sunday, is notoriously anti-AI, insisting he would "rather die" than use it.
Zheng said he had been impressed by the Mexican director's "amazing" film, particularly the opening scene where the monster attacks a 19th-century three-masted ship, which del Toro's prop department constructed specially for the movie.
But "when I watched the film...I was just thinking: 'Oh, using AI to do that would be much cheaper and...make something pretty similar.'"
He insists, however, that it doesn't replace the filmmaking spark.
"AI is just a tool, and people can use it to become even better."
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the body that will hand out the Oscars in Hollywood on March 15, seems to agree -- last year the body updated its rules to say it was neutral on the technology.
"Generative Artificial Intelligence and other digital tools...neither help nor harm the chances of achieving a nomination," it said last April.
- 'Ethical' use - 
At the University of Southern California (USC), teachers like Debra Isaac are trying to navigate the ethics around the emerging technology of AI.
The animation professor said she was shocked by an AI video that rocketed around the internet in recent weeks.
The short sequence, created by Seedance -- the AI generation model developed by TikTok's parent company, Bytedance -- shows an ersatz fight between Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise. Neither star was compensated.
But, used properly, AI does not need to be exploitative, and is not a lazy way to make films, Isaac said.
"It's not just about, 'Hey, I have a prompt, and I'm just gonna type a few words and I'll get my image, and I'll get my animation, and I'm done,'" she said.
"Some of these tools are not ethically dubious at all. They're trained by people that are using their own work," she added.
That's precisely what Xindi Zhang, a recent graduate of the program and winner of a Student Academy Award for her short film "The Song of Drifters," did. 
For the mini-documentary about the difficulty of feeling at home anywhere, the 29-year-old artist fed the AI dozens of her drawings. 
The database then served as graphic inspiration, allowing the computer to stylize the shots of the cities where the film takes place, accelerating production that would otherwise have taken years. 
Even with the help of AI, she spent nearly a month perfecting certain shots. 
It's "a craft that nobody really appreciates right now," she says.
But anyone who looks at the use of AI will soon find it's not a compromise-free shortcut to perfection.
"Good, cheap and fast will never happen, no matter what tool you use," Zhang said.
rfo/hg/jgc

media

US jury to begin deliberations in social media addiction trial

  • The lawsuit is one of hundreds accusing social media firms of leading young users to become addicted to their content and suffer from depression, eating disorders, psychiatric hospitalization and even suicide. 
  • Jury deliberations are set to begin Friday in a landmark social media addiction trial accusing Meta and YouTube of intentionally trying to hook young internet users.
  • The lawsuit is one of hundreds accusing social media firms of leading young users to become addicted to their content and suffer from depression, eating disorders, psychiatric hospitalization and even suicide. 
Jury deliberations are set to begin Friday in a landmark social media addiction trial accusing Meta and YouTube of intentionally trying to hook young internet users.
Closing arguments wrapped here Thursday with rival attorneys trying to convince jurors the evidence backed their side of the clash.
The verdict could turn on the question of whether family and other real world troubles, or YouTube and Meta apps such as Instagram, were to blame for mental woes of the woman who filed the suit.
An attorney for the woman, a 20-year-old California woman identified as Kaley G.M., used a cupcake metaphor, arguing that while only a small bit of baking soda might be in a recipe it was essential for making the pastry.
"It comes down to highly technical legal standards," the plaintiff's attorney Laura Marquez-Garrett said of the job ahead for jurors.
"They could find all kinds of terrible stuff, but then determine that technically speaking, the percentage of contribution wasn't met."
An attorney for Meta, Paul Schmidt, noted that none of the therapists who testified had identified social media as the cause of Kaley's troubles.
Instead, he said, Kaley's records show emotional and physical abuse along with academic struggles and psychiatric conditions separate from her use of social media.
"Kaley has faced profound challenges, and we continue to recognize all she has endured," Schmidt said.
"The jury's only task, however, is to decide if those struggles would have existed without Instagram."
YouTube, meanwhile, has likened itself to television during the trial, rebuffing the idea of equating it with online social media platforms.

