games

Sony faces $2.7 bn class action from UK PlayStation users

  • Under UK law, all potentially affected persons are included in this type of class action by default, and may benefit from possible compensation, unless they voluntarily opt out.
  • Japanese entertainment giant Sony will face a £2 billion ($2.7 billion) class action lawsuit starting Tuesday in London, accused of allegedly breaching competition law by overcharging millions of UK PlayStation users.
  • Under UK law, all potentially affected persons are included in this type of class action by default, and may benefit from possible compensation, unless they voluntarily opt out.
Japanese entertainment giant Sony will face a £2 billion ($2.7 billion) class action lawsuit starting Tuesday in London, accused of allegedly breaching competition law by overcharging millions of UK PlayStation users.
The claimants' website accuses Sony of "exploiting its UK customers" for nearly a decade by charging them "too much for PlayStation digital games and in-game content".
"This case seeks to bring that conduct to an end and to secure compensation for those affected," consumer campaigner Alex Neill, who brought the action on behalf of an estimated 12.2 million users, told AFP.
The PlayStation Store is the official digital platform where gamers can buy Sony classics like "Gran Turismo" and "God of War", as well as blockbuster titles like "Call of Duty", "GTA" and "Assassin's Creed" from other studios.
"Sony has a near monopoly on the sale of digital games" for its console, allowing it to dictate prices and charge a 30 percent sales commission to video game publishers, the claimants allege.
According to the claimants, PC game distribution platforms -- which face greater competition -- charge a lower commission of around 12 to 20 percent.
"Games are now designed to incentivise players to spend as much money as possible (including children)," the claimants' website alleges, including for players to "progress, unlock more features, or customise their experience with new characters or weapons".
Sony's prices "are out of all proportion to the costs of Sony providing these services to its customers", they said.
The trial is due to be heard at the Competition Appeal Tribunal in London, and is expected to last around 10 weeks.
The lawsuit launched in 2022 is seeking £1.97 billion in damages, to be shared by anyone who purchased digital games or add-on content via the PlayStation store in the decade leading to February 2026, with some limited exceptions.
Under UK law, all potentially affected persons are included in this type of class action by default, and may benefit from possible compensation, unless they voluntarily opt out.
Sony did not immediately respond to AFP's request for comment, but in its defence to the claim argued that its distribution model is justified. 
Last year, Apple lost a lawsuit in London for abusing its dominant position and charging excessive commissions on its in-house App Store.
The US tech giant, which has said it intends to appeal the decision, could be liable to reimburse millions of users.
ode/zap/kaf-aks/pdh/yad

film

'One Battle After Another' location manager explains THAT car chase

BY PAULA RAMON

  • The places they find are crucial to the look and feel of a movie.
  • Most movie car chases involve screeching around city corners, weaving in and out of traffic and almost always smashing into a few police cars.
  • The places they find are crucial to the look and feel of a movie.
Most movie car chases involve screeching around city corners, weaving in and out of traffic and almost always smashing into a few police cars.
But for the dramatic pursuit that brings the Oscar-nominated "One Battle After Another" to its conclusion, director Paul Thomas Anderson wanted something a little bit different, his location manager Michael Glaser told AFP.
What the pair found was a desert highway that rolls up and down, like an asphalt serpent, with deadly blind peaks and treacherous hidden troughs.
The result is a high-octane cat and mouse hunt like no other in modern movie history.
"Things appear and then disappear and then appear again," Glaser said.
"It's the ebbs and flows of the road. You can't really see what's on the other side."
The so-called "River of Hills," in southern California captivated Anderson, whose low-to-the-ground camera angles give the audience the sweaty-palm feel of actually being aboard the roaring Ford Mustang, Dodge Charger, or modified purple Nissan Sentra in the scene.

Pulling and pushing

"One Battle After Another," which has been nominated for 13 Academy Awards, follows washed-up leftist revolutionary Bob Ferguson (Leonardo DiCaprio) as he is forced back into the game when his daughter (Chase Infiniti) goes missing.
Ferguson must battle through the mental fug of decades of pot-smoking to try to remember passwords and safe houses in his bid to best the deranged Colonel Lockjaw (Sean Penn), who has been hired by wealthy right-wing racists to hunt him down.
The film's final sequence sees Bob desperately searching for his daughter as she tries to outrun Lockjaw in the desert.
Glaser, who took AFP to the stretch of Highway 78 in Imperial County where part of the chase was filmed, said the road stands as a metaphor.
"It's the characters pulling and pushing each other through something," he said.
The crew also filmed on another stretch of road in Borrego Springs called "The Texas Dip," one of the around 200 locations Glaser offered for the movie.
"It was the kind of thing where we shot over multiple days," Andy Jurgensen, the Oscar-nominated editor of "One Battle After Another," told AFP.
"You just start shooting and just make sure you get all the shots from in front and behind of all the cars, and make sure that the distance kind of makes sense.
"And then it was just like: 'Okay, let's put it together'." 

'Subconscious character'

Location managers are among the first to join a project and among the last to leave, says Glaser.
The places they find are crucial to the look and feel of a movie.
In some cases, they take on a life of their own off-screen, like the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art from "Rocky," which have become a place of pilgrimage for generations of fans.
"I often think of locations as a subconscious character in the movie," said the 44-year-old Glaser. 
They "create a mood, create a palette, create a feeling for characters, the places they inhabit."
"One Battle After Another" ran the gamut of California locations, from north to south.
"Starting in Eureka, where everything's green and lush, we step down to central California, where it's a little bit more like wineries, oak trees, not quite as green, not quite as lush. 
"And then you're in the bleak starkness of desert as the characters wrap up their story."
Before he received the script, Glaser had already begun his search, based just on the bullet point notes that the movie's production designer gave him.
He describes the process of scouting for this movie as similar to the way a tree grows.
"Some branches would die off, and others would sprout up," he said.
This was particularly the case with the desert, whose desolation and desperation gave shape to the film's third act and the journey its characters were on.
"There's nobody out here to watch over you or help you or confine you. You're kind of on your own," Glaser said.
"One Battle After Another" arrives at the Academy Awards on March 15 as the favorite to win best picture, offering Anderson his best chance at Oscars glory for the first time in a career that has seen him garner 14 nominations spanning writing, directing and producing. 
For Glaser, whose work doesn't fit neatly into any of the categories at Hollywood's biggest night, any recognition the film receives is shared.
"Everyone's DNA is in the film," he said. "We're not directing it. We're not in front of the camera. But, you know, there's a little piece of us." 
pr/hg/sst

film

Timothee Chalamet taken to task over opera, ballet dig

  • The Paris Opera riffed on "Marty Supreme," in which Chalamet plays a 1950s table tennis player with big dreams.
  • Oscar nominee Timothee Chalamet is the frontrunner to take home the golden statuette for "Marty Supreme" -- but he definitely has not won fans in the ballet and opera worlds.
  • The Paris Opera riffed on "Marty Supreme," in which Chalamet plays a 1950s table tennis player with big dreams.
Oscar nominee Timothee Chalamet is the frontrunner to take home the golden statuette for "Marty Supreme" -- but he definitely has not won fans in the ballet and opera worlds.
In a town hall discussion late last month with Oscar winner Matthew McConaughey hosted by CNN and Variety, the 30-year-old Chalamet was discussing the future of movie theaters and whether the advent of streaming will spell doom for cinemas.
"If people want to see it -- like 'Barbie,' like 'Oppenheimer' -- they're going to go see it and go out of their way to be loud and proud about it," Chalamet said. 
"And I don't want to be working in ballet or opera or things where it's like, 'Hey, keep this thing alive, even though like no one cares about this anymore.' All respect to the ballet and opera people out there," he added, to laughs from the audience.
"I just took shots for no reason."
The world's opera and ballet companies were not entertained.
In the French American actor's native New York, the Metropolitan Opera posted a backstage video with his quote plastered across it and the caption: "This one’s for you, @tchalamet..."
The Paris Opera riffed on "Marty Supreme," in which Chalamet plays a 1950s table tennis player with big dreams.
"Plot twist, there is ping-pong in opera too," it said on Instagram, with a video clip from "Nixon in China," now playing in the French capital.
The Vienna State Opera shouted out to Chalamet: "Consider this your personal invitation to Vienna. Our stage is waiting."
And in London, the English National Ballet posted Friday: "Dear any celebs that believe no one cares about ballet or opera... We're happy to report that ballet is not only alive and well, but thriving."
pr/vg/sst/sla

