television

Eurovision stage inspired by Viennese opera

BY ROBIN MILLARD

  • "What we're trying to do is create a thousand different worlds for the different performances," said lighting designer Tim Routledge.
  • The Eurovision Song Contest's staging this year is inspired by grand Viennese opera, with more than 3,000 lights and lasers used to conjure up different visual worlds for all 35 performances.
  • "What we're trying to do is create a thousand different worlds for the different performances," said lighting designer Tim Routledge.
The Eurovision Song Contest's staging this year is inspired by grand Viennese opera, with more than 3,000 lights and lasers used to conjure up different visual worlds for all 35 performances.
Set designers also drew on Vienna's creative history and the mindset of artists like painter Gustav Klimt for this year's edition of the world's biggest live televised music event.
Eurovision is known for pulling out all the stops, but rather than "showing off" with even more expansive sets and backdrops, the creative brief was "something that feels Viennese and Austrian", stage designer Florian Wieder told reporters.
"We have a kind of opera, very theatrical approach this year, to make it feel unique and different.
"It's very traditional on one hand and it's also very modern on the other."
Between acts, viewers will hear bits of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's 1791 opera "The Magic Flute", along with the sound of an orchestra tuning up when artists prepare to take the stage at the Austrian capital's Wiener Stadthalle.
The design feel was also inspired by the groundbreaking Vienna Secession art movement of the late 1890s and early 1900s, of which Klimt was a part.
"What happened back then was a kind of a creative reset. And that was exactly what we were looking for," said Wieder, who has designed the Eurovision stage 10 times and has also created sets for U2, Ed Sheeran, Beyonce and Robbie Williams.

Flames, fog, smoke and sparklers

Acts representing 35 different countries take the stage across the two semi-finals and Saturday's grand final, with each seeking to connect with tens of millions of TV viewers in just three minutes.
"What we're trying to do is create a thousand different worlds for the different performances," said lighting designer Tim Routledge.
"It's about working out how to integrate and hide lighting all over the place."
"Effectively, without light, it's radio," he added.
Eurovision 2026 has nearly 200 special-effects machines including flames, fog, smoke, sparklers and multi-coloured pyrotechnics in pink, purple, yellow and gold.
The show is being shot on 28 live cameras and Routledge said the new cinematic-style cameras being used this year meant the performances were coming out in a different way on television.
"For me, some of the performances where we do less are the performances that really strike a chord... so smaller performances -- as opposed to flashing all three and a half thousand lights," he said.

'Less flashy-trashy'

Last year's song contest in Basel, Switzerland, which reached 166 million viewers, was won by Austria's JJ with a performance entirely in monochrome.
"No one wants colour this year," said Routledge.
Britain and San Marino aside, "everyone's wanted quite sombre or pale, warm whites or cold whites".
As for why, he said: "There seems to be a lot of angst in music and a lot of emotion this year in a lot of the music. Maybe not so many up-tempo, fun songs as some years.
"Maybe it's a trend in creatives, and people want something a bit more pure and a bit less flashy-trashy, and they want something a little bit more theatrical."
With each dress rehearsal, Routledge said his team was constantly finding ways to improve the show, while countries were also making fresh requests.
"It is precision, fully to the frame of every single camera shot," he said.
"So we will carry on tweaking, mending, tidying and polishing all the way to Saturday night."
rjm/oaa/sbk

film

Vin Diesel drives 'Fast and Furious' tribute in Cannes

  • Diesel and Rodriguez posed with fellow actor Jordana Brewster and the daughter of late co-star Paul Walker, who died in a car crash in 2013, at the French film festival Wednesday.
  • Vin Diesel and Michelle Rodriguez will lead a cast reunion of "The Fast and the Furious" stars on Wednesday in Cannes ahead of a special screening to mark the 25th anniversary of the original movie.
  • Diesel and Rodriguez posed with fellow actor Jordana Brewster and the daughter of late co-star Paul Walker, who died in a car crash in 2013, at the French film festival Wednesday.
Vin Diesel and Michelle Rodriguez will lead a cast reunion of "The Fast and the Furious" stars on Wednesday in Cannes ahead of a special screening to mark the 25th anniversary of the original movie.
Diesel and Rodriguez posed with fellow actor Jordana Brewster and the daughter of late co-star Paul Walker, who died in a car crash in 2013, at the French film festival Wednesday.
"The Fast and the Furious" will be screened in a midnight slot later in the day, bringing some Hollywood razzle-dazzle to Cannes where US studios are notably absent. 
Hollywood majors such as Universal, Disney or Sony, as well as streaming giants Netflix and Amazon, have decided against launching any of their blockbusters on the French Riviera, unlike in previous years.
Reasons for their absence include cost-cutting, a growing preference for tightly controlled social media-led launches, and the risk that a mauling from the Cannes critics can doom a movie.
The first edition of the "The Fast and the Furious", a street-racing thriller, helped launch a franchise that has grossed more than seven billion dollars worldwide, according to industry figures. 
Diesel announced on Monday that the concept -- now in its 11th film -- is being adapted into a television series by owner Universal.
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film

After the hobbits, director Peter Jackson tackles 'Tintin'

  • Jackson, who owns Weta FX, one of the world's most important special effects companies, which has worked on "Avatar" as well as "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy, also weighed into the debate on artificial intelligence that has been raging at Cannes.
  • "The Lord of the Rings" maestro Peter Jackson revealed Wednesday that he is taking on another cult classic -- "Tintin".
  • Jackson, who owns Weta FX, one of the world's most important special effects companies, which has worked on "Avatar" as well as "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy, also weighed into the debate on artificial intelligence that has been raging at Cannes.
"The Lord of the Rings" maestro Peter Jackson revealed Wednesday that he is taking on another cult classic -- "Tintin".
The New Zealand director said that he has been working on a script for a film about the boy reporter created by the Belgian cartoonist Herge nearly a century ago.
Jackson said his film would be a sort of follow-up to Steven Spielberg's animated film "The Adventures of Tintin" in 2011.
"The deal was that Steven directs one and I direct another," he told a masterclass at the Cannes Film Festival, where he received an honorary Palme d'Or lifetime's achievement award Tuesday.
"So Steven did his film, then for 15 years I haven't made mine. I feel very awkward about that," he said. But he hasn't been wasting any time while at Cannes.
In between galas and picking up his prize, "I've been working with Fran (Walsh, his partner) on another Tintin script. I was writing it in the hotel room here," he said.
Jackson, who turned JRR Tolkien's trilogy into one of the biggest box office franchises ever, said he loved Tintin, whose adventurous japes in comics like "Tintin in Tibet" and "The Blue Lotus" have been a staple of European children's bookshelves since the 1930s.
Jackson, who owns Weta FX, one of the world's most important special effects companies, which has worked on "Avatar" as well as "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy, also weighed into the debate on artificial intelligence that has been raging at Cannes.
He said that although he thought AI is "going to destroy the world", when it comes to its use in film, "I don't dislike it at all."
"I mean, to me, it's just a special effect. It's no different from other special effects."
bur-fg/sbk

