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Fatih Akin Fears Jail, Blasts Turkish Government at Cannes

This is Beirut, 17/05 17:00 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

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Acclaimed film director Fatih Akin said he fears ending up behind bars if he returns to Turkey, with his manager there in jail accused of attempting to overthrow the government. The Turkish-German auteur — a hero to many in the country for films like Head-On, In the Fade and the Istanbul music documentary Crossing the Bridge — told AFP late ...

Culture Wars and Chaos: Joaquin Phoenix Stars in Satirical 'Eddington'

This is Beirut, 17/05 15:00 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

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Joaquin Phoenix stars in the darkly satirical Eddington, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival on Friday, a biting take on America's culture wars set in a small New Mexico town. The film by fast-rising American director Ari Aster is an unsettling but often amusing Western-style thriller set amid America's toxic politics and conspiracy ...

Cannes: A Festival Rooted in Defiance of Fascism

Bélinda Ibrahim, 16/05 17:00 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

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It was the late 1930s. The Venice Mostra, founded in 1932, was the world’s first international film festival. But by 1938, as global tensions mounted, it had turned into an ideological showcase for fascism. Under joint pressure from Hitler and Mussolini, the jury was compelled to award the festival’s top prize, the Mussolini Cup, to two ...

Tom Cruise’s Death-Defying ‘Mission’ Lights Up Cannes

This is Beirut, 15/05 10:30 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

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Tom Cruise's Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning made its big grandstand premiere at the Cannes Film Festival Wednesday, with the first reviews saying it more than lives up to its steamroller hype. "What a rush!" The Guardian declared in its five-star love letter to Cruise's $400-million behemoth, calling him a modern "superhuman action ...

Top chef Georgiana Viou: blending cuisine across continents

This is Beirut, 14/05 19:25 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

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Georgiana Viou calls herself a "UFO", championing free and daring cuisine straddling two continents, from Cotonou's lively street markets to the kitchens of her Michelin-starred restaurant in Nimes, southern France. In the alleys of the historic Saint-Michel market in Benin's bustling economic capital, unchanged since her childhood, Viou goes ...

France says to Expel Algerian Diplomats in Tit-for-Tat Move

This is Beirut, 14/05 11:40 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

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France will expel Algerian diplomats in response to plans by Algiers to send more French officials home, Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said Wednesday, as relations between the countries deteriorate. Relations between Algeria and France, the former colonial power in Africa's largest nation by land area, have been beset by a series of ...

Cannes 2025 Opens with Tribute, Emotion, and a Call for Reflection

Madeleine Cadoux, 14/05 09:45 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

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From the very first minutes of the evening, the tone was clear: Cannes celebrates cinema and challenges its history, its myths, and its responsibilities. Honorary Palme d’Or to Robert De Niro One of the night’s most unforgettable moments came when Leonardo DiCaprio, 50, presented the honorary Palme d’Or to 81-year-old Robert De Niro, a ...

From Shadows to Spotlight: Enigmatic and Ever-Influential Mylène Farmer

Marie-Christine Tayah, 13/05 17:00 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

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Between her passion for cinema and loyalty to the stage, Mylène Farmer is reportedly preparing a surprise for the opening night of the Cannes Film Festival on May 13, 2025, and possibly unveiling a previously unreleased track. A look back at the path of an unparalleled artist. Among the most anticipated moments of this year’s opening ceremony, ...

Algeria Targets Author Kamel Daoud in Legal Dispute

This is Beirut, 13/05 13:00 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

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Franco-Algerian writer Kamel Daoud, who is the subject of two international arrest warrants from Algeria and a legal complaint in France, called the legal actions against him “a form of judicial persecution” in an interview with the French daily Le Figaro on Monday. Daoud, who won the 2024 Goncourt Prize, also described the legal saga as “a ...

Cinema Icon Gérard Depardieu Sentenced to 18-Month Suspended Term for Sexual Assault

This is Beirut, 13/05 12:40 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

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A Paris court on Tuesday handed French cinema icon Gerard Depardieu an 18-month suspended sentence after convicting him of sexually assaulting two women on a film set in 2021. The Paris court also ordered that Depardieu, 76, who was not present in court for the verdict, be inscribed on the sex offenders' register. Depardieu, who has acted in ...

Robert De Niro, Mylène Farmer and Glamour to Take Center Stage in Cannes

This is Beirut, 13/05 10:00 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

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The Cannes Film Festival chose to dedicate the day before its grand opening to that conflict, screening three powerful documentaries. Another outside event may cause waves on opening day: by coincidence, the festival’s first official evening will unfold just hours after a Paris court delivers its verdict in Gérard Depardieu’s trial. That ...

Lebanon Border Deal Nears Under US, French and Saudi Mediation

Philippe Abi-Akl, 13/05 09:00 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

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The border demarcation issue between Lebanon and its neighbors—Syria to the north and Israel to the south—is progressing, with France, Saudi Arabia and the US playing key mediating roles. The situation is now more favorable, as long-standing internal and external obstacles have largely dissipated, creating a better climate for finalizing ...

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