Taking aim at tactics

Kaley testified at trial that YouTube and Instagram fueled her depression and suicidal thoughts as a child, telling jurors that she became hooked on social media, starting with YouTube videos, at the age of six.
Under cross examination, however, Kaley talked about feeling neglected, berated and picked on by family members, causing depression and anxiety that apparently had nothing to do with social media.
She said her mother pushed her into therapy at around age 12, and that during the first session she said she could not engage with her family at home because of "excessive worrying because of social media."
In a surprising twist, Kaley also said she would like to become a social media manager and capitalize on the skills she has built.
Meta's chief executive Mark Zuckerberg took the stand during the trial, pushing back against accusations that his company had done too little to keep underage users off his platform and had profited from their presence.
Zuckerberg told jurors that he regretted Meta's slow progress in identifying underage users on Instagram, but that  "we're in the right place now."
YouTube vice president of engineering Cristos Goodrow said while testifying that the Google-owned company's aim was to give people value, not hook them on harmful binge-viewing, despite aggressive growth goals at the platform.
"We don't want anybody to be addicted to anything," he said.
The lawsuit is one of hundreds accusing social media firms of leading young users to become addicted to their content and suffer from depression, eating disorders, psychiatric hospitalization and even suicide. 
Internet titans have long shielded themselves with Section 230 of the US Communications Decency Act, which frees them of responsibility for what social media users post.
However, this case argues that the firms are responsible for defective products with business models designed to hold people's attention and to promote content that can harm their mental health.
The outcome of the Los Angeles trial is expected to establish a standard for resolving thousands of lawsuits that blame social media for fueling an epidemic of depression, anxiety, eating disorders and suicide among young people.
gc-bl/js

Pritzker

Chile's Smiljan Radic Clarke wins Pritzker architecture prize

BY RAPHAëL HERMANO

  • The Chilean architect said Thursday that he was utterly surprised by the award, which comes with a $100,000 grant.
  • Smiljan Radic Clarke, a Chilean architect whose modern buildings can sometimes appear "deliberately unfinished," is the recipient of this year's Pritzker Prize, considered the Nobel of architecture, organizers said Thursday.
  • The Chilean architect said Thursday that he was utterly surprised by the award, which comes with a $100,000 grant.
Smiljan Radic Clarke, a Chilean architect whose modern buildings can sometimes appear "deliberately unfinished," is the recipient of this year's Pritzker Prize, considered the Nobel of architecture, organizers said Thursday.
The 60-year-old native of Santiago creates "optimistic and quietly joyful" structures, the jury said in its citation.
Radic is perhaps best known for his Serpentine Gallery Pavilion in London in 2014, a translucent donut-shaped fiberglass shell resting on locally sourced rocks and playing with the relationship between shelter and nature.
His major works also include the Vik Millahue Winery in his home country, set among the Andes mountains and the vineyards. The Teatro Regional del Biobio in Concepcion, Chile, resembles a paper lantern.
"If architecture gives shape to the ways in which people live, Radic's work produces spatial experiences that feel at once surprising and entirely natural," the Pritzker jury said.
"His buildings may appear temporary, unstable, or deliberately unfinished -- almost on the point of disappearance -- yet they provide a structured, optimistic and quietly joyful shelter, embracing vulnerability as an intrinsic condition of lived experience."
The panel hailed Radic, who has created buildings and installations across Europe and at home in Chile, for "reminding us that architecture is an art."
The Chilean architect said Thursday that he was utterly surprised by the award, which comes with a $100,000 grant.
It is "a huge honor," he told US broadcaster National Public Radio. "And possibly, in the very near future, a bit of a headache, since it will probably mean being far more exposed than I would like."

Austere, elemental

The jury said that Radic "refuses a repeatable architectural language," and his work often appears austere, or elemental, despite its precise engineering and construction.
The House for the Poem of the Right Angle, completed in 2013 and designed by Radic with the sculptor Marcela Correa, is considered an intimate masterpiece -- Its black concrete structure with angular yet graceful forms draws inspiration from lithographs by Le Corbusier.
Radic was born into an immigrant family; his paternal grandparents came from Croatia, while his mother's family hailed from Britain.
He has recounted how, as a student, he narrowly avoided being expelled from the architecture program at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, an experience he described as humiliating but formative.
He completed his training at the prestigious Universita Iuav di Venezia, in Italy, before founding his Santiago firm in 1995, which he has deliberately kept small.
First awarded in 1979 to the modernist Philip Johnson, the Pritzker Architecture Prize has honored many of the profession's most influential figures including IM Pei, Oscar Niemeyer, Frank Gehry, Rem Koolhaas and Zaha Hadid.
This year's prize comes at a particularly sensitive time for the Pritzker Foundation, following the revelation of email exchanges between its billionaire director, Thomas Pritzker, and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, long after the latter's 2008 conviction on charges of soliciting a minor for prostitution.
Pritzker resigned as executive chairman of Hyatt Hotels Corporation, stating he had "exercised terrible judgment" in maintaining contact with the New York financier, who died in prison in 2019.
rh-sst/mlm/js