RealMadrid

Real Madrid win legal battle over Bernabeu concert noise

  • The court "clearly and categorically concludes that neither Jose Angel Sanchez... nor Real Madrid Estadio SL bear responsibility for any criminal offence in relation to the concerts held at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium," said Real Madrid in a statement.
  • Real Madrid said Wednesday they have won a legal battle in their dispute with a residents association complaining about "noise pollution" generated by concerts held at their Santiago Bernabeu stadium.
  • The court "clearly and categorically concludes that neither Jose Angel Sanchez... nor Real Madrid Estadio SL bear responsibility for any criminal offence in relation to the concerts held at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium," said Real Madrid in a statement.
Real Madrid said Wednesday they have won a legal battle in their dispute with a residents association complaining about "noise pollution" generated by concerts held at their Santiago Bernabeu stadium.
A Spanish judge said in January all concerts held at the stadium, including that of American superstar Taylor Swift, had exceeded noise limits and there were sufficient "indications" to consider the reported nuisances a criminal offence.
The proceedings targeted the company Real Madrid Estadio, which runs the iconic stadium, reopened in 2023 after a rebuild, as well as its administrator, Jose Angel Sanchez, the right-hand man of club president Florentino Perez.
The court "clearly and categorically concludes that neither Jose Angel Sanchez... nor Real Madrid Estadio SL bear responsibility for any criminal offence in relation to the concerts held at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium," said Real Madrid in a statement.
Los Blancos said the court had dismissed the charges against them and specified it was the "concert promoting companies" who are "responsible for complying with the decibel limits".
Contacted by AFP, the press office of the Madrid courts said it could not publicly comment on the matter for the time being, as "not all parties have yet been notified" of the ruling.
The court's decision could be a first step towards the club being able to hold concerts again at the stadium in the future, after sound-proofing is improved.
Real Madrid, who have spent over 1.5 billion euros ($1.76bn) on renovating their stadium, were hoping to rake in revenue through holding high-profile concerts and other events.
However, since September 2024 many of the shows scheduled there have instead been held at Atletico Madrid's Metropolitano stadium, located outside the city.
rbj-rbs/nf

television

Heckler ejected from Eurovision after Israel song disruption

  • Asked shortly before the semi-final whether Eurovision had plans to lower the crowd volume on the broadcast in case there were attempts to disrupt Israel's performance, executive producer Michael Kroen had insisted: "The crowd volume will be the same for all the contestants."
  • Four people were thrown out of the first Eurovision Song Contest semi-final, which saw attempts to disrupt Israel's performance, organisers said Wednesday.
  • Asked shortly before the semi-final whether Eurovision had plans to lower the crowd volume on the broadcast in case there were attempts to disrupt Israel's performance, executive producer Michael Kroen had insisted: "The crowd volume will be the same for all the contestants."
Four people were thrown out of the first Eurovision Song Contest semi-final, which saw attempts to disrupt Israel's performance, organisers said Wednesday.
As 28-year-old Israeli singer Noam Bettan began his performance of "Michelle" during Tuesday's live show, a protester could be heard shouting "Stop, stop the genocide", and "Free, free Palestine".
Israel's participation in Eurovision 2026 has caused Spain, the Netherlands, Ireland, Iceland and Slovenia to pull out of the world's biggest live televised music event.
Besides unease at the conduct of Israel's war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip, suspicions were also raised that the televoting system was being manipulated to boost Israel last year.
Some participating broadcasters also raised concerns about media freedom, with Israel preventing their journalists from accessing Gaza.
Eurovision is run by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), the world's biggest alliance of public-service media.
In a joint statement, Austrian host broadcaster ORF and the EBU said: "An audience of 10,000 fans in the Wiener Stadthalle at the first semi-final of the 70th Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna greeted every artist enthusiastically.
"ORF is broadcasting a clean audio feed live from audience microphones before and during every performer's song.
"One audience member, close to a microphone, loudly expressed their views as the Israeli artist began his performance, and during the song, which was heard on the live broadcast. They were later removed by security for continuing to disturb the audience.
"Three other people were also removed from the arena by security for disruptive behaviour."
Asked shortly before the semi-final whether Eurovision had plans to lower the crowd volume on the broadcast in case there were attempts to disrupt Israel's performance, executive producer Michael Kroen had insisted: "The crowd volume will be the same for all the contestants."
Fifteen countries were competing in the first semi, with Bettan among the 10 who progressed to Saturday's grand final, following combined votes from the public and professional juries in participating countries.
"I was free, I was me, I was authentic, I felt like my voice is in a good place... and I enjoyed every moment," Bettan said afterwards.
"There were moments when I felt that I'm just singing to my people back home."
On Tuesday, a few dozen pro-Palestinian activists placed coffins in central Vienna in protest at Israel's participation.
Further demonstrations are planned in the Austrian capital during the rest of Eurovision week.
rjm/oaa/sbk

film

Japan rides box office boom into Cannes

  • The biggest-grossing films in Japan in 2025 -- blockbuster "Demon Slayer", period drama "Kokuho" which debuted in Cannes last year, and anime hit "Detective Conan: One-Eyed Flashback" -- helped push box office revenues beyond their previous pre-Covid record high in 2019.
  • The Japanese film industry, fresh from a record box office year in 2025, is carrying its domestic momentum into the Cannes Film Festival where it made its debut Wednesday with Koji Fukada's latest movie.
  • The biggest-grossing films in Japan in 2025 -- blockbuster "Demon Slayer", period drama "Kokuho" which debuted in Cannes last year, and anime hit "Detective Conan: One-Eyed Flashback" -- helped push box office revenues beyond their previous pre-Covid record high in 2019.
The Japanese film industry, fresh from a record box office year in 2025, is carrying its domestic momentum into the Cannes Film Festival where it made its debut Wednesday with Koji Fukada's latest movie.
Fukada's quiet portrait of solitude and thwarted love in rural Japan with his "Nagi Notes" is one of three Japanese movies in the 22-strong main competition in Cannes, the world's biggest film festival.
"All of a Sudden", the first French-language film from Ryusuke Hamaguchi -- who got two Oscar nominations for "Drive My Car" -- and the widely tipped tech-themed "Sheep in the Box" by art-house favourite Hirokazu Kore-eda of "Shoplifters" fame complete the line-up.
Japan is also the country of honour in the Cannes film market, a vast annual gathering of industry executives where projects and rights are acquired by producers and distributors from around the world.
"It's very gratifying that so many Japanese films are submitted and evaluated (at the festival)," Fukada told AFP in an interview on Wednesday. "But I don't think that necessarily indicates the health of Japanese films in Japanese society."
Fukada, whose previous films include "Harmonium" and last year's "Love on Trial" about J-pop stars, counters that record revenue figures for the Japanese box office last year disguise struggles for independent auteurs like him.
The biggest-grossing films in Japan in 2025 -- blockbuster "Demon Slayer", period drama "Kokuho" which debuted in Cannes last year, and anime hit "Detective Conan: One-Eyed Flashback" -- helped push box office revenues beyond their previous pre-Covid record high in 2019.

