This is Beirut

Shakespeare’s 'King Lear' Rocks Tehran with Beat and Passion

This is Beirut, 28/05 10:30 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Shakespeare Iran Theater Culture Art Tehran

An Iranian director is bringing a jolt of energy to King Lear, staging the Shakespearean tragedy in Persian in Tehran with electrifying rock music and dazzling lights to draw in younger crowds. In Iran, artists, writers, filmmakers, musicians, and playwrights constantly walk a fine line to avoid censorship of content considered inappropriate by ...

Adèle Exarchopoulos: Behind the Spotlight, Raw and Unmasked

Marie-Christine Tayah, 26/05 19:00 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Adèle Exarchopoulos Actress Cinema Cannes Culture Art

Born in Paris in 1993, Adèle Exarchopoulos shot to fame at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival through Abdellatif Kechiche’s Blue Is the Warmest Color. At the request of jury president Steven Spielberg, she was awarded the Palme d’Or alongside the director and her co-star Léa Seydoux—her “greatest love story on screen,” as she recently ...

Lilo & Stitch Smash Box Office in Holiday Weekend Surge

This is Beirut, 26/05 14:30 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Disney Cinema Movie Box Office Culture Art

Theaters across North America are enjoying an exceptional Memorial Day holiday weekend, with two new much-anticipated blockbusters bringing in an estimated box office totaling well over $250 million, analysts said Sunday. Disney's family-friendly Lilo & Stitch earned an estimated $183 million, a record for the four-day Memorial Day weekend, ...

Marcel Ophuls, Legendary Filmmaker Who Shattered French WWII Myths

This is Beirut, 26/05 10:10 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Cinema Documentary Culture Art Marcel Ophuls

Oscar-winning filmmaker Marcel Ophuls, who blew the lid off the myth that France resisted its World War II Nazi occupiers in The Sorrow and the Pity, has died aged 97, his family said Monday. Ophuls, who was the son of renowned German Jewish director Max Ophuls, "died peacefully on May 24", his grandson Andreas-Benjamin Seyfert said in a ...

Inside Cannes 2025: 22 Films Vying for Palme d'Or

This is Beirut, 24/05 10:30 - Reading : 7 minute(s)

Cannes Film Festival Cannes2025 France Cinema Culture Art

A total of 22 films are competing for the top prize at this year's Cannes Film Festival, which wraps up on Saturday. Here is a list of the titles vying for the Palme d'Or, which will be awarded by this year's jury president Juliette Binoche and her seven fellow judges, including Oscar-winner Halle Berry and Succession star Jeremy Strong. A ...

Saeed Roustaee at Cannes: Filming for Iran, Despite the Cost

This is Beirut, 23/05 13:30 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Cannes Film Festival Iran Cannes2025 France Culture Art

“It’s very important to me that my films are seen by people in my country,” said Iranian filmmaker Saeed Roustaee in an interview with AFP. Three years after Leila’s Brothers, Roustaee is back in competition at Cannes with a film that received official shooting permits. After his previous visit to the Croisette in 2022, the 35-year-old ...

"Humans": The Poetry of Knowledge at Le Monnot Theater

Marie-Christine Tayah, 22/05 14:00 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

Theater Culture Beirut France Art Le Monnot

From May 28 to June 1, Le Monnot theater welcomes Humans, a unique performance by Swiss artist Narcisse. Directed by Jean-Philippe Daguerre, this poetic-musical creation explores human knowledge through an innovative staging that blends poetry, music, and theater. Praised by French critics, Humans stands out for its intellectual richness, ...

Pierpaolo Piccioli Takes Over Balenciaga in Bold Shift

This is Beirut, 20/05 15:00 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Pierpaolo Piccioli Fashion Balenciaga Art Design Culture

Italian designer Pierpaolo Piccioli has been named creative director at fashion house Balenciaga, taking over from Georgian designer Demna, parent company Kering said Monday. Piccioli, who previously worked at Valentino, will present his first collection in October, after Demna left for Gucci, said the French conglomerate, which owns both ...

At Cannes and Beyond, Raphaël Quenard Is the Artist to Watch

Marie-Christine Tayah, 20/05 10:30 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Raphaël Quenard Cannes Cannes Film Festival France Culture Art

Raphaël Quenard wears many hats: actor, screenwriter, director, producer, and soon, singer. He broke through in 2023 with standout performances in Chien de la casse by Jean-Baptiste Durand and Yannick by Quentin Dupieux. His work in both earned him César nominations in 2024, and he took home the award for Most Promising Actor for Chien de la ...

Eurovision 2025: Will Celine Dion Return?

This is Beirut, 16/05 17:10 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Celine Dion Eurovision Prague Culture Music Art

As excitement builds for Saturday's Eurovision final, one question looms large: could superstar Celine Dion, now in fragile health, make a show-stopping appearance, 37 years after winning the competition? Dion became a global music icon, selling albums by the millions and staging groundbreaking sell-out concerts around the world. But she has ...

Eurovision Returns to Switzerland: A Legacy of Song Evolution

This is Beirut, 16/05 15:30 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Eurovision Switzerland Europe Music Culture Art

Switzerland is hosting Eurovision for the third time, with the extravaganza a world away from when it staged the inaugural competition in 1956—and also from 1989 when Celine Dion starred. The 2025 edition on May 17 in Basel will draw an expected TV audience of around 160 million, with viewers worldwide casting their votes. Here is a look back ...

Salman Rushdie’s attacker to be sentenced this Friday

This is Beirut, 16/05 10:30 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Salman Rushdie Writer Iran Culture Art Justice

Hadi Matar will be sentenced on Friday for trying to kill novelist Salman Rushdie in a 2022 knife attack at a New York cultural center. Hadi Matar, 27, faces up to 25 years in prison after being convicted of attempted murder and assault charges in February this year. During the trial, Rushdie told jurors about Matar "stabbing and slashing" him ...

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