Eurovision: Russia Bombs Ukrainian City Of Ternopil, Hometown Of Singing Act Tvorchi Featured In Contest

Rachel Seo The real-life story of Reality Winner’s arrest unfolds as such a sharp piece of on-the-nose political theater that it almost seems to have been dramatized. On June 3, 2017, the FBI showed up at the former Air Force member and NSA translator’s house to question her about a leaked document that they’d traced back to her. Over the course of the interrogation — during which the agents did not read the ex-intelligence specialist her Miranda rights and during which she refrained from requesting a lawyer — Winner’s composure gradually deteriorated. She was arrested under suspicion of releasing an intelligence report that detailed Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. elections before being sentenced to five years and three months in prison, the longest ever for the crime.

The Machine is loud, gross, obnoxious and overbearing. It’s also disarming, quick-witted, fast moving and becomes increasingly funny as it ends up in, of all places, Russia for its payoff scenes.

Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor A24’s “The Zone of Interest” is spoken in German, but was filmed in Poland and is written and directed by a British auteur. So what does that mean for its prospects for best international feature at the Oscars? Written and directed by Jonathan Glazer, “The Zone of Interest” premiered last week at the Cannes Film Festival where it emerged as an early favorite for the coveted Palme d’Or after receiving widespread acclaim. The film tells the story of a commandant of Auschwitz, Rudolf Höss (Christian Friedel), and his wife Hedwig (Sandra Hüller) who strive to build a dream life for their family in a house and garden next to the camp that was one of the sites where six million Jews were murdered.

Why was Bill Gates so friendly with Jeffrey Epstein when the convicted pedo made his wife’s skin crawl? We may finally have an answer… According to a bombshell new report, Epstein blackmailed the Microsoft founder — using an alleged affair with a much younger Russian woman as ammunition!

Elizabeth Wagmeister Senior Correspondent A Ukrainian influencer was pulled off the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival, after she covered herself in fake blood on the steps up to the Palais, staging a protest in support of Ukraine. This year, the city of Cannes banned protests along the Croisette and its surroundings during the festival. Ilona Chernobai — a Ukrainian fitness trainer with one million followers on Instagram — walked the red carpet at Cannes in a blue and yellow dress, symbolizing the Ukraine flag. As she got to the stairs, she pulled bags of fake blood from underneath her dress and poured them over herself. Security immediately grabbed her and escorted her off the carpet.

Chernobai walked for the premiere of Just Philippot's Acide wearing a blue and yellow gown—the colors of the Ukraine flag—without incident, seemingly invited to the event. But when she reached the steps leading up to the screening, she removed two packets of fake blood from her cleavage and broke them over her head as an apparent protest against her country's invasion by Russia.

announced the fresh round of sanctions late Sunday. The paper said the new list is a “tit-for-tat retaliation for the latest curbs imposed by the United States,” and points out how Vladimir Putin appears to be “adopting perceived enemies of former President Donald J.

Top tennis player Daniil Medvedev on Sunday claimed his first clay-court title by winning the Italian Open. As the Russian hoisted the trophy at the award presentation, the speakers at the stadium blasted Pet Shop Boys’ 1992 dance hit Go West, a rendition of Village People’s song of the same name.

EXCLUSIVE: Paris-based genre specialist Reel Suspects has acquired world sales for Victor Ginzburg’s Russia-set, sci-fi horror film Empire V ahead of its world premiere in Montreal’s Fantasia Fest in July.

There will be no late night laughs in Moscow, comrade. Or anywhere else in Russia, for that matter.

Welcome, Insiders. Cannes is now well under way while the picket lines remain busy in LA. Jesse Whittock here in London. I’ve rounded up all the big and important news from film and TV, so sit back and enjoy the read. Subscribe here.

Christopher Vourlias Ukraine’s cinema union issued an open letter on Thursday calling on participants of the Cannes Film Market to halt all business with Russia. The statement asserted that releasing films in Putin’s pariah state is akin to “support for terrorism” amid its ongoing war of aggression in the Eastern European nation. The letter, which was written by the Ukrainian League of Cinemas, singled out a number of leading international indie distributors and sales agents — including Lionsgate, STXInternational, FilmNation, A24 and Pathé — whose films have been released in Russia since the start of the war. “Continuing to do business in Russia means supporting the Russian terrorist state with taxes,” the statement read. “These taxes are then turned into weapons with which peaceful Ukrainian cities are destroyed, and our friends and colleagues are killed and maimed.”