Exploring loneliness

"Japan is a country where cultural budgets are extremely limited, and public-sector support for film is modest," Fukada said.
"Nagi Notes", starring Takako Matsu and Shizuka Ishibashi, explores the overlapping lives of a cast of characters in rural Okayama Prefecture, each lonely in their own way.
The theme of forbidden gay and lesbian love runs throughout.
"Loneliness isn't limited to people who live in the countryside. Whether you live in the countryside or in the city, the very act of living is lonely and difficult," Fukada, a Cannes regular since his 2016 break-out hit "Harmonium", added.
Loneliness "is like an illness you're born with and can't cure", he said.
"This film features both heterosexuals and sexual minorities, but for lesbians or gays, one of the major ways they can forget their loneliness is to get married and live with a partner, which is very difficult," he added.
"It's difficult because in Japan, same-sex marriage is not yet recognised legally."
Cannes runs until May 23 when the prestigious Palme d'Or will be handed out for best film.
adp/fg/jj

television

Favourites Finland, Israel through at Eurovision semis

BY ROBIN MILLARD

  • At Eurovision, normally only the lead vocal is live, with the music on a backing track. 
  • Favourites Finland made it through the first Eurovision semi-final on Tuesday alongside Israel, whose participation saw five countries boycott the world's biggest live televised music event.
  • At Eurovision, normally only the lead vocal is live, with the music on a backing track. 
Favourites Finland made it through the first Eurovision semi-final on Tuesday alongside Israel, whose participation saw five countries boycott the world's biggest live televised music event.
With blasts of dry ice and jets of flame, the Eurovision party got started inside the Wiener Stadthalle in Vienna, where 11,200 revved-up fans saw 15 acts battle for 10 places in Saturday's grand final.
Belgium upset the odds to make it through, with Croatia, Greece, Lithuania, Moldova, Poland, Serbia and Sweden also progressing.
However, it was the end of the road for Estonia, Georgia, Montenegro and Portugal's dreams of Eurovision glory.
Tiny San Marino also bowed out, despite featuring guest vocals from 1980s Culture Club star Boy George.
Viewers across Europe and beyond were treated to styles ranging from upbeat Estonian guitar pop to soaring Polish high notes and the brooding mystery of Lithuania's silver-painted Lion Ceccah.
Moldova opened the show with rapper Satoshi pumping up the energy.
Greece has been gaining traction with "Ferto", featuring singer Akylas in tigerprint coat, shorts and hat against a retro video game backdrop in a performance that also showcased knitting, a glitterball and a classical statue that came to life.
"I was so happy, I got so emotional, the crowd was there singing 'Ferto' with me, it was amazing," he said afterwards.
Croatia's ethno-pop group Lelek delved into mythical fantasy visuals on "Andromeda", opening with the lines "When you light a candle, ask your grandmother / Why she gave birth to daughters in fear".
Serbian progressive metal band Lavina closed the concert with a throat-shredding growl.

Biggest-ever boycott

This year marks the 70th edition of Eurovision, which despite the razzmatazz rarely escapes the politics in the background.
Israel's war in the Gaza Strip prompted Spain, Ireland, Slovenia, the Netherlands and Iceland to withdraw from the glitzy annual extravaganza -- the biggest-ever political boycott.
With fans waving Israeli flags, Noam Bettan performed "Michelle", a song in Hebrew, French and English.
"I was free, I was me, I was authentic, I felt like my voice is in a good place... and I enjoyed every moment," he said.
"There were moments when I felt that I'm just singing to my people back home."
Earlier, a few dozen pro-Palestinian activists placed coffins in central Vienna in protest.
"Israel has become an aggressor," demonstrator Karin Spindlberger, 67, told AFP. 
"Music should be universal, and it is. Music should bring people together -- but not in this way."
Eurovision director Martin Green told a press conference the protests showed that Vienna allowed everyone to express themselves.
"It is a profoundly good sign of a democracy where you can have this show happening on one side of the city and a protest happening on the other side and they can both co-exist. Maybe the world can learn from that," he said.

Finnish flamethrowers

Thanks to operatic singer JJ's victory last year with "Wasted Love", Austria is hosting for the third time, having staged the 1967 and 2015 contests.
This year, the semi-finals are being decided both by public vote and, for the first time since Turin 2022, by professional juries, in a bid to restore fans' faith in the voting system.
Finnish duo Linda Lampenius and Pete Parkkonen are the overall Eurovision favourites with "Liekinheitin", or "Flamethrower".
"This is like the Olympics of the music world, and it's nothing you take for granted that we would be in the final," said violinist Lampenius.
"There's something between us that somehow when I had been listening to Pete's way of singing and playing and everything, I just knew that we think alike and we feel alike."
At Eurovision, normally only the lead vocal is live, with the music on a backing track. 
However, Lampenius was given special dispensation to play her instrument live -- a rare event since orchestras were phased out after Birmingham 1998.
Fifteen more acts will compete in Thursday's second semi, with 10 going through.
Alongside Eurovision's major financial backers Britain, France, Germany and Italy, hosts Austria have a guaranteed spot in Saturday's 25-country showpiece final.
rjm-bg/lga

Paramount

Paramount defends Warner bid amid California probe

  • Combined, Paramount and Warner Bros.
  • Paramount Skydance has defended its attempt to buy the legendary Warner Bros. studio, in a letter to California's top lawyer whose office is probing the $110 billion bid, US media reported Tuesday.
  • Combined, Paramount and Warner Bros.
Paramount Skydance has defended its attempt to buy the legendary Warner Bros. studio, in a letter to California's top lawyer whose office is probing the $110 billion bid, US media reported Tuesday.
The move comes amid growing calls for regulators to block the takeover, with creators in Hollywood fearing the highly leveraged buyout will mean job cuts and a drastically scaled back movie slate, with production going straight to streaming.
In a letter addressed to state Attorney General Rob Bonta, Paramount says it is deeply committed to producing films and showing them in cinemas.
"Theatrical runs increase awareness and anticipation through marketing and word-of-mouth, and then help convert that demand into viewing when the title later becomes available (and promoted) on the platform," reads the letter, sent on May 7 by Paramount's Chief Legal Officer Makan Delrahim, according to the news site Semafor. 
The new company "will have every incentive to get more films into wider distribution on more movie theater screens -- it is how it will compete for audiences across the entertainment ecosystem."
In the eight-page document, Paramount reiterates its pledge to release at least 30 films per year if the acquisition is approved, with a minimum 45-day exclusive theatrical window.
A bidding war for Warner Bros., and its valuable back catalogue erupted last year between streaming giant Netflix and Paramount, whose CEO David Ellison is the son of Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, an ally of President Donald Trump.
A wary Tinseltown reluctantly coalesced around the Netflix bid, seeing it as the lesser of two evils, but Paramount's willingness to stump up ever greater sums eventually saw the streamer withdraw.
Still, hundreds of actors and directors have signed a letter opposing the merger, arguing it will crimp production in an already struggling industry.
Bonta previously announced that his office would closely scrutinize the mammoth transaction, which received final approval from Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders last week.
Combined, Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery will encompass CNN, CBS, HBO, and Nickelodeon, as well as some of Hollywood's most valuable franchises, including "Harry Potter," "Game of Thrones," the DC Universe, "Mission: Impossible," and "SpongeBob SquarePants."
A spokesman from Bonta's office declined to confirm the existence of the letter.
pr/hg/mlm

