The News Review:
- French Film Takes Cannes Festival’s Top Prize
- Nigeria: Nwonyo Fishing Festival a Tourist Landmark Beckons
- Suspect in Folklife Festival shooting held on $350000 bail
- DADU: Rain winds disrupt Gorakh Festival
- It’s the Year of the ‘Monkey’ at Spoleto USA
- Madonna and Guy Ritchie frosty at Cannes Film Festival
French Film Takes Cannes Festival’s Top Prize
Deutsche Welle – May 26, 2008
A total of 22 films vied for the Palme d’r one of the most prestigious awards in cinema with the win ending France’s long-running drought. The last time France emerged from the festival with top honors was more than two decades ago. The jury president US actor and director Sean Penn was expected to favor a social or political film and it came as a surprise that Israeli Ari Folman’s groundbreaking animated documentary “Waltz with Bashir” went unrecognized. Using innovative techniques to retell events surrounding the Sabra and Shatila massacres in 1982 the film was considered a contender for the top prize. Penn had told a French newspaper ahead of the competition that Cannes’ duty was to “do just the opposite” of the scars and to honor a ground-breaking unconventional picture. French film tackles hot political topic… While Paolo Sorrentino was awarded the jury prize for his political satire about Italy’s seven-time Prime Minister Giulio Andreotti Matteo Garrone’s powerful Mafia expose “Gomorrah” emerged from the festival with the Grand Prix. Garrone was applauded for his courage in looking at a touchy subject particularly since the author of the bestselling book the film is based on has been living under police protection for the past two years. Turkey’s Nuri Bilge Ceylan won the festival’s best director award for his brooding family drama “Three Monkeys” (“Uc Maymum”). In accepting the prize Ceylan said he was dedicating the award “to my beautiful country which I love passionately.
Nigeria: Nwonyo Fishing Festival a Tourist Landmark Beckons
AllAfrica.com – May 26, 2008
GA_googleFillSlot( “AllAfrica_Story_Inset” );It was another fishing season for the people of Wukari and Ibi local government areas of Taraba State as they celebrated this year’s Nwonyo fishing festival. The festival took place at the Nwonyo fishing village located along River Nwonyo a tributary of River Benue. The river covered a distance of about 10kms and is believed to be hiding places for aquatic animals that have escaped from the main river due to its cool nature infact it is believed to be the coolest river in Nigeria. The origin of the fishing festival was traced to the reign of Yakubu Bula in 1826 then fishermen from the old Wukari Federation would be invited once a year to fish for the chief.
Suspect in Folklife Festival shooting held on $350000 bail
Seattle Times – May 26, 2008
Clinton Chad Grainger was arrested for investigation of three counts of assault after the shooting about 6:20 p. Authorities say a gun he was carrying in an ankle holster discharged during a scuffle he was having with another man.
DADU: Rain winds disrupt Gorakh Festival
Pakistan Dawn – May 26, 2008
com – D NT MDIFY –>. The festival organised by Village Shadabad and ActionAid Pakistan was to be held on Saturday and Sunday but the organisers could hold only a musical programme. Scores of writers intellectuals and media persons braved scorching heat and a tortuous journey to reach the hill. They made a stopover in Johi for a few hours and then resumed journey to a camp at the foot of the hill. Some of them climbed the hill on foot while others used four-by-four vehicles despite strong winds and heavy rain and many of them managed to make it to the top of the hill station located 450 kilometres to the north of Karachi and 100 km to the west of Dadu.
It’s the Year of the ‘Monkey’ at Spoleto USA
Washington Post – May 26, 2008
For others the big story is the new Memminger Theater which opened on Thursday after a $6 million renovation with a revised version of "Amistad" Anthony Davis’s 1997 opera about the lost slave ship. But for most people here the real news is that Spoleto is presenting Damon Albarn’s first opera. This news separates festival regulars from well the rest of the world. Albarn is one of Britain’s biggest pop stars — leader of the group Blur and the cartoon rock band Gorillaz whose last album sold more than 7 million copies. But the high-culture crowd is drawn to his opera "Monkey: Journey to the West" mainly because it was conceived by the brilliant director and Spoleto regular Chen Shi-Zheng. At a festival featuring artists from Seamus Heaney to Laurie Anderson it’s Albarn whom local people recognize on the street. And "Monkey" a "circus opera" with Chinese acrobats video animations and Albarn’s Asian-fusion score is the hottest ticket of the Spoleto season which runs until June 8… Albarn is one of Britain’s biggest pop stars — leader of the group Blur and the cartoon rock band Gorillaz whose last album sold more than 7 million copies. But the high-culture crowd is drawn to his opera "Monkey: Journey to the West" mainly because it was conceived by the brilliant director and Spoleto regular Chen Shi-Zheng. At a festival featuring artists from Seamus Heaney to Laurie Anderson it’s Albarn whom local people recognize on the street. And "Monkey" a "circus opera" with Chinese acrobats video animations and Albarn’s Asian-fusion score is the hottest ticket of the Spoleto season which runs until June 8. The late composer Gian Carlo Menotti founded Spoleto USA in 1977 an offshoot of the "Festival of Two Worlds" he founded in 1958 in Spoleto itself. He could not have anticipated that his legacy would live on more vividly in his festivals than in his once-popular but now generally unfashionable operas. Still Spoleto USA has done very nicely since his departure after considerable controversy in 1993; whereas the Italian festival which remained under his control became increasingly moribund.
Madonna and Guy Ritchie frosty at Cannes Film Festival
NEWS.com.au – May 26, 2008
article-tools –> By Nathan Kay Angella Johnson and Katie Nicholl May 26 2008 11:32am AS a show of togetherness Madonna and Guy Ritchie were at Cannes Film Festival but did little to scotch rumours their seven-year marriage is on the rocks. The superstar singer resplendent in a sparkling black and white fitted sequined dress was about to show her rather earnest documentary about the plight of Malawian orphans. But as she smiled and waved beguilingly at the assembled paparazzi her husband stood woodenly by her side and could muster little more than a grimace. Indeed Guy gave every appearance of being a man who had been forced into his designer tuxedo and paraded at yet another high-octane celebrity party for the benefit of marital solidarity – when he would have preferred to be down the pub with his mates instead. But this was Madonna’s big event and Guy’s appearance however reluctant was part of a deal they have struck to support each other’s careers even though their turbulent union is now based more on pragmatism than passion.