dogs

Grooming makes Crufts debut as UK dog show widens offer

BY JOE JACKSON

  • Unfortunately for Raven and Gale, it was not their day competing in Crufts' inaugural "grooming championships". 
  • With her nose pointing high in the air, back arched and legs suitably astride, Raven stood proud on the grooming table as an expert judge appraised her condition.
  • Unfortunately for Raven and Gale, it was not their day competing in Crufts' inaugural "grooming championships". 
With her nose pointing high in the air, back arched and legs suitably astride, Raven stood proud on the grooming table as an expert judge appraised her condition.
The five-year-old charcoal standard poodle had been on the table nearly two-and-a-half hours, but remained calm and obedient to owner and professional groomer Amie Gale.
"She's got a shaved face, her ears are nice and short and she's also got the terrier-style tail," the 41-year-old explained Thursday as she awaited the judge's verdict, noting that symmetry and balance were all-important.
Unfortunately for Raven and Gale, it was not their day competing in Crufts' inaugural "grooming championships". 
But there will likely be other chances down the line, with the competition a new feature of Britain's world-famous annual dog show as it broadens its offerings amid the exploding popularity in everything canine.
"When I heard about this I was straight on it," Gale told AFP, on participating in the "open" grooming category, which is sandwiched between intermediate and champion class for groomers.
"It's absolutely brilliant to be able to bring it into more of the public eye," the professional dog sculptor added, explaining that she would normally be at Crufts to market her work anyway.
On the next table, Joanna Tofts, 33, who has given her 18-month-old miniature poodle Koda a so-called Scandinavian trim often used at shows, agreed wholeheartedly.
"This is great, because it's showing the general public what we do, and hopefully educating them a little bit on us as groomers and us as professionals, and making them appreciate our industry."

'Fun'

Crufts, founded in 1891 and run by The Kennel Club, has been gradually expanding its competitions and offerings to the tens of thousands of visitors who flock to Birmingham's National Exhibition Centre (NEC) over four days each year.
It expects to welcome up to 150,000 people to this year’s showcase, which culminates in Sunday's "Best in Show" awarding.
As much as a contest, it is also a convention for the industry, with everything from pet food retailers to dog clubs taking exhibition stands.
Meanwhile an increasingly interested public are being encouraged to participate in things like Crufts' "have a go" sessions. 
Held across different categories like agility and obedience, it gives attendees a light-hearted chance to find out what life is like in the show-ring with a dog whose owner has volunteered their services.
Sisters Harriet and Chiron Tait, dog-owners who live in nearby Birmingham and were at Crufts for the first time, were among those to enrol.
They each picked a dog to handle in one of the vast event's smaller rings. 
"It was good fun," said Harriet, 22, a small dogs fan who chose to handle a Border Terrier named Alfie. 
"It was easier than I thought it'd be to be honest -- the dog is obviously well-trained," she told AFP.
"We had to put the dog on the table as if someone was judging it, and then take it round in a triangle," she explained. "I give him a treat as well!"
Alfie's owner Anne Speake, 57, who has been handling dogs at contests for two decades, welcomed the initiative. 
It also gave Alfie a nice warm-up ahead of his official Crufts performance on Saturday as he bid to be best in breed in the terrier group.
"It's nice to encourage new people into showing, especially the youngsters because if we don't have the youngsters coming forward there'll be nobody to take over," she told AFP.
Crufts organisers also run professionalised Young Kennel Club contests, in parallel to its main adult competitions, for different age categories.
"It's nice to give things back to people," Speake added.
jj/sbk

arrest

Britney Spears detained on suspicion of driving while intoxicated

  • The 44-year-old singer was arrested Wednesday night and booked into custody by the Ventura County Sheriff's Department on suspicion of DUI, several entertainment news outlets said, citing police sources.
  • Pop superstar Britney Spears was released from police custody Thursday morning after being arrested on suspicion of driving while intoxicated near Los Angeles, according to legal filings and US media reports.
  • The 44-year-old singer was arrested Wednesday night and booked into custody by the Ventura County Sheriff's Department on suspicion of DUI, several entertainment news outlets said, citing police sources.
Pop superstar Britney Spears was released from police custody Thursday morning after being arrested on suspicion of driving while intoxicated near Los Angeles, according to legal filings and US media reports.
The 44-year-old singer was arrested Wednesday night and booked into custody by the Ventura County Sheriff's Department on suspicion of DUI, several entertainment news outlets said, citing police sources.
Sheriff records showed Spears had been released at 6:07 AM local time and a court appearance had been set for May 4.
"This was an unfortunate incident that is completely inexcusable. Britney is going to take the right steps and comply with the law," a representative for Spears said in a statement to entertainment outlet Deadline. 
"Hopefully this can be the first step in long overdue change that needs to occur in Britney's life."
Spears had phenomenal early music success with late 1990s hits like "...Baby One More Time" but has largely stepped back from music in recent years.
In her 2023 memoir "The Woman in Me," Spears insisted she never did hard drugs and that she did not have a drinking problem, but admitted that she was taking Adderall, the ADHD medication.
Following a public breakdown in 2007, Spears was placed under the conservatorship of her father Jamie Spears, who controlled her money and her personal life, even as she continued to perform high-profile concerts.
The conservatorship was dissolved by a Los Angeles court in 2021, after a groundswell of public support to "Free Britney."
rfo/jgc/des

culture

Portugal mourns acclaimed writer Antonio Lobo Antunes

BY THOMAS CABRAL

  • The government ordered a day of national mourning on Saturday.
  • Portugal's government ordered a day of national mourning for writer Antonio Lobo Antunes, internationally acclaimed for his work on the divisions in Portuguese society, after his death was announced Thursday at the age of 83.
  • The government ordered a day of national mourning on Saturday.
Portugal's government ordered a day of national mourning for writer Antonio Lobo Antunes, internationally acclaimed for his work on the divisions in Portuguese society, after his death was announced Thursday at the age of 83.
A trained psychiatrist, Lobo Antunes wrote more than 30 novels dealing with topics ranging from Portugal's battles in its former colonies to the dictatorship that ran the country and social ills such as drug addiction.
He wrote in an elaborate, metaphorical style that he called "controlled delirium". But his storytelling earned several awards, including the 2007 Camoes Prize, the leading Portuguese-language literary honour. He was regularly cited as a possible Nobel literature prize candidate.
The eldest of six sons of a leading Portuguese medical professor, Lobo Antunes trained as a doctor and served with the Portuguese army in Angola from 1971 to 1973.
He worked in psychiatry until his second novel, published in 1979 and translated into English as "The Land At The End Of The World", saw his writing career take off.
Lobo Antunes eventually devoted himself to novels, poetry and commentaries from 1985. 
The government ordered a day of national mourning on Saturday.
"Antonio Lobo Antunes wrote all his work as a novelist, but also as a columnist, in a register of incisive tenderness, placing side by side the pain and failure of ordinary lives with political tragedies, excess and empathy," President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa said in a tribute.
Married at least twice and the father of three daughters, Lobo Antunes beat cancer three times while continuing to write an average of one novel a year until recently. A journalist who carried out a series of interviews with Lobo Antunes said he had been suffering from a form of dementia.
tsc/tw/giv