Christopher Vourlias A Moscow court has ordered the arrest of Oscar-nominated film producer Alexander Rodnyansky and theater director Ivan Vyrypaev, accusing the two of “spreading false information” about Russia’s war in Ukraine. According to the Associated Press, both men — who each reside outside Russia — will be placed in custody once they are either detained by Russian authorities or extradited from abroad. A source close to Rodnyansky said the producer is currently in Cannes, but he could not immediately be reached for comment. Rodnyansky currently splits his time between Ukraine, Europe and L.A., where his production shingle AR Content is based. The Kyiv-born producer, who spent nearly three decades living and working in Russia, fled the country just days after its invasion of Ukraine, after receiving a tip that his outspoken criticism of the war had landed him in the Kremlin’s crosshairs.

A Russian court has issued a warrant for the arrest of prominent international film producer Alexander Rodnyansky as well as theater director Ivan Vyrypaev for “spreading false information about the war” in Ukraine.

EXCLUSIVE: When millions of Ukrainians fled to the Polish border after the Russian invasion last year, Maciek Hamela, whose film In the Rearview is debuting in the Cannes market this week, was one of a number of volunteers who drove to help assist multiple generations of Ukrainian civilians in fleeing the life-threatening conflict. 

Iranian director Ali Abbasi has responded to Russia’s unexplained ban of his serial killer thriller Holy Spider just days after its theatrical release.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief A Singapore-based Russian national Lev Panfilov is now on trial in the city on four charges of molesting, sexually assaulting and raping a woman. The man is an actor and online personality known to the public from the WahBanana YouTube channel, where he appeared between 2020 and May 2021. He is currently employed in the job recruitment industry. The incident is alleged to have occurred in January 2021 after Panfilov and the woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, met in person for the first time. Singapore media report that Panfilov has requested that the case move to trial. Proceedings that began on Tuesday included testimony from a police officer who took Panfilov’s underwear and bedding as samples.

Mike McCahill Guest Contributor The theme of this year’s Eurovision Song Contest, ‘United by Music,’ announced both the annual musical extravaganza’s all-embracing intentions and its status as a joint endeavor. With 2022 winners Ukraine unable to host in Kyiv due to the war, the U.K. – last year’s runners-up, thanks to Sam Ryder’s soaring “Space Man” – stepped in to reinstall this ever more spectacular circus (along with multiple Ukrainian creative personnel) in Liverpool, birthplace of the Beatles. A declaration that this was to be the glitziest of collabs was served via a prologue that paired Ukraine’s Kalush Orchestra, reworking last year’s winning entry “Stefania”, with the Princess of Wales, apparently providing piano accompaniment from within Windsor Castle. Soft power-a-go-go.

TVORCHI took to the stage at this year’s Eurovision Song Contest.The electronic music duo – comprised of producer Andrii Hutsuliak and vocalist Jimoh Kehinde – performed their song ‘Heart Of Steel’ at this year’s contest, placing sixth in the final tally with 243 votes. Just 10 minutes before their performance went down, reports of Ternopil being bombed started to emerge.

K.J. Yossman Ukrainian leader President Zelenskyy has reportedly been barred from making an address during the grand final of the Eurovision Song Contest on Saturday. The Times of London reports the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which runs the contest, turned down Zelenskyy’s request on the grounds that it would politicize the event. “The Eurovision Song Contest is an international entertainment show and governed by strict rules and principles which have been established since its creation. As part of these, one of the cornerstones of the contest is the non-political nature of the event,” an EBU spokesman told the Times. “This principle prohibits the possibility of making political or similar statements as part of the contest. The request by Mr Zelenskyy to address the audience at the Eurovision Song Contest, whilst made with laudable intentions, regrettably cannot be granted as it would be against the rules of the event.”