Oscars

Conan O'Brien to host 2027 Oscars: organisers

  • O'Brien, a six-time Emmy Award winner, has hosted several late-night television programs, including "The Tonight Show."
  • Comedian Conan O'Brien will return for the third straight time to host the Oscars in 2027, organizers announced Tuesday.
  • O'Brien, a six-time Emmy Award winner, has hosted several late-night television programs, including "The Tonight Show."
Comedian Conan O'Brien will return for the third straight time to host the Oscars in 2027, organizers announced Tuesday.
O'Brien, 63, will preside over the 99th edition of American cinema's most prestigious gala, which will be held on March 14 in the heart of Hollywood. 
"We look forward to Conan superbly leading the celebration with his brilliance and humor," said Academy CEO Bill Kramer and President Lynette Howell Taylor in a joint statement. 
The former late-night host will once again work with Raj Kapoor and Katy Mullan, who will serve as executive producers of the Academy Awards for the fourth consecutive time. 
The announcement came as part of the presentation of Disney's programming lineup. Disney is the parent company of ABC, the network responsible for broadcasting the ceremony. 
"Conan has created remarkable energy around the Oscars," said Disney Television Group President Craig Erwich. "His singular comedic voice makes Hollywood’s biggest night one of the most entertaining celebrations of the year." 
O'Brien, a six-time Emmy Award winner, has hosted several late-night television programs, including "The Tonight Show."
He currently hosts the podcast "Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend" and the HBO travel series "Conan O'Brien Must Go."
Viewership for the Academy Awards dipped slightly this year, with 17.9 million people tuning in to the gala broadcast by ABC and streamed on Hulu.
The 98th edition of the ceremony named "One Battle After Another" as the year's Best Picture, and also honored its director, Paul Thomas Anderson, who took home the first Oscar of his career.
pr/hg

film

Stars descend as Cannes Film Festival opens without Hollywood backing

BY FIACHRA GIBBONS

  • Wood,  who starred as Frodo Baggins in "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy, was reunited with director Peter Jackson on stage as he handed the New Zealand filmmaker an honorary Palme d'Or award for his epic career.
  • Celebrities from Demi Moore to "The Lord of the Rings" star Elijah Wood headed up the red carpet for the opening ceremony of the Cannes Film Festival on Tuesday, where the impact of AI and the absence of Hollywood studios are major talking points.
  • Wood,  who starred as Frodo Baggins in "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy, was reunited with director Peter Jackson on stage as he handed the New Zealand filmmaker an honorary Palme d'Or award for his epic career.
Celebrities from Demi Moore to "The Lord of the Rings" star Elijah Wood headed up the red carpet for the opening ceremony of the Cannes Film Festival on Tuesday, where the impact of AI and the absence of Hollywood studios are major talking points.
The annual film extravaganza on the French Riviera was declared open by American cinema veteran Jane Fonda and Chinese star Gong Li at a star-studded ceremony attended by "Black Panther" actor Isaach De Bankole and "Spider-Man" James Franco.
Fonda, a vocal critic of US President Donald Trump and long-standing anti-war and women's rights campaigner, urged the industry to create films that serve as "an act of resistance".
"We tell the stories... that bring empathy to the marginalised, stories that allow us to feel across difference, stories that let us see that there is an alternative future that is possible," she said.
Wood,  who starred as Frodo Baggins in "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy, was reunited with director Peter Jackson on stage as he handed the New Zealand filmmaker an honorary Palme d'Or award for his epic career.
Jackson was typically self-deprecating as he accepted the award to a prolonged standing ovation, saying it was a "stunning surprise, miraculous... I am not a Palme d'Or sort of guy".

Off-screen events

In the main Cannes competition, which begins Wednesday, a total of 22 films are vying for the prestigious Palme d'Or prize for best film, which was won last year by Iranian movie "It Was Just an Accident" by Jafar Panahi.
The competition features a handful of historical dramas pondering the impact of authoritarianism and fascism, as well as others from arthouse heavy hitters such as Spain's Pedro Almodovar, Japan's Hirokazu Kore-eda or Romania's Cristian Mungiu. 
As usual in the build up to the festival, off-screen events have dominated the conversation, from the impact of artificial intelligence on jobs, Hollywood's decision to ghost the event, to the under-representation of women directors.
Irish-Scottish screenwriter Paul Laverty, one of the nine-person Palme d'Or jury, took a shot at Hollywood in a press conference just hours before the opening ceremony. 
"Isn't it fascinating to see Susan Sarandon, Javier Bardem and Mark Ruffalo blacklisted because of their views in opposing the murder of women and children in Gaza?" Laverty said in reference to the stars who have publicly opposed Israel's war in Gaza.
"Shame on Hollywood, people who do that," the Scottish-born writer added.
For years, activists have pushed European festivals to condemn Israel's war in Gaza, which left tens of thousands dead and devastated the territory -- calls that have been resisted.

AI fears

Cannes director Thierry Fremaux came out strongly against AI and its effect on the industry, however, where job losses are mounting.
"What is certain... is that here in Cannes, we stand with the artists, we stand with the screenwriters and we stand with everyone in these professions, with actors and voice actors alike," he told reporters on Monday.
Nonetheless, the festival said Monday that it had signed a multi-year sponsorship deal with social media giant and AI technology investor Meta.
Mark Zuckerberg's group is at the heart of a brewing controversy about the latest film from Oscar-winning "Traffic" director Steven Soderbergh, which will premiere in Cannes.
Soderbergh partnered with Meta to obtain AI-generated video of late Beatles songwriter John Lennon and his wife Yoko Ono for his documentary "John Lennon: The Last Interview".

'Come back'

Soderbergh is a rare Hollywood directing heavyweight in Cannes this year, with others such as Steven Spielberg and Christopher Nolan -- hoped for by organisers -- failing to appear on the programme.
The world's biggest film festival typically relies on Hollywood to provide a dose of mass-market entertainment alongside its programme of arthouse cinema.
But no major US studio agreed to launch a blockbuster this year, or at the Berlin International Film Festival in February, raising questions about why giants such as Universal, Disney or Warner are dodging European events.
"I really hope that the studios come back," Fremaux said Monday, attributing their absence to scheduling issues and industry turmoil. 
He stressed that American cinema was well represented, with "Paper Tiger" by James Gray starring Adam Driver, as well as "The Man I Love" by Ira Sachs featuring Rami Malek, in the main competition.
bur-adp-fg/phz

film

Cannes honours Jackson, Middle Earth wizard who 'transformed' cinema

BY DAVID WILLIAMS

  • In 1998, he secured financial backing to put "The Lord of the Rings" on the big screen.
  • "The Lord of the Rings" maestro Peter Jackson brought laughter and tears to the Cannes Film Festival Tuesday as he was given a lifetime achievement award for his big-screen epics that have also delivered a tourism bonanza to his native New Zealand.
  • In 1998, he secured financial backing to put "The Lord of the Rings" on the big screen.
"The Lord of the Rings" maestro Peter Jackson brought laughter and tears to the Cannes Film Festival Tuesday as he was given a lifetime achievement award for his big-screen epics that have also delivered a tourism bonanza to his native New Zealand.
In a thrilling moment for fans of the Tolkien epic, American actor Elijah Wood, who played the hero Frodon Baggins in the trilogy, presented him with the honorary Palme d'Or.
Jackson was typically self-deprecating as he accepted the award to a prolonged standing ovation, saying it was a "stunning surprise, miraculous... I am not a Palme d'Or sort of guy. 
"I have been trying to work out why I won" only to realise "this morning that this is the Cannes Film Festival's way of apologising for not giving 'Bad Taste' (his first film at Cannes), the Palme d'Or" in 1988, he joked.
The bearded director also gently poked fun at Wood as they embraced on stage, saying, "So glad you have grown a little bit of facial hair." 
Jackson compared Wood's new look to Clark Gable. "If someone does a remake of 'Gone with the Wind', it could be your role," he said.
With his unkempt hair and a predilection for going barefoot on set, the 64-year-old Oscar winner has taken on a string of cinematic challenges armed with an eye for detail and dazzling special effects.
"He has permanently transformed Hollywood cinema and its conception of the spectacle," said Cannes director Thierry Fremaux, when the award was first announced in March.
"But Jackson is not only a great technician; he is above all a tremendous storyteller."
An only child born in the small town of Pukerua Bay near the New Zealand capital Wellington, he was captivated at the age of eight when the 1933 version of "King Kong" appeared on the family's black-and-white television.
"Ask me today what I think of King Kong and I will tell you that it is one of the most perfect pieces of cinematic escapism," Jackson said in a 2006 biography.
His first film, as an eight-year-old, was a war movie shot with schoolmates in the back garden with his parents' Super Eight camera. He poked holes in the celluloid to simulate gunfire.
While working as an apprentice photographic engraver on Wellington's Evening Post newspaper aged about 18, Jackson bought a copy of "The Lord of the Rings" to read on a long train trip. 
"I kept saying to myself: 'This book could make a really great movie.'"
Within a few years, he took a first step into the industry.