music

Harry Styles fans head in one direction: to star's home village

BY JOE JACKSON

  • - 'Demand' - Holmes Chapel -- population nearly 7,000 -- has welcomed thousands of Harries over the years. 
  • Boasting a centuries-old church, quaint pubs and rolling green countryside, Holmes Chapel looks like many other English villages. 
  • - 'Demand' - Holmes Chapel -- population nearly 7,000 -- has welcomed thousands of Harries over the years. 
Boasting a centuries-old church, quaint pubs and rolling green countryside, Holmes Chapel looks like many other English villages. 
But having played a formative part in Harry Styles' rise to global superstardom, nothing can be as it was for the village near Manchester, in northwest England.
Fans from around the world -- dubbed Harries -- flock there year-round to pay homage at several sites linked to the "Watermelon Sugar" singer.
With the ex-One Direction member releasing a new album and staging a Manchester concert Friday, recent weeks have been extra busy.
"I've been looking forward to this day for too long!" Spanish student Elena Garcia, 21, told AFP as she visited this week with two friends.
Like other Styles pilgrims before them, they stopped by the village train station where the ticket office has become a shrine of sorts, as well as the bakery where he once worked. 
And, of course, they made their way to a spectacular viaduct where Harries have for years been leaving messages -- after Styles wrote his own name there in the 2013 One Direction biopic "This Is Us". 
The 32-year-old pop sensation is also famously said to have had his first kiss beneath its 23 arches.
"It was just beautiful," Katharina, 22, another of the trio, from Germany, said of the site known as Harry's Wall. "Having the name on the wall's a big thing." 
These days, fans are encouraged to sign and leave behind small slate stones to preserve the 180-year-old viaduct's brickwork.

'Demand'

Holmes Chapel -- population nearly 7,000 -- has welcomed thousands of Harries over the years. 
Numbers swelled after he played two huge gigs in Manchester in 2022, according to the Holmes Chapel Partnership non-profit.
It handed out 5,000 maps showing Styles points-of-interest the following year. It then started offering near-daily guided tours for much of 2024.
Peter Whiers, who heads the partnership, noted the response was "phenomenal" with people "arriving at all sorts of different times a day" to see the sights. 
"It became a little bit difficult to meet the demand," he noted. 
"For every one person on the guided tour, there were probably another 10 that came here and did it under their own steam."
Bartender Chloe Thomason, a self-proclaimed superfan from nearby Congleton, was one of the 11 guides hired after acing an 80-question exam about Styles and Holmes Chapel.
The 24-year-old -- who is set to attend Friday's album-reveal concert -- cherished the period.
"I loved finding out about everybody... how they found Harry, if they were a new fan, an old fan... and it was just so good."
The tours are now self-guided, with the partnership offering an online version for fans worldwide who cannot make it to Holmes Chapel.

'Heights'

Styles moved to the village as a youngster, attending schools there and later beginning his journey to A-lister status on trains to London for 2010's The X Factor.
At the auditions he described it as "quite boring" but "picturesque".
Later that year, he was chosen to be part of One Direction, remaining in the boyband until a late 2015 indefinite hiatus.
Its members launched solo careers and none has enjoyed more subsequent success than the boy from Holmes Chapel.
At Mandeville's Bakery, fans take selfies next to a full-length poster photo of a teenage Styles wearing an apron, taken when he worked there part-time.
Down the road, a Chinese restaurant he reportedly took Taylor Swift to when they briefly dated more than a decade ago is also a magnet for Harries.
Meanwhile the station now features a mural bearing his image, designed by two local artists.
Graham Blake, the station master for 28 years, can still remember the budding performer bound for the capital.
"I knew he had talent. He used to sing on the platform... 'Kings of Leon' and stuff like that," he told AFP. 
"He had a good voice but I never thought he'd reached the heights that he has now. It's incredible. But it's all hard work."
A fans message book in his memorabilia-packed ticket office -- all provided by Harries -- has reached its 12th volume. 
Styles' dad, who still lives nearby, collects each one once full, with the star also known to stop by occasionally.
He has visited his old school, once donating computers, according to a long-time local Andrea Pearson, whose wedding Styles attended.
"We're just so proud of him," she said. "He's never forgotten his roots."
jj/har/jxb

AUS

Hamilton reveals sequel in the works to blockbuster 'F1: The Movie'

  • "It's been amazing to see how big an impact it's had, how many people have loved the movie," said Hamilton.
  • Lewis Hamilton revealed Thursday he was working on a sequel to the blockbuster Brad Pitt film 'F1: The Movie', with a script being written.
  • "It's been amazing to see how big an impact it's had, how many people have loved the movie," said Hamilton.
Lewis Hamilton revealed Thursday he was working on a sequel to the blockbuster Brad Pitt film 'F1: The Movie', with a script being written.
The film released last year starred Pitt and Damson Idris and was directed by Joseph Kosinski, who made 'Top Gun: Maverick' among others.
Producers included Jerry Bruckheimer and seven-time world champion Hamilton.
"We are already working on the first script," the Ferrari driver said in Melbourne ahead of the season-opening Australian Grand Prix.
"We had our first meeting maybe mid-to-late the second part of the end of the year -- me, Jerry and Joe talking about different ideas, different directions that we could go with the script.
"So it's really exciting. I'm super excited. Now I've been through it, and it was already very intense the first time going. Now I'm used to it. So I know what to expect."
In the first film, Pitt played a grizzled veteran brought in to shore up a foundering Formula One team run by his one-time teammate, played by Javier Bardem.
The team's talented rookie driver (Idris) resented the older man, with their difficult relationship forming the emotional backbone.
It was a huge hit, raking in more than US$630 million worldwide.
"It's been amazing to see how big an impact it's had, how many people have loved the movie," said Hamilton.
"I'm still getting texts from people who are still only just watching the movie and how it's opened their eyes up to what this sport is about
"Sequels often aren't always great," he added. "But we've got a great team, got a great cast, great writer. So I'm not concerned about that.
"But we're going to take our time and make sure we get it just the way it needs to be."
Asked if he might be tempted to have a role in the sequel, he replied: "I don't really have a lot of desire to be on camera, and I've had loads of opportunities to be in movies. 
"I really liked the idea of being in the background. It was an amazing experience, and it's so much more enjoyable, I think, than actually being on camera."
mp/fox

film

Voice coach to the stars says Aussie actors nail tricky accents

BY OLIVER HOTHAM

  • For Mielewska -- whose company Creative Voice trains everyone from actors to business executives in speaking -- teaching an actor an accent is much more than just an impression.
  • Geoffrey Rush, Rose Byrne, Cate Blanchett -- voice coach Victoria Mielewska has trained some of Australia's most famous thespians in the delicate art of the accent and says actors from Down Under have a unique talent for getting it right.
  • For Mielewska -- whose company Creative Voice trains everyone from actors to business executives in speaking -- teaching an actor an accent is much more than just an impression.
Geoffrey Rush, Rose Byrne, Cate Blanchett -- voice coach Victoria Mielewska has trained some of Australia's most famous thespians in the delicate art of the accent and says actors from Down Under have a unique talent for getting it right.
Byrne, a native of the greater Sydney area, is vying for the best actress Oscar this month for her powerhouse role as an overwhelmed mother in "If I Had Legs I'd Kick You".
So uncannily convincing is her American accent that some have expressed shock that she is in fact Australian.
"She masters that American absolutely beautiful accent that she does," Mielewska, who worked with Byrne on the 2022 comedy "Seriously Red", told AFP at her home in Sydney's leafy north.
"She's worked quietly and beautifully for many years."
For Mielewska -- whose company Creative Voice trains everyone from actors to business executives in speaking -- teaching an actor an accent is much more than just an impression.
The actor must learn to really live in the physicality of the voice.
"I work in quite a vulnerable, free way," she explained.
"The ultimate goal is not to listen to an actor at work and not to listen to the accent, but for them to be able to work with it and through it -- to get the truth of the work."

