Ikitsuki, Japan | AFP | Japanese rice farmer Masatsugu Tanimoto doesn’t think of himself as a Christian, and you’d almost never find him in a church. But every so often, he and others meet to recite prayers drawn from another time and place. The group, dressed in sober kimonos and …
Read More »‘La La Land’ leads Golden Globe nominations
Los Angeles, United States | AFP | Dreamy musical romance “La La Land”, set in modern-day Los Angeles, topped nominations for the Golden Globes on Monday, as Hollywood’s awards seasons revs up in the march to the Oscars. Damien Chazelle’s tribute to the Golden Age of American musicals picked up …
Read More »Putin hands action star Seagal Russian passport
Moscow, Russia | AFP | President Vladimir Putin on Friday personally handed a new Russian passport to US action star Steven Seagal and said he hoped the gesture showed a “normalisation” of strained relations with Washington. Sitting at a round table in the Kremlin at a televised meeting, Putin showed …
Read More »Stars honor Jackie Chan but Trump very much on their minds
Los Angeles, United States | AFP | Action movie star Jackie Chan accepted an honorary Oscar on Saturday as Hollywood A-listers sounded a cautionary note over President-elect Donald Trump’s victory in the polls. Left-leaning Tinseltown overwhelmingly backed Democrat Hillary Clinton in the race for the White House, and stars at …
Read More »Brazil’s mega corruption scandal to get movie treatment
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | AFP | Brazil’s gigantic corruption scandal will move from news TV to movie theaters and Netflix next year, when rival directors turn the real-life thriller into entertainment. For two years, Brazilians have watched in fascination and horror as prosecutors unleashed a probe codenamed Operation Car …
Read More »Meet the comedians trolling the US presidential campaign
Los Angeles, United States | AFP | One day in mid-March, Fox News ran a story about a pair of Donald Trump supporters sporting Nazi-style armbands emblazoned with their candidate’s last initial. “Armbands are a fairly new phenomenon in American presidential politics. And so is Donald Trump,” the station’s reporter …
Read More »ENTERTAINMENT: Brad Pitt hasn’t answered divorce petition
Los Angeles, United States | AFP | Brad Pitt has missed the deadline to respond to Angelina Jolie’s divorce petition, seeking to avoid sparking an acrimonious legal battle that could harm the children, media reported on Friday. The 52-year-old actor will not file an official reply, despite being two days …
Read More »George Best film opens up football’s flawed genius
London, United Kingdom | AFP | George Best’s prodigious rise to football superstardom and plunge into alcoholic self-destruction is laid bare in a new documentary film that focuses on the character behind the tragic tale. “George Best: All By Himself”, which has its world premiere at the London Film Festival …
Read More »Queen of Katwe’ shows power of dreams
Phiona Mutesi, the Ugandan girl who became a chess sensation at the age of 10 stands out for something else. She was raised in the slum of Katwe, on the edges of a city, Kampala, but quietly worked her way up. Her journey to fame crested when it was documented …
Read More »Ugandan family’s life in movie on a rare talent for chess
Kampala, Uganda | AFP | Michael O’HAGAN | Standing on a drab side-street next to an open sewer in the Ugandan capital Kampala, Brian Mugabi points to the site of his former family home and reflects on how much the game of chess has changed their lives. Ten years ago Mugabi …
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