Hobbits, elves

In his early 20s, the director bought a Bolex 16-millimetre camera and made the low-budget horror, "Bad Taste", which was shown at Cannes, praised by critics and sold in 30 countries.
Jackson met his life partner Fran Walsh at a screening of the movie, and she would go on to collaborate on his films, including the blockbuster "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy. They have two children. Jackson thanked all three as he accepted the Cannes award.
The director won international renown with the 1994 drama thriller "Heavenly Creatures" starring Kate Winslet and based on the true story of two schoolgirls who murder one of their mothers.
In 1998, he secured financial backing to put "The Lord of the Rings" on the big screen.
New Line Cinema committed to the three films of Tolkien's tale with Jackson as director and New Zealand as the majestic location -- a choice that the country would tap as a major tourism draw.
He devoted the next seven years to the hobbits, elves and Ringwraiths of Middle Earth, lending his storytelling and technical skills to a film trilogy lasting more than nine hours that was bestowed with multiple Oscars.
In 2004, after years of talks, he began filming a successful remake of "King Kong", the story of a giant gorilla captured from the fictional Skull Island, and its demise on New York's Empire State Building.
Jackson returned to Tolkien's world in 2012 with three box office hits based on "The Hobbit".
The bearded director was praised by the Cannes Film Festival also for his "colossal" 2018 documentary series "They Shall Not Grow Old", which restored original World War I footage to recreate the lives of soldiers on the Western Front.
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film

'Shame on Hollywood': Cannes-winning writer rails at stance on Gaza

  • "Isn't it fascinating to see Susan Sarandon, Javier Bardem and Mark Ruffalo blacklisted because of their views in opposing the murder of women and children in Gaza?
  • Hollywood should be ashamed of the way it has treated stars like Susan Sarandon, Javier Bardem and Mark Ruffalo for opposing Israel's war in Gaza, a member of the Cannes Film Festival jury said Tuesday, with big studios conspicuously absent this year.
  • "Isn't it fascinating to see Susan Sarandon, Javier Bardem and Mark Ruffalo blacklisted because of their views in opposing the murder of women and children in Gaza?
Hollywood should be ashamed of the way it has treated stars like Susan Sarandon, Javier Bardem and Mark Ruffalo for opposing Israel's war in Gaza, a member of the Cannes Film Festival jury said Tuesday, with big studios conspicuously absent this year.
Paul Laverty, who wrote two films that won Cannes' top prize, was cheered as he lambasted the studios and praised the French festival for using an image of Sarandon in "Thelma and Louise" for its poster this year.
"Isn't it fascinating to see Susan Sarandon, Javier Bardem and Mark Ruffalo blacklisted because of their views in opposing the murder of women and children in Gaza? Shame on Hollywood, people who do that," the Scottish-born writer, who was arrested last year at a pro-Palestine protest, added.
"They're the best of us," said Laverty, who won best screenplay at Cannes for Ken Loach's "I, Daniel Blake" and "The Wind that Shakes the Barley".
"I just hope we don't get bombed now," he joked. 
Sarandon was dropped by her US agents and accused of antisemitism in 2023 after she told a pro-Palestinian rally in New York that people "afraid of being Jewish at this time are getting a taste of what it feels like to be a Muslim in this country, so often subjected to violence".
She said earlier this year that her outspoken stance on Gaza made it "impossible for me to even be on television", never mind work in Hollywood.
But left-winger Laverty made an impassioned plea for filmmakers not to shy away from politics "when madmen lead the blind", quoting Shakespeare's "King Lear".
Laverty did not mention US leader Donald Trump, but his presidency and the war in Gaza have hung heavy over film festivals over the last few years.
South Korea director Park Chan-wook, who heads the jury awarding the Palme d'Or, the top prize at Cannes, also defended the place of politics in film.
"Art and politics are not concepts that are in conflict with each other. As long as they are artistically expressed, they are valuable," said the maker of "Oldboy" and "The Handmaiden".
With Meta, the owners of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, signing a multi-year sponsorship deal with Cannes, Laverty also warned about "the concentration of power" by Big Tech.
"We are beginning to realise that we should not let these tech bros billionaires, mostly right-wing libertarians, dictate how we live our lives," he added, with artificial intelligence another hot topic at the festival. 
Hollywood star Demi Moore, who is also on the jury, said she was also sceptical of AI's place in the industry, though not against it.
"There is nothing to fear because one can never replace what true art comes from, because it comes from the soul," she told reporters.
"That, they can never recreate."
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film

Singer FKA twigs to play Josephine Baker in biopic of anti-racist legend

  • She was the first black woman to be given a place in the Pantheon, where France's national heroes are buried, after helping the French Resistance during World War II and also spying on the Nazis for the British and US intelligence services.
  • British music star FKA twigs is to play Josephine Baker in a new biopic of the Roaring Twenties icon who became a hero of the French Resistance and the American civil rights movement.
  • She was the first black woman to be given a place in the Pantheon, where France's national heroes are buried, after helping the French Resistance during World War II and also spying on the Nazis for the British and US intelligence services.
British music star FKA twigs is to play Josephine Baker in a new biopic of the Roaring Twenties icon who became a hero of the French Resistance and the American civil rights movement.
The movie will tell the "incredible story of the magnificent, incomparable" dancer and singer, its producers said at the Cannes Film Festival, which starts Tuesday.
Born into grinding poverty in St. Louis, Missouri, Baker became one of the first global superstars. But she refused to perform before segregated audiences in the United States and spent much of her life in France.
She was the first black woman to be given a place in the Pantheon, where France's national heroes are buried, after helping the French Resistance during World War II and also spying on the Nazis for the British and US intelligence services.
FKA twigs, who is also a singer and choreographer, said Baker's "extraordinary legacy is such an inspiration to me and to so many people".
"I cannot wait" to bring "her fight, her love, her losses, her talent and her heroism to the big screen," the Grammy winner added.
As well as aiding the Allied fight against fascism, Baker was a leading voice against racial discrimination in her homeland, and spoke alongside Martin Luther King Jr. at the 1963 march on Washington.
The movie, by rising French director Maimouna Doucoure of "Cuties" fame, will start shooting later this year.
Producers StudioCanal said they had worked with Baker's sons, Jean-Claude Bouillon Baker and Brian Bouillon Baker, on the script.
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museum