'Gym in your mouth'

To go American, Mielewska said it's all about getting the Rs and the vowels right.
"It's very intricate, an American accent," she told AFP, describing it as "very muscular".
"If I'm working with an Australian who is doing an American accent, I will say, 'You have to start going to the gym in your mouth'."
It's as much about where one's tongue sits in the mouth as it is about their seating posture, Mielewska explained.
A Midwestern twang is "a very feet on the ground, back in the heels of your boots type of accent", she said.
And what about the classic English "received pronunciation", long the go-to sound of the British ruling class?
"I'd get them to sit back in the chair... you actually feel that there's a lot of space between you," she said
Australian actors can nail the US accent in part because Americans' natural way of speaking echoes the Antipodean approach to life -- more relaxed and, in some ways, "lazy", Mielewska said.
"Australians can do American pretty well by and large, because we come from a fairly neutral place," she said.
"Australians can go from something that's kind of midline and relaxed and start to work with it, and the muscles respond in time."

Tongue twisters

It's not always so easy the other way round. 
For years, some of Hollywood's biggest stars have endured mockery for mangled attempts at accents -- from Don Cheadle as a Cockney in "Ocean's Eleven" to Leonardo DiCaprio playing a Rhodesian (modern-day Zimbabwean) in "Blood Diamond".
Some Americans, Mielewska said, are unfairly maligned.
Meryl Streep's turn as wrongfully accused mother Lindy Chamberlain in the true story 1988 film "Evil Angels" ("A Cry in the Dark" in its US release) -- and her often-misquoted line "a dingo took my baby" -- has sometimes inspired ridicule in Australia.
But Mielewska said that, contrary to popular belief, Streep got it bang on -- Chamberlain was born in New Zealand, and her accent is not typically Aussie.
Australian is also uniquely incompatible with the American lilt, she said.
That's because, Mielewska said, American actors need to "let go" and relax.
"What they're doing is surrendering their own accent and their own muscular habits of the way they speak," she said.
Some actors have shortcuts to get into a tricky voice.
Byrne has said she has a go-to phrase -- "Patty hired 24-hour security for Katie" -- when she finds herself struggling to summon the Yankee drawl.
She is now in the running to become the third Australian to win the best actress Oscar after Blanchett and Nicole Kidman.
Mielewska says the star -- known for her humble and understated style -- "comes from a very soulful, connected place".
"Of course her work is going to be truthful."
oho/djw/sst/jm

film

Sci-fi without AI: Oscar nominated 'Arco' director prefers human touch

BY ROMAIN RAYNALDY, WITH ROMAIN FONSEGRIVES IN LOS ANGELES

  • This season, two Oscar-eligible animated shorts openly acknowledged their use of AI, but did not get a nomination.
  • Oscar-nominated animated film "Arco" tells the story of a young boy in a future where humanity lives in harmony with nature, far from the robots and artificial intelligence shaping our present.
  • This season, two Oscar-eligible animated shorts openly acknowledged their use of AI, but did not get a nomination.
Oscar-nominated animated film "Arco" tells the story of a young boy in a future where humanity lives in harmony with nature, far from the robots and artificial intelligence shaping our present.
For first-time director Ugo Bienvenu, who drew the whole film by hand, there was never any chance he would resort to using AI.
"That's why I make science fiction," the French director told AFP. "It was to say to this generation: 'Maybe there are other paths, maybe there are other things to imagine.'" 
The graphic novel illustrator, 38, says he is alarmed by society's increasing dependence on artificial intelligence, which he insists is inferior to the things it is being used to replace.
"It's like wanting to saw off your own leg just because you have a great crutch," he said.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the body that will hand out the Oscars in Hollywood on March 15, last year 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 in April.
"The Academy and each branch will judge the achievement, taking into account the degree to which a human was at the heart of the creative authorship."

'Nobody really wants to use it'

The move came after a furor over the use of AI in best picture contenders "The Brutalist" -- where Adrien Brody's Hungarian accent was artificially smoothed out -- and "Dune: Part Two," in which certain characters had their eye color changed.
This season, two Oscar-eligible animated shorts openly acknowledged their use of AI, but did not get a nomination.
For Bienvenu, the reliance on AI in the creative process is dangerous because it risks allowing the imagination to wither.
"If we tell ourselves that the machine will do it for us, we never make the mistakes that allow us to access our subconscious" where true creativity lies, he said.
Bienvenu, who spoke to AFP on the sidelines of the Oscars nominees luncheon in Beverly Hills last month, said many conversations at the gathering had touched on the use of AI in filmmaking -- a key sticking point in the writers' and actors' strikes that crippled Hollywood in 2023.
"Everyone is more or less on the same page," he said. "Nobody really wants to use it." 

'Human'

In January, more than 800 creatives, including actresses Scarlett Johansson and Cate Blanchett, as well as director Guillermo Del Toro, published an open letter accusing AI giants of "theft." 
The Mexican filmmaker, whose "Frankenstein" is competing this year for the best picture Oscar, in 2022 said animation created by AI is an "insult to life itself."
Bienvenu shares that alarm.
"The real danger is that we... become weaker intellectually," he says.
"It's not about protecting our jobs, it's about what makes us human."
"Fiction is about sharing experiences," he says -- a process that helps us to be "emotionally prepared when something serious happens to us in life, so we don't fall apart."
Too much of modern life is dominated by machines that can only regurgitate what has come before, says Bienvenu.
"Today, there are people who wear clothes made by robots, and eat food made by robots — basically, they're the poor," he said.
"And now, this same group will be consuming fiction made by robots."
The massive companies that make AI do not pay the true cost of their product, Bienvenu says, and something must be done to level the playing field.
He suggests levying a tax on the huge volumes of water used by companies to cool their server farms, an amount one study published in December found exceeded the volume of bottled water consumed around the planet every year.
"AI isn't free," says Bienvenu. 
"It has physical repercussions and impacts on our subconscious." 
bur-rfo/hg/sst

