This is Beirut - culture

Don’t Let the Party Stop: Berlin’s Fight Against ‘Club Death'

This is Beirut, 14:30 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

Nightlife Clubs Legacy Berlin Germany Culture

Berlin, long hailed as one of the world's great party cities, is fighting to keep its famed techno clubs alive in the face of soaring prices, shifting tastes and a tightening property market. For now, the mood is exuberant at Renate, a labyrinthine club with multiple DJs housed in a dimly-lit complex near the Spree river, a Berlin institution ...

‘Adolescence’ Creator Asks Dads to Share Letters With Sons

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

Netflix series Adolescence Stephen Graham Literature Britain Culture

Stephen Graham, the creator and star of searing teen murder saga Adolescence, launched an appeal Wednesday for fathers around the world to pen and then share letters to their sons. The British actor is teaming up with psychology lecturer Orly Klein for the project, which will see a selection of the entries published by Bloomsbury in a book ...

Doomscrolling: The Anxiety Metronome

David Sahyoun, 15/10 18:00 - Reading : 6 minute(s)

Psychoanalysis Doomscrolling Anxiety Culture Unconscious

Doomscrolling is a neologism that combines the darkness of “doom,” meaning fate, calamity, or collapse, with the act of “scrolling,” the finger’s movement that steadily moves through a page’s content. It has now earned a place in English dictionaries. Merriam-Webster defines to doomscroll as “spending an excessive amount of time ...

Legendary Hollywood Illustrator Drew Struzan Dies at 78

This is Beirut, 15/10 15:10 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Star Wars Cinema Drew Struzan Heritage Culture Art

Hollywood illustrator Drew Struzan, the man behind legendary film posters for hit films such as E.T., Star Wars and Indiana Jones, has died at the age of 78, prompting a flood of tributes. Struzan was a favorite of directors Steven Spielberg and George Lucas, and his drawing style came to symbolize the posters of Hollywood's late 1970s and 1980s ...

French Films Thrive in Russia Despite Deep Political Divide

This is Beirut, 15/10 14:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Cinema Russia France Culture Art

On a cold autumn evening in Moscow, Alexandra was headed to a cinema, hoping to escape reality for a few hours by taking in a new French comedy. With Hollywood boycotting the Russian market over Moscow's offensive on Ukraine, French films are one of the few cultural windows Russians have left to the West. And even as relations between Paris ...

In 'the Last Ship', Sting Honors a Lost Industry and Warns of a Divided Future

This is Beirut, 15/10 10:30 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Music Sting AI Britain Culture Art

British singer-songwriting legend Sting finds the multiple genres and streaming platforms of the modern music scene "quite odd", but still believes in the power of song to unite people. In an interview with AFP, the 74-year-old with 17 Grammy Awards and sales of over 100 million albums also spoke about his worries about AI as a tool for ...

#MeToo: Navigating Art by Controversial Creators

Bélinda Ibrahim, 14/10 19:00 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

#MeToo Culture Artists Music Movies

On the sidewalk outside the Champo in Paris in 2019, during the release of J’accuse, filmgoers’ queue mingled with banners protesting the selection of Polanski’s work. That same month, Spotify announced the temporary removal of R. Kelly’s tracks from its official playlists, bowing to media pressure. But six weeks later, the platform ...

Taylor Swift, Love, Diamonds and Pop: Everything She Touches Turns to Gold

Marie-Christine Tayah, 14/10 16:00 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Taylor Swift Music Culture Economy Art Star

Dominating music charts, Taylor Swift leads in multiple areas, establishing herself as a worldwide sensation. The American star creates rare ripple effects across music, fashion and even finance. At 35, after announcing her engagement to American football player Travis Kelce this summer, Swift triggered an immediate reaction from millions of fans ...

Qatar Reveals Ownership of Courbet Masterpiece, Loans It to Paris’s Musée d’Orsay

This is Beirut, 14/10 14:50 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Painting Museum Gustave Courbet Qatar France Diplomacy Culture

Qatar has revealed itself as the owner of a famous self-portrait by French realist master Gustave Courbet and will loan the painting to Paris's Musee d'Orsay for five years, museum officials said on Monday. "The Desperate Man" depicts Courbet with a wild-eyed stare looking out of the canvas in a work that is one of his best known alongside "The ...

Nasser Taghvai, Iranian Cinema Pioneer and Longtime Regime Critic, Passes Away

This is Beirut, 14/10 12:20 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Filmmaker Nasser Taghvai Obituary Anti-censorship Iran Culture

Prominent Iranian filmmaker Nasser Taghvai, widely known for his long struggle against censorship, Taghvai has died at the age of 84, his wife said Tuesday. "Nasser Taghvai, an artist who chose the difficulty of living freely, has earned his liberation," his wife, actor Marzieh Vafamehr, wrote on Instagram. Taghvai was born on July 13, 1941 in ...

Sean Penn Captivates Lyon with His Unexpected Dream Role

This is Beirut, 14/10 10:30 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Sean Penn Actor Cinema Culture Art Lyon

“The dream role is the one that surprises you the way this one did,” said American actor Sean Penn on Monday in Lyon, central France, reflecting on his part as a sadistic soldier in his latest film One Battle After Another. Honored as the guest of the 17th Lumière Film Festival—an event celebrating global cinema—Penn shared insights ...

From Waste to Runway: Kenyan Designers Transform Used Clothes Into Art

This is Beirut, 13/10 17:50 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Fashion Recycling Designers Kenya Culture

In a dusty alley in the heart of Kenya's largest open-air market, fashion models strut down a makeshift runway in bold, upcycled outfits made from waste collected at dumpsites and market cast-offs, proof that even trash can dazzle. Every year, thousands of tons of used clothes from Europe, the United States, and beyond make their way to ...

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