New London museum woos younger visitors

BY ALEXANDRA DEL PERAL

  • The museum, in the making since 2012, decided to focus its exhibitions on the worldview of younger visitors, revolving around themes such as health, identity and community.
  • A new London museum conceived with and for under-30s is seeking to draw younger generations by tackling themes such as climate and gender.
  • The museum, in the making since 2012, decided to focus its exhibitions on the worldview of younger visitors, revolving around themes such as health, identity and community.
A new London museum conceived with and for under-30s is seeking to draw younger generations by tackling themes such as climate and gender.
A honey‑coloured concrete jumble of a building now rises on the site of the former 2012 Olympic Park, in the east of the British capital.
The V&A East, which opened on April 18, is the newest outpost of the beloved 174-year-old Victoria and Albert Museum, and aims specifically at younger audiences.
Just a few metres (yards) away stands the Storehouse, open for almost a year, which allows the public to get close up with the museum's vast reserves. Yet the two V&A offshoots could hardly be more different.
The Storehouse aims to be as exhaustive as possible, brimming with objects of every kind.
The V&A East meanwhile opts for restraint -- just 500 objects are on show, displayed in an airy, light‑filled space with large picture windows.
In its two free permanent galleries are shoes by punk fashion icon Vivienne Westwood and a dress by 18th‑century English designer Anna Maria Garthwaite -- one of the first women designers.
They feature alongside contemporary works by artists from east London and beyond, including pioneering fabrics inspired by designer Althea McNish's African-Caribbean heritage.

'Woke' museum?

"When we started thinking about the idea of making a museum focused on young adults, we did a lot of consultation with them for years," Brendan Cormier, chief curator, told AFP.
"We talked about the design of the galleries... and then we talked about the collections," he said.
The museum, in the making since 2012, decided to focus its exhibitions on the worldview of younger visitors, revolving around themes such as health, identity and community.
According to UK culture ministry figures from July, only 31 to 37 percent of people aged 16 to 24 visited a museum in the 12 months to March 2025, compared to 41 percent of adults.
The opening of the space comes as the role of museums in exploring social issues undergoes new kinds of scrutiny, notably in the United States.
US President Donald Trump's administration announced in August it would review certain exhibitions in Washington museums, accusing them of "wokeness" and "ideological indoctrination".
In London, more than 30,000 young people were involved in the concept -- some through their schools, others by directly visiting the museum.
A visit to the museum is like "following a thread", said Cormier.
"An object catches your eye, you go and learn more about it, and you uncover a new story, a whole new world."

'Dive into the unknown'

"It's quite unnerving," murmured Londoner Amy Richard, 27, visiting with her father, a retired railway worker.
"You don't come here to see specific things, but rather to wander through a space and let yourself be surprised. I like that."
Her father, Mark, was examining a pair of Nike trainers in the sustainability section, which traces the changes in materials used in fashion.
"You mustn't be afraid to dive into the unknown," he joked.
Will that be enough to lure more young adults to museums?
US museologist and researcher Kevin Coffee sees the project as "a first step".
For him, the low attendance of young people has less to do with a lack of interest and is "more about an offer that often fails to meet their expectations and cultural practices".
A temporary exhibition, "The Music is Black: A British Story", runs until January 2027.
Visitors receive connected headphones, and the soundtrack shifts as they wander through the space, turning it into more of an immersive concert.
The exhibition traces more than 120 years of black music in Britain, from jazz and reggae to hip hop and rock, brought to the country down the years of immigration.
The exhibition "is a story of excellence, struggle, resilience and joy", the museum says.
It also addresses Britain's colonial past -- a sensitive topic for UK museums, which owe a large part of their rich collections to that complicated heritage.
Visitors are welcomed by a large map showing the spread of the UK's colonisation and the routes of the slave trade from the 16th to 19th centuries.
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army

Even DJs don't escape junta's 'revolution' in Burkina Faso

  • The surprise encounter -- which the culture ministry showed on its social media account last month -- was part of an information campaign, in line with the nationalist rhetoric of the west African country's rulers.
  • A DJ mixing tracks at a lively bar in Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso's economic capital, found himself suddenly confronted by the military-led country's culture minister.
  • The surprise encounter -- which the culture ministry showed on its social media account last month -- was part of an information campaign, in line with the nationalist rhetoric of the west African country's rulers.
A DJ mixing tracks at a lively bar in Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso's economic capital, found himself suddenly confronted by the military-led country's culture minister.
"All the music you've played is imported music," Pingdwende Gilbert Ouedraogo declared disapprovingly, while the DJ stood silent.
"We haven’t come tonight to punish you... We're here to raise your awareness. Consuming Burkinabe products also means promoting our artists," the minister told him.
The surprise encounter -- which the culture ministry showed on its social media account last month -- was part of an information campaign, in line with the nationalist rhetoric of the west African country's rulers.
Junta chief Ibrahim Traore has pushed an agenda of domestically driven policies with the proclaimed aim of reclaiming national sovereignty, since seizing power in a September 2022 coup.
The 38-year-old captain, who recently told Burkinabes to "forget" about democracy, says he is leading a "popular progressive revolution".
That now includes a stipulation that 50 to 70 percent of music played at leisure venues be from Burkina Faso.
Despite the popularity of Afrobeats from Nigeria or Ivorian dance music, bars and other public places will be required to stick to homegrown talent on their sound systems with stars such as Floby, who sings in French and the local Moore language, or rapper Smarty.

'An opportunity'

Styling himself on former leader Thomas Sankara, a charismatic anti-colonial icon of African rebellion who was killed in a 1987 coup, Traore openly defends an anti-imperialist programme.
"He has successfully channelled a widespread pan-Africanist and anti-French sentiment, positioning himself as the one who will complete the unfulfilled revolution" of Sankara, Folahanmi Aina, an analyst on conflicts in the Sahel region, said in a study published last month.
Under Traore, Burkina Faso has nationalised several gold mines.
The traditional Faso Danfani handwoven fabric, popular during Sankara's short tenure, is again widely worn in the civil service and schools.
"With the calls to consume, produce, process and eat Burkinabe products, sovereignty comes right down onto the plate, into everyday habits, into objects (and) into the domestic economy," analyst Julien Hoffmann, also a Sahel expert, wrote in an article.
A local musician welcomed the new music rule as "an opportunity" for the Burkinabe scene.
"The breakthrough will come," the artist enthused.
But, local products are often more expensive, especially when purchasing power has been dented by three years of political upheaval on top of a decade of jihadist violence.
"Whether it's rice, Faso Danfani or other local products, what is made here and should be accessible to everyone is turning into a luxury item," a resident in the second city grumbled.

'Order and discipline'

Popular mobilisation around the homeland and the nation is the common thread running through Traore's "revolution", which mostly shapes military issues.
Soldiers and police officers have taken to releasing their own music -- military songs about glory and courage to motivate the rank and file.
Traore has also ordered a band be set up to play at official ceremonies to boost morale and help rally the troops.
The captain has recruited thousands of civilian volunteers to fight alongside the army.
Together, they have been accused by Human Rights Watch of killing at least 1,255 civilians in 2023, twice as many victims as a militant jihadist group. 
Burkinabe authorities denied the accusation.
The military leadership has also introduced a mandatory one-month "patriotic immersion" scheme for high school graduates.
The programme is presented as a way to train engaged citizens who are ready to defend their country against jihadists.
Similarly, ministry staff and other public servants are also sent, several hundred at a time, for "patriotic immersion".
Two years ago, the junta set up a Patriotic Support Fund to equip the army, financed by public contributions that raised 496 billion CFA francs over three years (around $880 million, 756 million euros).