history

Michelangelo's works hidden in 'secret room', researcher says

BY ELLA IDE

  • "Assets are hidden inside this room.
  • Renaissance artist Michelangelo ordered many of his artworks to be hidden by his pupils in a secret room to protect them for posterity, an Italian researcher claimed Wednesday.
  • "Assets are hidden inside this room.
Renaissance artist Michelangelo ordered many of his artworks to be hidden by his pupils in a secret room to protect them for posterity, an Italian researcher claimed Wednesday.
According to renowned art historian Giorgio Vasari, the Italian genius burned a large number of his own drawings and sketches before his death in Rome in 1564.
But researcher Valentina Salerno says she has unearthed unpublished archival documents that reveal a plot to squirrel away his works.
"One of these three unpublished documents I found in the archives speaks of a room" kept by students of the Michelangelo school, the origins of which "can be traced back" to the artist, Salerno told AFP on the sidelines of a press conference in Rome.
"Assets are hidden inside this room. These assets are locked away so tightly that they require a system of multiple keys, so that no one can access them without the permission of others," she said.
Salerno was researching a book on Michelangelo when she came across a document that showed the artist had in 1550 joined the Brotherhood of the Most Holy Crucifix. Those close to him in his final years were members too.
Over a decade of research, she followed the document trail between a series of archives in the Vatican, Italy and European cities including Paris.
As part of what she called a "maniacal plan" cooked up by Michelangelo, his works were to be hidden "because otherwise it would all end up with a nephew he detested".
"The goal was to pass on to his poor, vulnerable, non-noble descendants the material to be able to continue studying, to transmit his art to future generations," she said.
Those involved in the plan went on to form the famous art Academy of San Luca in the 16th century, she added. It still exists today.
Salerno believes the secret room designed to safeguard the artist's creations was likely somewhere inside the Saint Peter in Chains church in central Rome.

Michelangelo bust

During her research, she also stumbled across a reference to a bust at the Basilica of Sant'Agnese, also in Rome, currently attributed to an anonymous artist.
She found documents attributing the white bust of Christ the Saviour to Michelangelo down the centuries.
In the 1930s it appears to disappear from documentation, only to reappear in the 1980s, attributed to a minor artist.
Italy's cultural authorities later declared it to be a work by an unknown sculptor instead.
But Salerno insists the bust is a genuine Michelangelo, not just due to the paper trail, but also because it shares a striking resemblance to Tommaso dei Cavalieri.
Cavalieri was a young nobleman with whom Michelangelo became infatuated in his 50s.
Salerno's work has not yet been peer reviewed, but she was a member of the Vatican committee for the celebrations marking the 550th anniversary of Michelangelo's birth.
ide/ar/yad/ams

court

Harvey Weinstein rape retrial to start April 14: publicist

  • Weinstein was accused of the third-degree rape of a woman named Jessica Mann and will now face a retrial on that count.
  • Disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein will face a retrial from April 14 on a rape charge on which a jury previously deadlocked, his publicist said Wednesday.
  • Weinstein was accused of the third-degree rape of a woman named Jessica Mann and will now face a retrial on that count.
Disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein will face a retrial from April 14 on a rape charge on which a jury previously deadlocked, his publicist said Wednesday.
The judge in last year's sex crimes trial, itself a partial retrial, declared a mistrial after the jury foreperson refused to return to deliberate the case amid a jury room feud.
Weinstein was accused of the third-degree rape of a woman named Jessica Mann and will now face a retrial on that count.
In June, the jury convicted Weinstein of sexual assault against Miriam Haley, and acquitted the fallen movie mogul for allegedly sexually assaulting Kaja Sokola.
Weinstein, 73, and wheelchair-bound by ill-health, is already in jail for a 16-year term after he was convicted in a separate California case of raping a European actress more than a decade ago.
Weinstein's spokesman Juda Engelmayer said "each time prosecutors have asked a jury to convict Harvey Weinstein on (Mann's) very allegation, they have come up short of a unanimous decision."
"Mr Weinstein has always maintained that the relationship was consensual, and we look forward to presenting the evidence again," Engelmayer added.
The Oscar-winner's conviction on the Haley charge is a vindication for Haley, whose complaint in part led to the initial guilty verdict in 2020. 
That landmark case helped spur the "MeToo" movement that saw an outpouring of allegations from prominent women who were abused by men.
Weinstein suffered a spectacular fall from his position at the top of the world of Hollywood and show business in 2017 when allegations against him exploded into public.
The movement upended the film industry, exposing systemic exploitation of young women seeking to work in entertainment, and provoking a reckoning on how to end the toxic culture.
More than 80 women accused Weinstein of sexual misconduct in the wake of the global backlash against men abusing positions of power.
Weinstein's original 2020 conviction, and the resulting 23-year prison term, was thrown out in 2024 after an appeals court found irregularities in the way witnesses were presented.
gw/dw

film

Berlin film festival chief to remain in job after Gaza row

  • Controversy surrounded this year's Berlinale almost from the beginning, after the jury president, acclaimed German director Wim Wenders, responded to a question about Gaza by saying cinema should "stay out of politics".
  • The head of Berlin's international film festival will stay in the post despite controversy over a film director's anti-Israel remarks at the event, the German culture minister's office said Wednesday.
  • Controversy surrounded this year's Berlinale almost from the beginning, after the jury president, acclaimed German director Wim Wenders, responded to a question about Gaza by saying cinema should "stay out of politics".
The head of Berlin's international film festival will stay in the post despite controversy over a film director's anti-Israel remarks at the event, the German culture minister's office said Wednesday.
Tricia Tuttle had been under fire from some politicians after the comments by Syrian-Palestinian filmmaker Abdallah Al-Khatib, with some media reporting that culture minister Wolfram Weimer had sought to oust her from the job.
But after a meeting of the board of the state-owned KBB -- the company that runs the Berlinale -- on Wednesday, Weimer's office said in a statement that it welcomed Tuttle's willingness to "continue her work".
Angry rows over the Israel-Palestinian conflict have repeatedly rocked the Berlinale, held every February as Europe's first major film festival of the year.
This year, Khatib's comments at the closing ceremony accusing Germany of being complicit in "genocide" in Gaza provoked outrage from some German politicians.
Tuttle also faced criticism for posing for a photo with some of the team behind Khatib's film, "Chronicles from the Siege".
But Weimer on Wednesday said Tuttle had "put a great deal of energy into setting a new course" at the festival, which she has led for the past two years.
"I thank her for her willingness to continue on this path," he said.
"I welcome today's decision by the supervisory board to reaffirm its confidence in my leadership of the Berlinale," Tuttle said in a statement. 
Weimer added that the board of the KBB had laid out recommendations `for "strengthening" the festival, including a new code of conduct.
"The board has issued a number of recommendations, which we will carefully consider," Tuttle said.
Controversy surrounded this year's Berlinale almost from the beginning, after the jury president, acclaimed German director Wim Wenders, responded to a question about Gaza by saying cinema should "stay out of politics".
Heated debate about Wenders' comments followed, with award-winning Indian writer Arundhati Roy withdrawing from the festival and denouncing his remarks.
Tuttle received support from thousands of filmmakers after German tabloid Bild reported that Weimer was trying to remove her from the job.
bst/fec/pdw

politics

Marseille mayor opposes Kanye West gig over 'unabashed Nazism'

