The China Mail - Culture

Van Gogh paintings snatched then found

Following the recovery of a Vincent van Gogh painting snatched from a Dutch museum during the Covid-19 lockdown, AFP looks back at some other heists involving works by the Dutch master:

Theatre director Bob Wilson among laureates of 'Nobel of the Arts'

Three American artists, including avant-garde theatre legend Robert Wilson, are among this year's laureates of the Praemium Imperiale, known as the "Nobel of the Arts", announced on Tuesday.

New York Fashion Week: on holiday with Michael Kors, shivers from Altuzarra

A holiday air with Michael Kors, shivers from Altuzarra, and Tory Burch asserting herself in a spectacular setting: New York Fashion Week expressed its diversity on Monday, the fourth day of the spring-summer 2024 shows.

Alexander Payne brings Oscars hopeful 'The Holdovers' to Toronto

Director Alexander Payne has entered the Oscars hunt with his new film "The Holdovers," a poignant 1970s-set dramedy about a cantankerous prep school teacher and a troubled student that screened Monday at the Toronto film festival.

Met Opera commissions new work about abducted Ukrainian children

New York's Metropolitan Opera on Monday announced it had commissioned a new work on Russia's abduction and deportation of Ukrainian children.

Musk biography describes troubled tycoon driven by demons

A hotly anticipated biography of Elon Musk describes the turbulent tycoon as a man driven by childhood demons, obsessed with bringing human life to Mars and who demands that staff be "hardcore."

Waititi, Keaton go behind lens at Toronto film fest

Every day at the Toronto International Film Festival features a jam-packed schedule with screenings from morning to midnight at multiple venues, making it a challenge to keep up with all the world premieres on offer.

Lil Nas X thrills Toronto fans as film fest looks at music

Lil Nas X brought his megawatt smile and star power to Toronto for the world premiere of a documentary tracking his meteoric rise -- one of several movies spotlighting the music industry at North America's biggest film festival.

Denzel hangs in but 'Nun' better in N.American theaters

Warner Bros.' new horror movie "The Nun II" floated to the top of the North American box office this weekend with an estimated take of $32.6 million, industry watcher Exhibitor Relations reported Sunday.

France's Ladj Ly back with new film on life in Paris suburbs

Four years after he lit up the Croisette in Cannes with his debut feature film "Les Miserables," Ladj Ly is back with a new searing and very personal take on life in the gritty Paris suburbs.

Yorgos Lanthimos and Emma Stone's 'Poor Things' wins Venice top prize

The Golden Lion in Venice was awarded Saturday to a hilarious and shockingly explicit reworking of Frankenstein, "Poor Things", starring Emma Stone as a sex-mad reanimated corpse, which had festival-goers in stitches.

Yorgos Lanthimos's 'Poor Things' wins top prize at Venice

The Golden Lion in Venice was awarded Saturday to a hilarious and shockingly explicit reworking of Frankenstein, "Poor Things", starring Emma Stone as a sex-mad reanimated corpse, which had festival-goers in stitches.

Greece's 'wizard of weird' Yorgos Lanthimos wins Venice top prize

With a catalogue of strange, dark and provocative films, Yorgos Lanthimos has established himself as one of the world's most imaginative directors, capped by his Golden Lion in Venice for a feminist reworking of Frankenstein, "Poor Things".

Cailee Spaeny wins Venice best actress for 'Priscilla'

Cailee Spaeny won the best actress award at the Venice Film Festival on Saturday, at the age of just 25, for her portrayal of Elvis Presley's wife in "Priscilla".

Venice to award Golden Lion after strongly political 80th edition

The Hollywood strike may have robbed Venice of its usual bevy of stars, but the world's oldest film festival, which concludes Saturday, proved it is still a launchpad for major awards contenders and political statements.

Conspiracy theories falsely link wildfires to 'smart cities'

Disinformation about deadly wildfires in the United States and Canada has run rampant across social media, with posts falsely blaming coordinated arson, lasers -- and plans to develop "smart cities."

GameStop stock frenzy, true crime in focus at Toronto film fest

Frenzied stock trading in shares of a shopping mall video game store? Check. A serial killer who appeared on a 1970s game show? Check. Real-life drama takes center stage Friday at the Toronto International Film Festival with two world premieres.

Sylvester Stallone pretends to box with Pope at Vatican

American actor Sylvester Stallone travelled to the Vatican on Friday for a brief private audience with Pope Francis.

Vienna tour aims to demystify 'Hitler balcony' after far-right clip

A guided tour is seeking to demystify the so-called "Hitler balcony" in Vienna after the notorious landmark appeared in a video promoting Austria's far-right party.

Chastain backs strikes as she closes political Venice fest

Oscar-winner Jessica Chastain arrived at the Venice Film Festival Friday with a provocative new film, "Memory", and an impassioned message in support of the Hollywood strikes by actors and writers.

No progress on resolving actors' strike: union negotiator

Hollywood's major studios and streamers have made no contract overtures to striking actors since they walked off the job in July, the performers' chief negotiator said Thursday, urging the companies to make a good-faith effort.

Miyazaki's likely swan song charms Toronto as film fest opens

The Toronto International Film Festival opened Thursday with admiring applause for "The Boy and the Heron," Japanese animation master Hayao Miyazaki's likely last movie -- a meditation on love, loss and the horrors of World War II.

Chastain closes out strongly political Venice festival

Has the Venice Film Festival saved its best for last? Oscar-winner Jessica Chastain is back on Friday with a provocative romance between a recovering alcoholic and dementia patient in "Memory".

Toronto film fest opens with Miyazaki's likely swan song

The biggest film festival in North America opens Thursday in Toronto with the international launch of Oscar-winning Japanese animation master Hayao Miyazaki's likely last movie, as the twin Hollywood strikes drag on.

Japan boyband agency admits founder's sexual abuse

The president of Japan's biggest boyband agency admitted on Thursday that its late founder sexually abused young aspiring stars, decades after the allegations against him first emerged.

Syria's ancient adobe houses threatened by war, displacement

Traditional mud-brick houses that the people of northern Syria have built for thousands of years risk disappearing, as 12 years of war have emptied villages and left the buildings crumbling.

Google to require political ads to disclose AI creations

Google on Wednesday said it will mandate that political advertisements on its platforms disclose when images and audio have been altered or created using tools such as artificial intelligence (AI).

Iconic Freddie Mercury memorabilia sells for over £3 mn

The piano Queen frontman Freddie Mercury used to compose almost all of his greatest songs and the original manuscript for "Bohemian Rhapsody" were snapped up for over £3 million Wednesday when they went under the hammer in London.

Honorary Oscars gala postponed until January amid strikes

The Governors Awards gala, at which honorary Oscars are handed out for lifetime achievement, has been pushed back from November to January, organizers said Wednesday, as Hollywood reels from the ongoing actors' and writers' strikes.

Iconic Freddie Mercury memorabilia goes under the hammer

The baby grand piano Queen frontman Freddie Mercury used to compose almost all of his greatest songs and the original manuscript for "Bohemian Rhapsody" were snapped up Wednesday when they went under the hammer in London.

Hard-hitting migrant films tighten Venice race

The blistering tale of an African's journey to Europe and a moving film about refugees at Poland's border, which has angered its government, have tightened the race at the Venice Film Festival.

Thousands of Freddie Mercury's personal items go on sale

A sale of thousands of items belonging to the charismatic Queen frontman Freddie Mercury got under way Wednesday in London, with the graffiti-covered green door of Mercury's home first to go under the hammer.

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