'Neither saviour nor dictator'

Traore stresses that the country's leaders will not hesitate to "enforce order and discipline" among the population. 
"You don't make a revolution in chaos," he warned last year.
Critics are silenced by being shipped off to the front line to fight jihadist groups affiliated with Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group, which have waged violence for more than a decade, causing thousands of deaths.
France's TV5 Monde last week became the latest international media outlet to be banned.
Numerous journalists have been arrested or abducted and also forced to the front line.
Aina, the researcher, said Traore was "neither simply a saviour nor merely a dictator".
Rather, he is "an ambivalent figure whose authority is rooted in anti-imperialist promise and consolidated through authoritarian practice," he said.
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patent

Dua Lipa sues Samsung in US over use of her likeness on TV box

  • The photo, titled "Dua Lipa - Backstage at Austin City Limits, 2024," is registered with the US copyright office and belongs to Lipa, according to the suit.
  • Pop star Dua Lipa is suing Samsung over trademark infringement, alleging the South Korean conglomerate illegally used a photo of the star to juice US television sales.
  • The photo, titled "Dua Lipa - Backstage at Austin City Limits, 2024," is registered with the US copyright office and belongs to Lipa, according to the suit.
Pop star Dua Lipa is suing Samsung over trademark infringement, alleging the South Korean conglomerate illegally used a photo of the star to juice US television sales.
Attorneys for Lipa filed the suit Friday in a US court in California, claiming "massive, continuing, unauthorized commercial exploitation of her valuable image and likeness by Samsung on cardboard television boxes."
Samsung said in a statement that the pop star's image was provided by a third-party content partner for the brand's free streaming service Samsung TV Plus.
"The image was used only after receiving explicit assurance from the content partner that permission had been secured, including for the retail boxes," the statement said, adding that the company has "actively sought and remain open to a constructive resolution with Ms. Lipa's team."
The legal papers include a snapshot of the box for a high definition television. The television screen is filled with several images, the largest showing part of Lipa's face.
The photo, titled "Dua Lipa - Backstage at Austin City Limits, 2024," is registered with the US copyright office and belongs to Lipa, according to the suit.
The suit lists Lipa's extensive commercial partnerships, including serving as global brand ambassador for Puma, campaigns with Versace and Yves Saint Laurent and collaborations with Porsche, Apple, Chanel, Nespresso, Bvlgari and Tiffany & Co.
"Ms. Lipa is highly selective in her commercial partnerships and has cultivated a premium brand through carefully curated, high-end sponsorships and endorsements," according to the suit. "Consistent with this deliberate strategy, Plaintiff would not have agreed to license her name, image or likeness in connection with the sale of the Infringing Products."
The suit lists eight civil offenses, including violation of right of publicity, copyright infringement and false endorsement.
The complaint seeks a permanent injunction, an award no less than for $15 million for actual damages and punitive damages.
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politics

Epstein files on display at New York pop-up exhibit, all 3.5 million pages

  • The library, dubbed "The Donald J. Trump and Jeffrey Epstein Memorial Reading Room," has bound all the documents released under the Epstein Files Transparency Act in 3,437 volumes, all numbered and organized on shelves.
  • A US transparency advocacy group has opened a temporary exhibition in New York with only one text on display: a print-out of all the files released by the US Department of Justice -- roughly 3.5 million pages -- relating to financier and convicted sex criminal Jeffrey Epstein.
  • The library, dubbed "The Donald J. Trump and Jeffrey Epstein Memorial Reading Room," has bound all the documents released under the Epstein Files Transparency Act in 3,437 volumes, all numbered and organized on shelves.
A US transparency advocacy group has opened a temporary exhibition in New York with only one text on display: a print-out of all the files released by the US Department of Justice -- roughly 3.5 million pages -- relating to financier and convicted sex criminal Jeffrey Epstein.
The library, dubbed "The Donald J. Trump and Jeffrey Epstein Memorial Reading Room," has bound all the documents released under the Epstein Files Transparency Act in 3,437 volumes, all numbered and organized on shelves.
"The truth is hard to deny when it's printed and bound for you to see," reads the website for the Institute of Primary Facts, the Washington-based nonprofit behind the display.
Those interested in seeing the files at the library in Tribeca can do so by registering online.
However, due to errors by the Department of Justice in failing to redact the names of some of the victims included in the documents, the general public is not allowed to consult the files. The exhibit offers exceptions for some professionals like journalists and lawyers.
The pop-up also has a display on the longstanding relationship between President Donald Trump and Epstein, who died in federal custody in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges involving minors.
The pair were friends for decades before they reportedly fell out in 2004 over a property deal, after which Trump reportedly denounced his former ally. He has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing after showing up repeatedly in the so-called "Epstein Files."
"We're a pro-democracy organization, with the goal of educating the public using these kinds of sort of pop-up museums and other in-real-life experiences to help people understand the corruption in the United States, the dangers to democracy," David Garrett, one of the creators behind the project, told AFP.
Garrett said he believes "there needs to be real public outcry" about how the Trump administration has handled the document release, with many accusing justice officials of covering up Trump's ties to Epstein.
"And what we attempted to do here was to create, or help to create public outcry to have real accountability," he added.
The exhibit is open to the public until May 21.
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Cannes

Cannes Film Festival: what to watch out for

BY ADAM PLOWRIGHT

  • - A-listers -  Other A-listers from around the world will descend on the Cannes red carpets which will be some of the most celeb-heavy places on the planet for the next fortnight.
  • The Cannes Film Festival promises another action-packed fortnight of world premieres, star-studded red carpets, parties and fashion when it begins on Tuesday.
  • - A-listers -  Other A-listers from around the world will descend on the Cannes red carpets which will be some of the most celeb-heavy places on the planet for the next fortnight.
The Cannes Film Festival promises another action-packed fortnight of world premieres, star-studded red carpets, parties and fashion when it begins on Tuesday.
AFP looks ahead at some of the most hotly anticipated moments and appearances:
- The main competition - 
A total of 22 films are competing for the prestigious Palme d'Or for best film which will be handed out on May 23.
Arthouse heavy-hitters such as Spain's Pedro Almodovar, Japan's Hirokazu Kore-eda or Romania's Cristian Mungiu will be up against emerging talent such as Belgian prodigy Lukas Dhont and France's Lea Mysius.
There is industry buzz around "Hope" by South Korean director Na Hong-jin, starring real-life partners Michael Fassbender and Alicia Vikander, as well as AI- and technology-themed "Sheep in the Box" by acclaimed Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda. 
The nine-person jury this year will be headed by South Korean director Park Chan-Wook but will also feature Demi Moore, who returns after her star turn in "The Substance" in 2024.
- Hollywood ghosting - 
Unlike previous editions which have featured Tom Cruise productions "Mission: Impossible" or "Top Gun", no major US studios have chosen Cannes to launch a blockbuster.
Hollywood has traditionally provided some mass-market entertainment alongside the more edgy, independent cinema in the Cannes programme.
Reasons for their absence include cost-cutting, their growing preference for tightly controlled social media-led launches, and the risk that a mauling from the Cannes critics can doom a movie.
Vin Diesel and co-star Michelle Rodriguez from "The Fast and the Furious" will fly in for a special 25th anniversary screening of the first film in the franchise.

