Qatar Showbiz Latest News and Updates

EXCLUSIVE: MasterChef judge Aarón Sánchez is returning to Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) U.S. Hispanic for more of his LA restaurant series El Toque de Aarón.

Everything that Marcus Rashford touched last season turned to gold. Or should that be goals?

The 2024 Formula 1 race season is heating up!

James Graham‘s double-OIivier Award winning play Dear England is hitting TV screens and the prolific creator is thinking about whether any former soccer players could make the cut.

The Foreign Office has issued new travel warnings for 16 countries today following. In light of the recent drone attack on Israel by Iran, those planning to visit destinations including Morocco and the United Arab Emirates are strongly advised to check travel advice before making their journey.

British comedian Joe Lycett has revealed that, in the last month, he has planted four fake stories in the British media.

The Foreign Office has issued a new urgent travel warning for 18 countries, including popular Mediterranean holiday destinations. The government's latest advisory cautions travellers about an increased risk of terrorist attacks in countries around the southern Mediterranean and the Middle East due to heightened tensions following recent events in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

Annika Pham Seven years after showcasing “You Make a Better Window Than You Do a Door” at Visions du Réel’s Short Film competition strand, Lebanese-born Farah Kassem is back in Nyon, this time in the main international competition with her doc feature-length debut “We Are Inside.” Variety was granted access to the trailer. The film was produced by the helmer’s regular collaborator Cynthia Choucair of Lebanon’s Road2Films, in co-production with Qatar’s Al Jazeera Documentary Channel and Denmark’s Good Company Pictures (“Photographer of War,” “Beautiful Something Left Behind”).

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Qatar-based powerhouse BeIN Media Group, a co-owner of U.S. indie studio Miramax, has taken distribution rights across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region to live-action pre-school series “Saïd & Anna,” which has been nominated for this year’s Banff World Media Festival‘s Rockie Awards.

Lawmakers in Israel on Monday passed new legislation that allows the government to temporarily close foreign media outlets deemed to be a risk to national security. In the wake of the Israeli parliament approving the law, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to shutter Al Jazeera, saying it “will no longer be broadcast from Israel.”

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent On Oct. 7, when the Israel-Hamas war broke out, Palestinian director Annemarie Jacir was just one week away from starting principal photography in Bethlehem, 45 miles from Gaza, on “All Before You.”The Oscar-nominated filmmaker’s long-gestating project reconstructs the 1936 farmer-led revolt against British colonial rule and the influx of Jewish settlements in Palestine that has been at the root of the conflict.

Diogo Dalot has said it's good to hear praise from Manchester United legends like Gary Neville, who has suggested that he's been the club's best player this season.

The estranged husband of Scots EuroMillions winner Gillian Bayford has allegedly told pals he might still try for a slice of her £148m fortune despite signing a prenup.

Fears are growing for the future of Paris’s historic 87-year-old UGC Normandie cinema on the French capital’s Champs-Élysées Avenue following reports it will close this June due to a combination of high rent and decline in business.

Manchester Airport experienced its busiest February on record as 1.9million passengers flew into or out of the northern travel hub last month. The half term holidays provided a huge boost with more than half of those passengers travelling during the school holiday period.

Mexican supervisor supervising sound editor Martín Hernández, who was Oscar-nominated for Best Sound Editing for Birdman and The Revenant in 2014 and 2015 respectively, says the category is wide open this year due to the variety of movies in the running.

At 77 years young and with nearly 20 feature-length films under her belt, French filmmaker Claire Denis is still going strong with no plans to retire. In a new interview with Screen Daily at a Qumra event in Doha, Qatar, Denis confirmed talk of a new film shot in Cameroon, a country she lived in as a child.

Atom Egoyan has revealed that he was so traumatized by the negative reception to his Ryan Reynolds-starring thriller The Captive at the Cannes Film Festival that he will never return again with a film.

French director Claire Denis is set to return to West Africa for her next feature film, an adaptation of late French playwright Bernard-Marie Koltès’s 1980 work Black Battles With Dogs (Combat de nègre et de chiens).

Jim Sheridan has dispelled rumors around a possible return to acting by Daniel Day-Lewis, who gave an Oscar-winning performance in the Irish director’s drama My Left Foot and also starred in his subsequent films In The Name Of The Father and The Boxer.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent The Doha Film Institute’s unique Qumra incubator kicks off Friday with six days of master classes, labs and mentoring sessions and some 200 industry professionals – including programmers from Cannes, Venice, Toronto, Berlin and many other major festivals – expected to make the trek to the Qatari capital. Qumra, which is an Arab word believed to be the origin of the word “camera,” is dedicated to supporting and shepherding first and second works by Arab directors but also supports some projects from other parts of the world.