  • Socialist mayor Benoit Payan said the 48-year-old hip-hop star was "not welcome" in the southern city.
  • The mayor of  France's second-biggest city Marseille said Wednesday that Kanye West was "not welcome", after the music star known for his antisemitic rants announced a concert in June.
  • Socialist mayor Benoit Payan said the 48-year-old hip-hop star was "not welcome" in the southern city.
The mayor of  France's second-biggest city Marseille said Wednesday that Kanye West was "not welcome", after the music star known for his antisemitic rants announced a concert in June.
The 24-time Grammy winner has lost fans and business deals in recent years over racist or antisemitic outbursts, releasing a song titled "Heil Hitler" last May to mark the 80th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II.
The concert at the city-owned Velodrome stadium scheduled for June 11 -- for which the box office is not yet open -- is West's only French date.
Socialist mayor Benoit Payan said the 48-year-old hip-hop star was "not welcome" in the southern city.
"I refuse to let Marseille be a showcase for those who promote hatred and unabashed Nazism," he posted on X.
But local state authorities can only ban a concert under strict conditions, if statements at the event risk constituting a criminal offence and if public order is threatened, according to France's highest administrative court.
Organising agency Mars 360 told AFP that it had been very careful, inserting specific clauses into the concert contract "to ensure that no illegal remarks are made during the concert and that French law is fully respected".
Fabienne Bendayan, running mate to the right-wing candidate in municipal elections later this month and former regional head of Jewish group CRIF, also contested the performance going ahead.
"Someone who openly proclaims his admiration for Hitler and espouses Nazi ideas cannot set foot on the stage of a city whose very soul is woven from diversity, remembrance and brotherhood," she said on X.
West, who has changed his name to Ye and struggled with bipolar disorder for years, in January said the disorder sometimes led to him having "disconnected moments" resulting in poor judgement and reckless behaviour.
In late 2023, West apologised to Jewish people for having said "I love Nazis".
dac/cc/ah/jxb

fashion

Gabon fashion designer brings traditional raffia to Paris runways

BY CéLINE CLERY

  • "It's for everyone," he stressed, checking whether a bunch of the fibres laid out on his balcony were dry. 
  • Strands of raffia dry outside in the sun at the studio of Gabonese fashion designer Chouchou Lazare, who has made a name for himself using the natural fibres to craft his award-winning garments. 
  • "It's for everyone," he stressed, checking whether a bunch of the fibres laid out on his balcony were dry. 
Strands of raffia dry outside in the sun at the studio of Gabonese fashion designer Chouchou Lazare, who has made a name for himself using the natural fibres to craft his award-winning garments. 
The natural material derived from palm leaves -- and traditionally reserved for Gabon's nobles and village chiefs -- gained international attention on the runways of the world's fashion capital last week.
"This is raffia from Gabon, it's special, it's woven very finely, it's a textile that deserves to be shown," the self-taught designer told AFP at his workshop in the capital Libreville. 
Whether braided, sewn or glued to bustiers or skirts, nearly all of Lazare's dresses incorporate raffia. 
Lazare was only nine years old when he began helping out his mother with her sewing to make ends meet. 
He went on to organise his first fashion show in high school and has never received formal training in fashion. 
Now in his 50s -- he chooses to keep his exact age under wraps -- Lazare says he learnt his craft by designing dresses for the two most important women in his life: his mother and grandmother. 
"She was very tall; to me, she was like a queen," he said of his mother. 
And in readying his latest collection for the show in Paris on February 28, she remained his inspiration.
"When I prepare my shows, I want to see queens, women who fully own who they are," he said.
Although the signature material is used throughout his collection, the natural fibres are never dyed. 
In the central African country, raffia has special significance.
"It's a traditional fabric that is part of the spirituality of our country, that speaks to the ancestors," the designer said. 

Like 'diamonds'

Nowadays no longer just for nobility, raffia features at Gabonese traditional weddings and Indigenous bwiti spiritual ceremonies. 
"Raffia represents a natural resource to be preserved, contributing to the influence of Gabonese and African cultural heritage," the ministry of sustainable tourism and crafts said on social media earlier in the year.
But that does not mean it should only be worn by Gabonese or African people, Lazare said.
"It's for everyone," he stressed, checking whether a bunch of the fibres laid out on his balcony were dry. 
In 2002, Lazare won first prize for fashion at the Saint-Etienne International Design Biennial in France.
More than two decades later, he presented his creations to French President Emmanuel Macron during a state visit to Gabon in November. 
A photograph of Lazare with Macron and Gabon's President Brice Oligui Nguema now proudly hangs in his workshop, a reminder of "a great moment", he said. 
While raffia may seem a familiar textile to people in Gabon, Lazare said that upon seeing the presidents' reactions to his creations, "I felt like they were diamonds."
Glittering in his "diamonds" -- a raffia-decorated hat and tunic with a gold suit jacket -- Lazare picked up an achievement award in Paris at last week's Fashion Annual Show, which for more than 25 years has been honouring African designers. 
As the president of the Association of Gabonese Stylists and Creators, he is also paving the way for other designers through teaching and mentorship.
Lazare said he hoped to see raffia recognised "as a treasure for Gabon". 
cc/gge/giv/kjm/sbk

film

Periods, old age and communal conflict: Oscar shorts showcase variety

BY PAULA RAMON

  • "Butcher's Stain" tells the story of an Arab-Israeli working in a Tel Aviv supermarket who is accused of tearing down hostage posters after the October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas on Israel.
  • From menstruation mishaps to a meditation on old age, and the challenges faced by Arab-Israelis in the aftermath of the Hamas attacks, one Oscars category is nothing if not varied.
  • "Butcher's Stain" tells the story of an Arab-Israeli working in a Tel Aviv supermarket who is accused of tearing down hostage posters after the October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas on Israel.
From menstruation mishaps to a meditation on old age, and the challenges faced by Arab-Israelis in the aftermath of the Hamas attacks, one Oscars category is nothing if not varied.
"The live action short category, it's particularly diverse in its genres," Julia Aks, nominated alongside Steve Pinder for their satire "Jane Austen's Period Drama," told AFP. 
"That makes me very hopeful that the Academy, the pinnacle and the barometer of the industry, is broadening."
Aks and Pinder's 13-minute comedy sees Georgian era heroine Estrogenia Talbot get her period in the middle of a long-awaited marriage proposal.
When her suitor mistakes the blood for an injury, it soon becomes clear that his expensive education was somewhat incomplete.
Aks said she never imagined her work would land at Hollywood's biggest gala.
"It's just been really encouraging that the kind of things that we want to make are also being rewarded," she said.
The short film category is seen as a gateway for new talent seeking to stand out in a competitive industry.
Previous winners include writer-director Martin McDonagh, who went on to helm Oscar-winning feature "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri" and nine-time nominee "The Banshees of Inisherin."

Connection

For Sam Davis, who worked with Jack Piatt to create "The Singers," getting an Oscar nomination has been surreal, but has also validated his ambition to use film to explore issues that matter to him.
"The Singers" focuses on a group of lonely men who spontaneously begin a musical competition one night in a bar. 
"I wanted to tell a story about connection and the power of vulnerability, especially today," Davis told AFP.
"Everybody's on their phones, and I think we're less and less connected."
The young filmmaker, who counts "One Battle After Another" director Paul Thomas Anderson among his idols, said the isolation and missed opportunities that technology imposes on men in particular was something he wanted to examine. 
"You never know who you're standing next to at the grocery store or sitting next to at the bar," he said.
"Maybe you'd be friends if you just talked."
The same theme of isolation guided the work of debut director Lee Knight, whose "A Friend of Dorothy" stars veteran British actress Miriam Margolyes.
The 20-minute film follows a duo who form an unlikely friendship and is a delightful meditation on the importance of connecting with another human being.
"They come to each other in a time where they need each other, and they're lonely in their own way," Knight told AFP.
"He's lonely; he hasn't found his people, and she's lonely too. It's a simple story, but we need these stories now more than ever."