Travolta

One man not put off by the prospect of scrutiny from some of the world's most demanding film critics is movie legend John Travolta.
The plane-mad actor will bring some stardust when he unveils his directorial debut, "Propeller One-Way Night Coach", about a young boy's journey in the "golden age of aviation".
- A-listers - 
Other A-listers from around the world will descend on the Cannes red carpets which will be some of the most celeb-heavy places on the planet for the next fortnight.
Scarlett Johansson and Adam Driver are set to promote in-competition "Paper Tiger", a thriller by American director James Gray, while "Bohemian Rhapsody" star Rami Malek stars in "The Man I Love" by Ira Sachs.
Spanish favourite Javier Bardem, Norwegian star Renate Reinsve, Kristen Stewart and Woody Harrelson are all featuring in films set to screen for the first time on the French Riviera.
Julianne Moore and Cate Blanchett are also set to make appearances, while Barbra Streisand and "Lord of the Rings" director Peter Jackson will pick up lifetime achievement awards.
- A Russian returns - 
The appearance by one of Russia's most decorated independent directors, Andrey Zvyagintsev, will be celebrated for film and personal reasons.
The Oscar-nominated director of "Leviathan" and "Loveless" nearly died due to Covid and had to flee his homeland after Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
His first movie since 2017 is called "Minotaur" and tackles the hugely sensitive issue of the Russian bourgeoisie grappling with army conscription at the start of the Ukraine war. 
- AI-created Lennon - 
Director Steven Soderbergh will present his documentary "John Lennon: The Last Interview" which features The Beatles songwriter hours before his murder.
Soderbergh has turned the audio-only recording into a film, using archival pictures as illustration and -- very controversially -- AI-generated images of the late singer.
- Football - 
There will be a surprising amount of football at the high temple of cinema, including a British-made documentary "Cantona" about legendary French forward Eric Cantona.
An Argentine-made film, "The Match", casts a spotlight on the notorious England-Argentina 1986 World Cup match settled by a goal awarded after a handball by Diego Maradona.

Best of the rest

With war-hit Iran in the news, "Rehearsals for a Revolution" by Pegah Ahangarani, a film about political repression, appears timely.
After a Nigerian movie screened in a hallowed official slot at Cannes for the first time last year, twin brothers Arie and Chuko Esiri will represent Nollywood again when they show star-packed "Clarissa". 
Picked in the Director's Fortnight competition, it features "The Bear" star Ayo Edebiri and "Selma" actor David Oyelowo.
"The Godfather III" and "Ocean's Eleven" actor Andy Garcia presents "Diamond", a "passion project" he has been working on for 15 years.
Two big-budget war-themed French productions -- one on political colossus Charles de Gaulle by former diplomat Antonin Baudry and another on Resistance hero Jean Moulin by Laszlo Nemes -- will be major events for the host country.
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film

Cannes Film Festival defends male-dominated competition

  • This year women directors account for 34 percent of all directors of feature films picked for the official programme in Cannes, organisers say. 
  • The head of the Cannes Film Festival defended Monday making another male-dominated selection in a year when the movie "Thelma and Louise" features on the official poster.
  • This year women directors account for 34 percent of all directors of feature films picked for the official programme in Cannes, organisers say. 
The head of the Cannes Film Festival defended Monday making another male-dominated selection in a year when the movie "Thelma and Louise" features on the official poster.
Only five of the 22 films vying for the prestigious Palme d'Or top prize are directed by women, compared with seven out of 22 last year.
Feminist collective 50/50 has accused organisers of  "feminism washing" by using icons of female empowerment Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon playing "Thelma and Louise" in the 1991 film for publicity purposes. 
"There is absolutely no point at which we're choosing Geena Davis or Susan Sarandon or Ridley Scott's film for the poster in order to supposedly give ourselves a feminist image," Cannes boss Thierry Fremaux told reporters on Monday.
The 50/50 collective, which advocates for equality in the film industry, signed a charter with the Cannes Film Festival in 2018.
"At no point does this charter mention parity in selection. Under no circumstances should there be a quota policy," Fremaux added, while insisting that the juries and the Cannes governing body were gender equal.
"If we are hesitating between two films... and that hesitation is between a film by a male director and a film by a female director, we will choose the film by the female director," he added.
This year women directors account for 34 percent of all directors of feature films picked for the official programme in Cannes, organisers say. 
The proportion rises to 38 percent when short films are included. 
"Today we're seeing more and more women directors in upcoming cinema, so they are gradually making their way into the competition," explained Fremaux, who has been running Cannes for more than 20 years. "The figures show that things are moving forward, that it's slow, that it's not enough.
"We need a more feminine cinema so that, as in literature and in music, the issue of seeing the world from a female perspective, a woman's sensibility, is more present in the world of film," he said.
France's influential newspaper Le Monde examined Cannes' record on promoting women directors with an article on Monday headlined: "Women on the poster, but still on the sidelines." 
Only three women have won the top Palme d'Or prize for best film in the 79-year history of Cannes, most recently French director Justine Triet for "Anatomy of a Fall" in 2023.
The festival starts Tuesday and ends on May 23. 
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opera

Fraught marriage of Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera at heart of dreamy opera

BY RAPHAELLE PELTIER

  • Sung in Spanish, "Frida and Diego: The Last Dream" is being staged for the first time at New York's Metropolitan Opera starting Thursday, before an international cinema broadcast May 30.
  • Like a macabre scene from one of her vivid canvases, Frida Kahlo holds Diego Rivera in her arms as he dies at the foot of a gaunt red tree, their silhouettes framed by blue curtains, at the end of an opera devoted to their tumultuous relationship.
  • Sung in Spanish, "Frida and Diego: The Last Dream" is being staged for the first time at New York's Metropolitan Opera starting Thursday, before an international cinema broadcast May 30.
Like a macabre scene from one of her vivid canvases, Frida Kahlo holds Diego Rivera in her arms as he dies at the foot of a gaunt red tree, their silhouettes framed by blue curtains, at the end of an opera devoted to their tumultuous relationship.
Sung in Spanish, "Frida and Diego: The Last Dream" is being staged for the first time at New York's Metropolitan Opera starting Thursday, before an international cinema broadcast May 30.
The 2022 opera is not a biopic, but a "fantasy," said American composer Gabriela Lena Frank, who worked with Cuban-American playwright Nilo Cruz.
The story is set in 1957, three years after Kahlo's death, in the final hours of Rivera's life -- as he is haunted by regrets about their stormy relationship, his infidelities, their inability to have a child together, and how he overshadowed his wife's career while she was still alive.
Their posthumous reunion -- a way to find "redemption," Cruz said -- happens on the occasion of Dia de los Muertos, Mexico's celebration of the dead, when Kahlo seeks her husband in the world of the living and a chance to paint again.
"Latinos, you know, we're in a very difficult moment right now," Frank said. "It's incredible to me that this is when a cultural institution like the Met Opera is celebrating a deeply Latino story."
The opera draws visual inspiration from Kahlo's paintings, which were sometimes overshadowed by Rivera's monumental murals while she was alive but have now made her work the most expensive art made by a woman in the world.
Her 1940 painting "The dream (The bed)" set the record for the price of a woman's painting, selling for $54.6 million in 2025.
In tandem with the opera, New York's Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is also showcasing Kahlo and Rivera's drawings and paintings, in dialogue and in a setting inspired by the opera.
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