Jamie Carragher has reignited his feud with Rio Ferdinand by calling his ex-England teammate a "poor man's Virgil van Dijk".

Coco Gauff continues her success in her personal and professional career. The tennis star is celebrating a new special recognition, revealing that she feels grateful for being celebrated with TIME’s coveted list of ‘Women of the Year.’Coco Gauff’s boyfriend: All the times the tennis star has talked about her romantic partnerCoco Gauff opens up about ‘darkest and brightest days’ of her life this year: ‘Proud of myself’How Coco Gauff spent Valentine’s Day while in Qatar: ‘Fun in the sun!’The publication revealed that the athlete is part of the list of women who have positively shown their impact and influence.

Pep Guardiola has insisted that he told Kalvin Phillips that he was going to speak about his weight with reporters.

Australian Golden Globe and Emmy Award-winning actor and producer Toni Collette (Knives Out) has been announced as a Master at the 10th edition of the Doha Film Institute’s Qumra talent incubator, running from March 1 to 6.

EXCLUSIVE: People’s Cup, a documentary feature about Argentina’s 2022 World Cup win led by Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi, is being repped for international sales at the European Film Market by Filmsharks. 

Coco Gauff did not let her latest loss discourage her from spending a sweet Valentine’s Day. The 20-year-old tennis star spent some quality time with her mom Candi Gauff after losing to Katerina Siniakova in the second round of the WTA 1000 in Doha.Coco Gauff’s mom supports her daughter’s kind gesture to Alycia ParksCoco Gauff could have been a professional basketball playerCoco Gauff shares adorable photos at Disney World with her familyThe fan-favorite athlete was in good spirits celebrating Valentine’s Day with an adventure in the desert, making the most out of her time in Qatar with her mom.

Rafael Nadal has never broken a tennis racquet in his life. The Spanish player stands in sharp contrast to players like Novak Djokovic, who, according to a statistic shared on social media, has broken 62 racquets over the course of his professional career. Roger Federer, who’s known as a cool and collected player, has broken six racquets while playing.

Diogo Dalot has picked his moments for assists this season. The first teed up Alejandro Garnacho for the goal of the season and the second invited Scott McTominay to resume his matchwinner mode.

Miss Universe Sheynnis Palacios will walk on her first New York Fashion WeekMiss Universe Sheynnis Palacios arrives in Qatar with her incredible ‘looks’Miss Universe Sheynnis Palacios reveals she had a seizure and suffers from anxiety attacks

Middle East distributor Front Row Filmed Entertainment is gearing up to release iconic Oscar-nominated Rio de Janeiro gangland drama City of God across the Gulf countries of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates for the first time.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Qatar, which put itself on the global entertainment map by hosting the 2022 soccer World Cup, isn’t known as a moviemaking hub. But Doha-based Katara Studios, which is keen on fostering filmmaking and content production in the minuscule gas-rich Gulf nation, is getting the ball rolling.

Cameroon coach Rigobert Song has denied the suggestion that he has fallen out with Andre Onana after he was dropped for the crucial Africa Cup of Nations win over Gambia last week.

Prince and Elton John, to most recently six nights of Madonna,” Botten added.“Up to this point, we’ve had an impressive 92 residencies at The O2, and it felt fitting to honour this new premium space as our 93rd, given that the design of the space has been so heavily influenced by our musical heritage.

Qatar‘s Doha Film Institute (DFI) has announced the recipient projects for its fall 2023 grants cycle, featuring 44 films by first and second-time directors hailing from 32 countries. (scroll down for full list)

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief First-time mainland Chinese director Lin Jianjie (aka JJ Lin) makes a splash this weekend with the premiere of his “Brief History of a Family.” Asking questions about family in the era since the end of China’s ‘One Child Policy,’ while also borrowing genre tropes such as the idea of the intruder and blood, it is a polished and ultra-modern fable that sees a teenage schoolboy ingratiate himself into another boy’s family.Variety spoke to biologist-turned-filmmaker Lin on the eve of his Sundance debut.How did you get from zero to making your first feature?[After graduating in biology] I did two short films at film school. I went to Tisch Asia, which had a campus in Singapore. We also had an exchange program with Tisch in New York.