Valentino

Valentino mixes 80s and Baroque splendour on Rome return

BY ALICE RITCHIE

  • Under Pietro da Cortona's spectacular ceiling fresco, "The Triumph of Divine Providence", male and female models walked out onto fake grass in outfits heavily inspired by the 1980s.
  • Italian fashion house Valentino returned to its roots Thursday with a 1980s-inspired catwalk show in one of Rome's most spectacular venues, two months after the death of founder Valentino Garavani.
  • Under Pietro da Cortona's spectacular ceiling fresco, "The Triumph of Divine Providence", male and female models walked out onto fake grass in outfits heavily inspired by the 1980s.
Italian fashion house Valentino returned to its roots Thursday with a 1980s-inspired catwalk show in one of Rome's most spectacular venues, two months after the death of founder Valentino Garavani.
Around 700 people including Hollywood star Gwyneth Paltrow were invited to the show held in the galleries of the Palazzo Barberini, a Baroque palace now home to masterpieces by Caravaggio, Raphael and many others.
Valentino, known for dressing some of the world's most glamorous women, normally shows in Paris, despite having been established in the Italian capital in 1960.
But creative director Alessandro Michele chose to return to the Eternal City for his fall/winter 2026-27 collection, the first for ready-to-wear since the founder's death aged 93 on January 19.
Under Pietro da Cortona's spectacular ceiling fresco, "The Triumph of Divine Providence", male and female models walked out onto fake grass in outfits heavily inspired by the 1980s.
There were strong shoulders, cinched waists and mini-skirts, accessorised with glittering oversized jewellery, including giant pearls and chunky pendants. 
Michele, who took over in 2024, said that during the late 1980s and 1990s "Valentino was still working like crazy and making, from his hands, beauty".
It was a time of "positivity" and "empowerment", when women in particular were becoming more in control of their bodies, he told reporters backstage.
Working with pleats and draping the fabrics around their bodies, Valentino "was building the idea of a goddess... putting women in the centre of the world". 
The final dress of Michele's collection Thursday, a longsleeved gown with a deep cut at the back, was a showstopper in the house's signature red.
"Red is very difficult to manage," Michele admitted, but said it was crucial to the brand.

Perfect world

The models reached the galleries via Francesco Borromini's helical staircase, one of two in the palazzo, the other a square design by Gian Lorenzo Bernini.
Commissioned at the same time, they reflect the palazzo's ability to have "divergent forces cohabit without neutralising one another", Michele said in the show notes. 
Along the same vein, the collection -- entitled "Interferenze" (interferences) -- demonstrated contrasts between "code and deviation, lightness and gravity", he wrote.
Valentino, who dressed A-listers from Jackie Kennedy and Elizabeth Taylor to Princess Diana and Julia Roberts, became synonymous with glamour and beauty.
Speaking to reporters, Michele said the designer made things that were "perfect", but "we no longer live in that perfect world".
"I do it my way, because I am the interference myself," he said.

Very important clients

The invite-only, black-tie show was a lavish affair, with many guests invited to a dinner afterwards, and brought to the venues in official cars.
It was broadcast live on Valentino's social media channels and on big screens around Rome, Milan and Naples -- but it was those inside the room who the house wanted to wow.
Of the estimated 700 guests invited, 200 were journalists and VIPs, with the rest VIC -- very important clients, according to a Valentino insider.
Like other fashion houses, Valentino has been buffeted by the myriad of challenges facing the wider luxury industry, from slowing demand to inflation and geopolitical uncertainty.
Michele helped transform Gucci during his seven years there, and Valentino is hoping he will do the same for them.
The label is 70 percent owned by Qatar investment fund Mayhoola, while French luxury group Kering has a 30 percent stake.
str-ar/cc

