This is Beirut - Culture

Venice Film Festival 2025: 21 Films Compete for the Golden Lion

This is Beirut, 25/08 15:35 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Movies 82nd Venice Film Festival Documentaries Italy Culture

As the leading international cinema event of the fall, the Venice Film Festival welcomes a flurry of stars and a strong selection of films, many with a distinctly political tone. 21 Films Competing for the Golden Lion Among the 21 films vying for the Golden Lion, the most anticipated include: Le mage du Kremlin, by Olivier Assayas An ...

'KPop Demon Hunters' Dominates American Box Office With $18 Million

This is Beirut, 25/08 14:00 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Cinema U.S. Box office Film Culture Art

Netflix's monster animated hit KPop Demon Hunters ruled the North American box office with a special singalong event, raking in $18 million in a first victory in theaters for the streaming giant, industry estimates showed Sunday. Netflix refuses to report ticket sales data, so the amount is based on projections from rival studios and exhibitors, ...

Venice Film Festival Returns with Daring Stories and Star Power

This is Beirut, 25/08 10:30 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Venice Film Festival Italy Culture Art Film Competition

The 82nd Venice Film Festival lifts its curtains this Wednesday, turning the Lido into a magnet for cinema’s brightest talents and boldest ideas. Over eleven days, twenty-one films will compete for the Golden Lion, while dozens of world premieres, documentaries, and out-of-competition works will chart new creative territory. This year’s ...

'Emily in Paris' Resumes Filming After Assistant Director’s Death

Marie-Christine Tayah, 24/08 10:30 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Emily in Paris Netflix Series Culture Art Rome

A beloved crew member’s sudden death has shaken the usually effervescent world of Emily in Paris. The assistant director, whose dedication and behind-the-scenes work helped shape the series’ distinct energy, collapsed unexpectedly during a recent shoot. He was rushed to a nearby hospital, but sadly could not be revived, sending shockwaves ...

Netflix Takes Center Stage at the Venice Film Festival

Bélinda Ibrahim, 23/08 18:00 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Netflix Venice Film Festival Cinema Film Culture

For several years, Venice has served as the discreet yet decisive battleground between traditional cinema and streaming giants. In 2025, Netflix makes a striking return to the Lido, shaking up the hierarchy of studios and auteurs alike. Three high-profile world premieres in official competition, carefully crafted productions and a calculated ...

Assaad Awad, a Spanish-Lebanese Visionary of Wearable Art

Lea Mehanna, 23/08 17:00 - Reading : less than a minute

Culture Arts Lebanon Fashion

Spanish-Lebanese multidisciplinary artist Assaad Awad is redefining wearable art. Renowned for his collaborations with Lady Gaga, Hermès, Mugler, and Balenciaga, he fuses traditional leather-making with cutting-edge technologies like 3D printing and scanning. His creations show that sustainability, innovation, and tradition can coexist in ...

Cracker Barrel Logo Change Sparks Cultural Backlash Across U.S.

This is Beirut, 23/08 13:00 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Culture Heritage U.S. Food Art

Cracker Barrel has a special place in the hearts of many Americans, offering homestyle American cuisine in a folksy "Old Country Store" setting complete with rocking chairs and occasional country music performances. But an attempt to rebrand the storied US chain has sparked a firestorm of opposition online and opened a new front in the culture ...

'KPop Demon Hunters' breaks Netflix records and hits theaters

This is Beirut, 23/08 10:30 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Cinema Art Culture Animated musical Film KPop Demon Hunters

After shattering viewership records on Netflix and climbing to the top of global music charts, the animated musical KPop Demon Hunters is now making its big-screen debut. This summer hit follows a trio of young Korean pop stars who battle demons using high-energy songs and synchronized dance moves. Since its Netflix release on June 20, the film ...

With 'Mother', Mitevska Restores Mother Teresa’s Humanity

Bélinda Ibrahim, 22/08 19:00 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Mother Teresa Film Cinema Venice Film Festival Culture

Who was the real Mother Teresa? In Mother, Macedonian director Teona Strugar Mitevska reexamines the legend to reveal a woman far beyond the clichés. Premiering in the Orizzonti section at the 2025 Venice Film Festival, the movie focuses on seven pivotal days in 1948 that forever changed Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu, the woman who would become Mother ...

US R&B Singer Joins Russia’s Intervision Revival in Moscow

This is Beirut, 22/08 13:00 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Eurovision Culture Musique Art

An American R&B artist will take part in Russia's revival of a song contest billed as a rival to Eurovision, which has excluded Russian singers since the Ukraine offensive, organizers said Thursday. Brandon Howard, known professionally as B. Howard, is mostly famous for his resemblance to Michael Jackson—sparking media speculation in the past ...

Adidas Apologizes for Cultural Misstep Over Mexican Sandals

This is Beirut, 22/08 10:30 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Adidas Fashion Culture Art Mexico U.S.

Sportswear giant Adidas apologized to an Indigenous community in Mexico Thursday for using their traditional sandals as inspiration for a new design, after an outcry by officials and President Claudia Sheinbaum. Local authorities had complained that the Oaxaca Slip-On sandals were a reinterpretation of huarache sandals, particularly one found ...

Agnès Varda’s Paris: Intimacy, Poetry, and Eternal Street Life

Marie-Christine Tayah, 21/08 19:00 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Exhibition Paris Agnès Varda Culture Art Cinema

Paris’s backdrop transformed into a mirror, a playground, and a living studio for Agnès Varda, where life and art were inseparable. The exhibition Le Paris d’Agnès Varda, de-ci, de-là reveals Varda as a photographer, far from the film set yet already shaped by the eye that made her one of cinema’s boldest pioneers. At the heart of this ...

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