Stars

For up-and-coming filmmakers, an Oscar nomination -- and the attendant glitz and glamour of luncheons rubbing shoulders with megastars like Timothee Chalamet and Steven Spielberg -- is confirmation that persistence pays off.
"For me, it's about sending a message to other people, to other filmmakers, to other actors, other storytellers, to say: 'You really cannot give up,'" said Knight, who worked as an actor for years before heading behind the camera.
Meyer Levinson-Blount, nominated alongside Oron Caspi for "Butcher's Stain," agrees. 
"You just never know where it's going to happen or when it's going to happen," he said.
"Butcher's Stain" tells the story of an Arab-Israeli working in a Tel Aviv supermarket who is accused of tearing down hostage posters after the October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas on Israel.
Caspi said the current moment in filmmaking felt like one of enormous optimism.
"Storytelling is one of the most ancient arts, and I think a lot of the changes about technology and a lot of changes about the situation we're in -- that's how we get our stories," he said.
"I feel like we're getting into a very interesting era of storytelling."
The 98th Academy Awards will be held on March 15 in Hollywood.
pr/hg/sst

television

'Peaky Blinders' stars hit Brum red carpet for movie premiere

  • Irish actor Murphy told AFP that Birmingham -- nicknamed Brum in Britain -- was "the only place it could ever happen" given the city was "a character" across the cult show's six seasons and new big-screen offering.
  • Oscar-winner Cillian Murphy and other stars have descended on Birmingham for the "Peaky Blinders" movie world premiere, with England's so-called second city in raptures over its signature show getting the Hollywood treatment. 
  • Irish actor Murphy told AFP that Birmingham -- nicknamed Brum in Britain -- was "the only place it could ever happen" given the city was "a character" across the cult show's six seasons and new big-screen offering.
Oscar-winner Cillian Murphy and other stars have descended on Birmingham for the "Peaky Blinders" movie world premiere, with England's so-called second city in raptures over its signature show getting the Hollywood treatment. 
Murphy was joined by fellow acting A-listers Tim Roth and Rebecca Ferguson, rockers Fontaines D.C. and a host of Premier League footballers for Monday's glitzy unveiling of the hit TV series' spin-off film.
Irish actor Murphy told AFP that Birmingham -- nicknamed Brum in Britain -- was "the only place it could ever happen" given the city was "a character" across the cult show's six seasons and new big-screen offering.
The 49-year-old "Oppenheimer" star said getting compatriot Barry Keoghan -- who features for the first time in the gritty historical crime drama as his wayward son in the movie -- was "always the only choice".
"I sent him a text on Father's Day apparently -- I'd forgotten it was Father's Day! -- and asked him did he want to be in it," Murphy revealed on the red carpet. "We know each other... he's just unbelievable on camera."
Hundreds of fans, many dressed in the show's beloved 1920s and 1930s attire, gathered near Birmingham's famous canals for the premiere of "Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man", which lands in cinemas Friday and on Netflix March 20.
Pulsing music by Fontaines D.C., which helps soundtrack the movie, blared out as the cast posed for photos in front of a "Peaky Blinders" sign set ablaze with pyrotechnics.
The city station's famous mechanical bull statue boasted one of the series' emblematic flat caps, as locals and visitors also wearing them had their pictures taken by photographers dressed as show characters.

'Fitting'

The BBC series, which first aired in 2013, helped put Birmingham -- and the working-class flat caps donned by its characters -- back on the global map. 
The name "Peaky Blinders" comes from the city's notorious street gangs of the late 19th and early 20th century who apparently kept razor blades in the headwear. 
The show's six seasons chronicle the exploits of crime boss Thomas Shelby (Murphy) and his clan between the two world wars.
The film -- written by series creator Steven Knight -- picks up the story during WWII, with Shelby returning to Birmingham from a self-imposed exile in the countryside as his estranged son Duke runs wild.
"I really wanted it to be set in the war," Knight told AFP. 
"In that time, when the bombs are falling, people become very hedonistic because they don't know if they're going to be alive the next day, so almost the Peaky Blinders ethos becomes a general ethos."
The movie's director, Tom Harper, said throwing Cillian Murphy's character back into war-time drama felt "fitting", given he had been moulded by "the violence and the trauma of the First World War". 
"Just having that kind of explosive nature of the Second World War, echoing the explosive nature of the narrative, feels fitting," he added.
The film -- which boasts several new characters including Roth's Beckett and Ferguson's Kaulo -- could be the final chapter in the "Peaky Blinders" saga.
Northern Irish actor Packy Lee, an ever-present as Johnny Dogs, said it had been an incredible "rollercoaster ride". 
"I've enjoyed every minute of it," he told AFP. "It's been almost 14 years of my life playing the same character!"
Murphy said he had not yet "fully processed" that it was over. "I think it'll take a bit of time for me, you know."
vid-jj/mp/yad

film

Oscar-nominated Iranian doc offers different vision of leadership

BY PAULA RAMON

  • "Every day, all of us wake up seeing crazy news; leaders taking reckless decisions.
  • Iran's first Oscar-nominated documentary will compete in Hollywood at a time of incredible tumult at home, days after US-Israeli strikes killed the country's long-time supreme leader.
  • "Every day, all of us wake up seeing crazy news; leaders taking reckless decisions.
Iran's first Oscar-nominated documentary will compete in Hollywood at a time of incredible tumult at home, days after US-Israeli strikes killed the country's long-time supreme leader.
As the Islamist regime scrabbles to shore itself up in the wake of the death of the hardline Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, "Cutting Through Rocks" offers a different vision of leadership in a country dominated by male clerics for half a century.
"We have a character in our film that really uses the power that she has to empower others," co-director Mohammadreza Eyni told AFP.
"Not controlling them, not suppressing them, not dictating to them what is right, but just creating a space for them," he said.
Eyni and fellow director Sara Khaki spent eight years following their subject, Sara Shahverdi, the first Iranian woman elected to a council in a rural community.
That process involved "being patient enough to witness the change that (Shahverdi was) able to offer within her village," Khaki said during an interview in Beverly Hills before the war began.
"She goes from teaching the young girls how to ride a motorcycle to creating land ownership for women," Khaki said.
"Thanks to her, more women are becoming householders" in deeply patriarchal Iran, she added.
Eyni -- who fell in love with, and married Khaki during the eight years of production on the feature -- said that for him, "Cutting Through Rocks" offers an insight into the kind of inspirational and responsible leadership that the world lacks.
"Every day, all of us wake up seeing crazy news; leaders taking reckless decisions. So we think that we need stories about leadership more than ever," he said.

Support

"Cutting Through Rocks" debuted at the Sundance Film Festival last year and then had a successful run through the European festival circuit before landing an Academy Award nomination for best documentary feature. 
For the filmmakers -- both of whom are first-timers -- the whirlwind of an Oscars campaign has been special.
"We are really honored to be here," Khaki said.
"We had so many amazing conversations" with fellow nominees about Iran and what is happening there, said Eyni.
"It is amazing to feel that you are in a safe house and you have colleagues that really support you, and this is important for them."
The duo's time in Hollywood has also given them the space "to remind each other that change is possible, and this is why we are telling stories," he said.
"Cutting Through Rocks" will compete against "Come See Me In The Good Light," "Mr. Nobody Against Putin," "The Perfect Neighbor" and the prison drama "The Alabama Solution." 
The Oscars gala will be held on March 15 in Hollywood. 
pr/hg/sst