software

Dating app Tinder dabbles with AI matchmaking

  • Chemistry is among new features designed to help Tinder users spend less time in the app and more time connecting in real life, according to senior vice president of product Hillary Paine.
  • Tinder said Thursday that it is testing a "Chemistry" option that uses artificial intelligence to help with matchmaking in the popular dating app.
  • Chemistry is among new features designed to help Tinder users spend less time in the app and more time connecting in real life, according to senior vice president of product Hillary Paine.
Tinder said Thursday that it is testing a "Chemistry" option that uses artificial intelligence to help with matchmaking in the popular dating app.
The iconic system of users "swiping" to show interest in Tinder profiles remains at the core of the service created in 2012, but AI promises a more personalized quest for romance, according to Tinder.
"We're using AI to surface more relevant connections, and continuing to raise the bar on safety so that people feel confident taking the next step," Spencer Rascoff, chief executive of Tinder and its parent Match Group, said in a statement announcing a slew of changes to the platform.
Tinder said AI enabled the app to "get a better sense of your personality; your vibe, and what really matters to you."
The tool will learn about users from information in their accounts, and Tinder plans to eventually let people augment that by answering questionnaires and providing access to photo archives, according to the company.
Chemistry is among new features designed to help Tinder users spend less time in the app and more time connecting in real life, according to senior vice president of product Hillary Paine.
"What you are going to see is more of an evolution that is mirroring what modern, young daters are looking for," Paine told AFP.
A music mode lets people give greater weight to musical tastes while seeking promising profiles, while a new astrology mode makes star signs a factor in the mix.
Tinder is also testing in-person events where subscribers in its home city of Los Angeles can meet, along with virtual video speed dating sessions, according to Paine.
"We're hearing and we're seeing that Gen Z-plus wants to be social," Paine said of those born in the Internet Age.
"We're trying to get them off the couch, out of their apartments and into the real world."
Tinder is also using AI to detect potentially inappropriate messages and to scan faces to check they are actual people.
A survey published by Forbes magazine last year found that 78 percent of users expressed feeling emotionally, mentally and physically exhausted from using online dating platforms.
"With more than half our users under 30, we're building alongside a generation that wants dating to feel more authentic, lower-pressure, and worth their time," Rascoff said.
tu-gc/js

noma

Noma's star chef quits after claims that he hit and bullied staff

BY CAMILLE BAS-WOHLERT

  • "Noma has taken big steps to transform the culture over many years," Redzepi said in the video that showed him apologising to staff, some of whom were holding back tears.
  • Danish superchef Rene Redzepi -- whose Noma restaurant was long regarded as the world's best -- said he was stepping down Thursday after allegations that he abused and bullied staff for years.
  • "Noma has taken big steps to transform the culture over many years," Redzepi said in the video that showed him apologising to staff, some of whom were holding back tears.
Danish superchef Rene Redzepi -- whose Noma restaurant was long regarded as the world's best -- said he was stepping down Thursday after allegations that he abused and bullied staff for years.
Cooks were punched, publicly shamed or humiliated, several former staff who said they suffered or witnessed abuse told the New York Times, which said it talked to 35 former employees.
"I've decided to step away," Redzepi said in an Instagram post that acknowledged past problems. 
"Noma has taken big steps to transform the culture over many years," Redzepi said in the video that showed him apologising to staff, some of whom were holding back tears.
"I recognise these changes do not repair the past," the 48-year-old added.
"An apology is not enough. I take responsibility for my own actions."
His resignation comes as a new pop-up Noma restaurant opened in Los Angeles.
The world of haute cuisine is currently confronting mounting accusations about the treatment of staff at top restaurants.

'Bully' confession

The chef -- who trained at the Spanish restaurant El Bulli, also once considered the world's best, and at French Laundry in California -- has previously admitted to losing his cool. 
In 2015, he said in an essay: "I've been a bully for a large part of my career".
In February, the former head of Noma's fermentation lab, Jason Ignacio White, started posting about abuse he had witnessed while working at the legendary restaurant.
He also relayed stories sent to him by other former employees.
"Noma is not a story of innovation. It is a story of a maniac that would breed a culture of fear, abuse & exploitation," White said on social media. 
He was among a group of former staff members who protested at the Noma pop-up restaurant in Los Angeles where Redzepi had been due to take charge. 
They carried signs reading "Noma broke me" and "No Michelin stars for violence", along with calls for the Redzepi's resignation.
Noma, which specialises in modern Nordic cuisine with fermented ingredients, has three Michelin stars.
The Copenhagen establishment was named the world's best restaurant in 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014 and 2021 by Restaurant magazine.
An acronym formed from the Danish words "nordisk" (Nordic) and "mad" (food), Noma first opened in a converted warehouse on a quay in central Copenhagen in 2003.
It closed in 2016 and reopened two years later in a more remote neighbourhood of the Danish capital.
Redzepi insisted in his message that Noma would remain open and that its current team was the "strongest" that it had ever been. 
He also said the Los Angeles project would be maintained but without him at the helm.
Outside a Noma shop in Copenhagen, Estonian tourist Kaisa Erm said Redzepi had made "the right decision" to go.
If he had stayed it would have given the impression that "the culture wouldn't change and that we're condoning it", said Annie Nguyen, a 31-year-old American.
But she doesn't think Redzepi's actions "should discredit the works and culinary experimentation they've been doing."
However, Danish food critic Jesper Uhrup Jensen, said Noma cannot be separated from its emblematic chef. 
"Noma is an extremely famous brand so they will try, but everything was built around him," he told AFP.
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