‘I of the Water,’ About Samoan Writer Sia Figiel’s Journey Toward Healing, Wins Hot Docs Forum Prize

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.

WNBA star Brittney Griner stood for the national anthem Friday before her team’s game against the Los Angeles Sparks.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor SPOILER ALERT: This interview contains spoilers from “It Chooses,” Episode 8 of “Yellowjackets” Season 2, now streaming on Showtime. In the last moments of the Season 1 finale of “Yellowjackets,” viewers were tipped to the fact that Lottie was alive and well, and out there somewhere in the world. In the show’s second season, the adult version of Lottie, played by Simone Kessell, is revealed to be running a wellness center in Upstate New York — and there’s been an air of doubt around her. Can she be trusted or not? As it turns out, not. Lottie’s sessions with her therapist have been purely a figment of her imagination, and she’s still haunted by the Antler Queen, as well as her past in the wilderness.

Every year, on the third Thursday of May, Ukraine celebrates the Day of Vyshyvanka. The occasion pays tribute to the country's original folk traditions and sees citizens wearing embroidered Ukrainian clothes, including the Vyshyvanka, a loose-fitting shirt, which is often in black or white and features geometric patterns stitched around the edges.  This year’s celebration was seen as a symbol of national unity against the Russian invasion.

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.

Thania Garcia Blur will be releasing their first album in eight years, “The Ballad of Darren,” later this summer, the band announced on Thursday morning. The news arrived with an early taste of the 10-song collection, a guitar-driven single titled “The Narcissist.” The album, which will be released on July 21 on Parlophone, follows their last reunion album — 2015’s “The Magic Whip” — and was produced by James Ford, who last worked with Blur’s Damon Albarn for the Gorillaz’s 2018 album “The Now Now.” “This is an aftershock record, reflection and comment on where we find ourselves now,” said Albarn of the new record in a statement. Lead guitarist Graham Coxon added, “The older and madder we get, it becomes more essential that what we play is loaded with the right emotion and intention. Sometimes just a riff doesn’t do the job.”

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.

EXCLUSIVE: The Wilds star Shannon Berry has joined the cast of Susanna Fogel’s Canadian feature Winner.

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.

The Eurovision Song Contest took place in Liverpool on Saturday with Sweden’s Loreen topping the leader board with her song ‘Tattoo’ and in doing so winning the event for a second time, something only one other performer has ever done. The UK’s Mae Miller, meanwhile, came second from last, just above Germany.Speaking at a press conference following the show, Loreen said: “Everything feels surreal. I am seriously overwhelmed.

UK Eurovision fans were cheering on singer Mae Muller as she closed the final with I Wrote A Song.

The buzz has been brewing this week - if not longer - for Eurovision 2023 and today's finally the day. The Grand Final of the 67th Eurovision Song Contest will take place on Saturday night (May 13) in Liverpool after the city won a tight bidding contest to host the event on behalf of Ukraine.

In today’s episode of Bingeworthy, our TV and streaming podcast host Mike DeAngelo gets to the occasional truth with Hulu’s hit period comedy series, “The Great.” Created by Tony McNamara (“The Favourite,” “Cruella”), the show follows the sometimes true rise to power and subsequent rule of Catherine “The Great” (Elle Fanning) in a chaotic and debaucherous 18th century Russia.

It's really happening!

EXCLUSIVE: The story of a Dutch YouTuber accused of fathering more than 500 children is to be explored in a Netflix documentary series titled Fertility Fraudster [working title].

resignations, the Associated Press reported Monday.The Times won in the Breaking News category, and also took home a Feature Photography prize for Christina House’s “intimate look” at the life of a pregnant 22-year-old woman living on the street in a tent. Other winners included the Associated Press for Public Service reporting, the Wall Street Journal for Investigative Reporting, and the New York Times for international reporting.

RAVE UKraine.Rave UKraine took place at Liverpool’s Hangar 34 and at Kyiv’s HVLV. Each rave was live-streamed to one another making it possible for attendees in both cities to party alongside each other in a night of unity and solidarity with Ukraine.

Jennie Punter Hot Docs has wrapped its 30th anniversary edition, handing out its top cash prize and announcing the audience top picks after an 11-day festival, which presented 214 films from 72 countries at 308 live screenings at venues across Toronto. Philippe Falardeau’s “Lac-Mégantic—This Is Not an Accident” topped the overall audience poll to win the 2023 Hot Docs Audience Award. The four-part series from the Oscar-nominated director explores the causes of one of Canada’s worst rail disasters and what’s needed to prevent such accidents in the future. “Someone Lives Here,” by Zack Russell, won the Rogers Audience Awards for Best Canadian Documentary, which comes with Cdn. $50,000 cash, and also claimed the second-highest spot in the overall audience poll. The film also won the inaugural Bill Nemtin Award for Best Social Impact Documentary, a jury-chosen prize, at the main awards ceremony held Saturday.

Jennie Punter Last year, during an online panel at Hot Docs film festival featuring Ukrainian documentary filmmakers who were staying in place, Oksana Karpovych told attendees how she’d gained knowledge working alongside foreign media crews covering the war, and was now applying that to her own creative documentary projects. This year, at the festival’s 30th anniversary edition, Karpovych attended the in-person Forum market event to pitch “Intercepted” — her observational doc exploring the aftermath of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 — which ended up winning the 2023 CMF-Hot Docs Canadian Pitch Prize. With Ukraine in the spotlight at Hot Docs this year, both audiences and industry attendees are getting wide exposure to the films and ideas of leading Ukrainian documentary creators. The timing of this programming is perfect, said Hot Docs programmer Myrocia Watamaniuk, not only for the obvious reason.