film

Oscar-nominated docs take on hot-button US social issues

BY PAULA RAMON

  • Using a similar approach, Andrew Jarecki and Charlotte Kaufman lifted the lid on American prisons with documentary feature "The Alabama Solution."
  • From racial tensions and school shootings to abortion and the prison system, this year's Oscar-nominated documentary short and feature films are taking a hard look at American society.
  • Using a similar approach, Andrew Jarecki and Charlotte Kaufman lifted the lid on American prisons with documentary feature "The Alabama Solution."
From racial tensions and school shootings to abortion and the prison system, this year's Oscar-nominated documentary short and feature films are taking a hard look at American society.
Several of the nominated filmmakers told AFP ahead of the March 15 gala in Hollywood that they hoped their work would spark debate.
They also were glad for the visibility that an Academy Award nomination brings, as documentaries are often independently made and rarely get the same exposure as big-budget features.
"I believe all art is political, and art is the vanguard of the revolution," Geeta Gandbhir, whose "The Perfect Neighbor" is competing for best documentary feature, told AFP.
The film, on Netflix, delves into the thorny collision of race, firearms and so-called "Stand Your Ground" laws as a dispute in a Florida neighborhood turns fatal.
"When you look at all my colleagues who are nominated in these categories, the films are deeply political," Gandbhir said. 
"They all have something to say... about a pressing issue in some way," added the filmmaker, a double nominee with "The Devil Is Busy" competing for best documentary short.
That film, made in Atlanta, focuses on an abortion clinic beset by protesters after the US Supreme Court in 2022 eliminated the federal constitutional right to terminate a pregnancy.
Gandbhir's co-director Christalyn Hampton said they hoped to "humanize the hot-button topic" by focusing on a religious woman who runs security at the clinic.
The woman finds herself trying to manage the delicate balance of protecting patients and confronting demonstrators who, in some cases, are driven by beliefs that reflect her own.
"We felt like it was a very interesting and ironic twist," Hampton said.
She added that the filmmakers hoped their work could help women "start to advocate for themselves and their health care, and not to get bogged down in the policies and what politicians say they should do."

'Human issue'

Director Joshua Seftel and journalist Steve Hartman sought to put a face on school shootings for everyday viewers when they made the documentary short "All the Empty Rooms."
To illustrate the epidemic, the pair visited the empty bedrooms of the children and youths killed by assailants.
"It's not a political issue, it's a human issue," Seftel told AFP.
"This is about something we all agree on, which is that we all want our kids to be safe when they go to school."
Hartman said he hoped that seeing those empty spaces would help audiences understand the void left when a child is killed, and "feel that loss" so that progress could be made.
Using a similar approach, Andrew Jarecki and Charlotte Kaufman lifted the lid on American prisons with documentary feature "The Alabama Solution."
"We have two million people incarcerated, so you can't really avoid it," Jarecki told AFP at a luncheon for Oscar nominees.
"But the prisons do everything they can to keep the press out, to keep filmmakers out."
Jarecki said filmmakers could help foster change by taking on tough subjects.
"Understanding and being able to see what (an issue) really is is the first step to fix it," he said.

Attacks on the press

The role of journalists in society, and the increasing threats they face in some places, is the subject of "Armed Only with a Camera: The Life and Death of Brent Renaud," the first US reporter killed after Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
"Sadly, we have now reached a point where -- according to the Committee to Protect Journalists -- it is the most deadly time on record to be a journalist," his brother and the film's director, Craig Renaud, told AFP.
Producer Juan Arredondo said the team hoped the film would raise awareness about the dangers faced by journalists everywhere, and not just those covering armed conflicts abroad.
"I think we have come into a time where what we have been covering for many years abroad is coming to the United States," he said, referring to increased attacks on and arrests of media professionals.
Arrendondo said he hoped that audiences would "realize the importance of journalism."
pr/sst/js

luxury

Furry, frayed & freezing on Milan catwalks: the fashion trends

BY ALEXANDRIA SAGE

  • may have been the question on many people's minds as they watched the shows in Milan this week. 
  • As the attention of the world's fashionistas moves from Milan to Paris on the final day of the Italian city's Fashion Week Monday, a roundup of Italy's runway style is due.
  • may have been the question on many people's minds as they watched the shows in Milan this week. 
As the attention of the world's fashionistas moves from Milan to Paris on the final day of the Italian city's Fashion Week Monday, a roundup of Italy's runway style is due.
Here are some of the key trends seen during Milan's Fall/Winter 2026/2027 women's collections.

Furry beast

Furry, fuzzy or just plain poofy was all over the Milan runways, from the two Easter egg-shaped coats adding a bit of fun to Emporio Armani's runway to the multicoloured patchwork men's coat tipped with neon orange shown at Diesel.  
Etro offered up a 1970s-inspired coat with broad shawl collar, its fuzz worthy of Bigfoot, while Roberto Cavalli's silver tipped long faux fur coat was paired with a tiny embroidered bralette and slouchy pants in a floral graphic.
At Prada, a curious furry tie-like decoration -- some resembling sable, others in cheetah -- ran down the front of sporty jackets in yellow and red like a vertical stole.
Under new designer Demna, Gucci went the other direction, showing faux fur bands worn horizontal over the chest just below the shoulders.
Most of the fur shown in Milan was faux, with Fendi the main holdout, showing real but "remodelled" furs.
Even more stunning was fibreglass, the synthetic material that Bottega Veneta turned into showstopping long coats and matching hats in ivory, electric blue and bubblegum pink whose fibres shimmered and fluttered when models sashayed down the catwalk.
And in the novelty category, small Italian brand Themoire introduced the "Fur Potato", a bag in faux shearling made from -- you guessed it -- the humble spud. 
Potato starch ferments and transforms into fibres, used to create the fuzzy and degradable, diminutive clutch. 

Back-baring

Certainly it was Gucci's skinny and sparkling backless gown shown on model Kate Moss that wins the award for least use of fabric on the back of a garment at Milan.
But it was the G-string with the Gucci logo -- a wink to Tom Ford's "must-have" item from 1997 -- that captured headlines about the unapologetically sexy collection.
Marking a break from the faux fur, chilly back-baring looks showed up at various designers' shows, despite them being intended for the upcoming fall/winter season (remember that fashion is pain). 
Most notable was at Tod's, where asymmetrical "foulard" dresses in graphic prints and trimmed in leather left the back fully exposed.
- Skinnier-than-skinny, or slouchy - 
"How did you get into those pants?" may have been the question on many people's minds as they watched the shows in Milan this week. 
The skinniest, narrowest, tighter-than-tight pants were shown everywhere from Emporio Armani, where they were paired with high heels and big white men's button-down shirts, to Tod's, where they included a suggestion of a foot strap that evoked the world of saddlery.
In the highly feminine Dolce & Gabbana collection, thigh-high black stockings were stand-ins for skinny pants -- paired with corsets on top, of course -- while at Gucci, new designer Demna showed pants whose cut-outs dangerously below the hips suggested an exposed thong.
Other designers went for slouchy, with generous fabric in pants cut low and roomy, including harem pants at Moschino. Roberto Cavalli showed luscious faux Persian lamb cut into pleated trousers, while wide legs at Max Mara felt warm and luxurious.

Eaten away

Call it frayed, distressed or "eaten away" in the words of Prada, an obvious trend this season was for fabric exposed beneath other fabrics.
Distressing on the collar and front of Prada's zip-up jackets suggested "mutations from within, visible to the exterior", according to the brand, while a black satin slip looked as it had been munched on by a silk worm to reveal sheer floral fabric beneath. 
At Roberto Cavalli, a dramatically distressed long-sleeve sweater in lilac remained elegant despite its half-shredded feel.
Of course, lace is the ultimate fabric that covers and exposes, and flowing black lace took centre stage in the collections of Dolce & Gabbana and Fendi.
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