‘Mami Wata’ Review: Nigeria’s Stark Black-and-White Oscar Entry Weaves Bewitching Fable with Haunting Images

Once Christmas Day is out the way the festivities do not end across the UK. The following day, known as Boxing Day, is a bank holiday with many families using it to extend the celebration and spend more time together.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom” didn’t give Hollywood much to be merry about at the Christmas box office. The comic book sequel, starring Jason Momoa as the King of Atlantis and directed by James Wan, opened slightly below estimates with $27.7 million over the traditional weekend and a disappointing $40 million through the four-day holiday frame.

Doctor Who star Ncuti Gatwa's journey to stardom hasn't been a walk in the park, as he's battled with depression and homelessness.The Rwandan-Scottish actor, who shot to fame on Netflix's Sex Education, has become the 14th Time Lord, following in the footsteps of Jodie Whittaker, David Tennant, and Matt Smith. But what's the story behind this 31 year old actor? Let's delve into his off-screen life, from his struggles with homelessness to his fight for privacy, breaking stereotypes and the question he's always asked. Born in Rwanda, Ncuti and his family moved to Scotland amidst the 1994 genocide.

Nearly 40 years after it topped the UK Christmas pop chart and made millions of pounds for charity, Band Aid’s charity anthem has come under fresh fire for its lyrics, which critics say perpetuate racist and patronising stereotypes of African people.

Peter Andre and his wife Emily MacDonagh may be busy preparing to welcome a new arrival in 2024, but there's still Christmas to be had - their last as a blended family of six. Already parents to children Amelia, nine, and Theo, seven, Emily is also a step mum to Peter's son Junior, 18, and daughter Princess, 16. And this festive season, the family will be together to celebrate in the Andre household, revealed the couple as they gave OK! an exclusive insight into their plans.

J. Kim Murphy Filmmaker Michael Goorjian set out to create a different kind of film about Armenian nationality when developing “Amerikatsi,” the country’s submission in the international feature category for this year’s Academy Awards. Along with directing, Goorjian also stars as Charlie, an American who repatriates to Armenia after World War II — but ends up in a Soviet prison for simply wearing a tie.

John Bleasdale Guest Contributor When writer-director Mohamed Kordofani first conceived of the film “Goodbye Julia,” he realized that he didn’t have a single friend from South Sudan — “and there are millions who live in Khartoum.” Now he has hundreds, he tells Variety. The first Sudanese film to premiere in the Un Certain Regard sidebar in Cannes, his debut feature won the Prix de la Liberté and is now the official Sudanese entry for the Academy Awards, with Lupita Nyong’o on board as an executive producer. The film had its Middle East and North Africa premiere this week at El Gouna Film Festival, where Kordofani was awarded the Variety MENA Region Talent Award.

Agatha Christie would have approved of modern-day revisions to her written works, says her great-grandson James Pritchard.

James Haskell has shared a photograph of him and estranged wife Chloe Madeley enjoying a 'team meal' with their daughter Bodhi, following their marriage split. The ex-rugby ace, 38, and Chloe, 36, announced they'd separated after nearly 10 years together in October, but have continued to spend time together as they navigate co-parenting their daughter Bodhi, one. On Sunday, 17 December, James took to Instagram to share a snap of him, Chloe and Bodhi in a restaurant together.

The official German Oscar entry for Best International Feature is an insular, pulse-pounding thriller set within the confines of a school that, for cinematic purposes, doubles as a microcosm of society in general circa 2023 where facts don’t matter, misinformation is rampant, suspicions run hot, divisions run deep, racism still rears its ugly head, and no one can be quite sure where, and even if they want to, fit in.

Angelique Jackson The Paramount Pictures adaptation of the hit YA book “Children of Blood and Bone” is taking another step toward the big screen, with Gina Prince-Bythewood signing on to direct. Prince-Bythewood will develop the next pass of a draft penned by author Tomi Adeyemi. The action fantasy novel follows heroine Zélie Adebola, who belongs to a class of magic practicioners know as the maji, as she attempts to restore magic to the kingdom of Orïsha, following the ruling class kosidáns’ brutal suppression of her people.

Omen is the official submission from Belgium for the International Feature Oscar category and comes from multi-hyphenate interdisciplinary artist Baloji, who makes his feature directing debut. The film had its world premiere in Cannes’ Un Certain Regard section this year where it won the New Voice Prize, before going on to play myriad festivals. Utopia is the North American distributor. 

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor The trailer has launched for Adar Shafran‘s drama-comedy “Running on Sand,” which is being sold worldwide by Picture Tree International, ahead of the Israeli film’s international premiere at Palm Springs Film Festival (Jan. 1 – 15). It is released in Israel on Thursday by United King Films.

Lisa Vanderpump is in awe of everything Ariana Madix has accomplished since Scandoval — but especially for Dancing With the Stars!

YouTube has revealed the UK’s top 10 most-watched music videos of 2023.Earning the Number One spot on the annual list is Miley Cyrus‘ Grammy-nominated track ‘Flowers’. The video has 644 million views.‘Flowers’ debuted at Number One on the UK Singles chart as well as the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Cyrus’ second Number One song toping the chart since 2013’s ‘Wrecking Ball’. It also debuted at number one on the Billboard Global 200 chart and stayed on top for thirteen non-consecutive weeks.The song was also the highest-earning song on Spotify in 2023.Following ‘Flowers’ is Central Cee and Dave’s hit ‘Sprinter’.

Kate Middleton secretly brought two of her three children — Princess Charlotte, 8, and Prince Louis, 5 — to a taping of the UK’s version of “Dancing With the Stars” on Saturday.The future queen appeared in great spirits despite being recently named — alongside father-in-law King Charles III — as one of the royal family members who allegedly questioned the color of Prince Harry’s son’s skin prior to his birth, which was revealed in the Dutch translation of the book, “Endgame: Inside the Royal Family and the Monarchy’s Fight for Survial” by Omid Scobie.Instead, Kate put on a brave face as producers of the show, called “Strictly Come Dancing,” introduced her to BBC hosts Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly, while Louis put on a toy crown, the Sun reports.Not to be outdone, older sister Charlotte also joined Louis by sitting in a judge’s seat and held up paddles with scores on them.Kate, 41, “took pictures of the children in the judges’ seats,” a source told the outlet. “She seemed really relaxed and was all smiles,” the source added.

Ben Croll After recovering from a prolonged health scare, and newly based in Western Europe, Russian filmmaker Andrey Zvyagintsev stepped back onto the international stage at this year’s Marrakech Film Festival. Better still, the director of Oscar nominated films “Loveless” and “Leviathan” will soon step back behind the camera, as he readies the oligarch drama “Jupiter,” his first film made outside of his native country. Variety spoke with the filmmaker in Marrakech.

House of the Dragon” is heating back up, as HBO has released a trailer for the second season of the “Game of Thrones” prequel series. Season 2 promises even more dragon warfare, as Rhaenyra Targaryen and Alicent Hightower’s forces go head to head — well, dragon to dragon. The trailer shows Daemon Targaryen suiting up in his impressive armor, knights on horseback, soldiers burning alive and several of the main cast riding their dragons into battle.

while making an appearance on Thursday. The couple posed for photos with Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel of Sweden during a gathering at Windsor Castle in England.This is their first appearance after Wednesday’s episode of “Piers Morgan Uncensored,” in which the British broadcaster revealed they were the ones whom Markle claimed questioned the skin color of her unborn son, Archie.Markle, 42, first made the claim during her March 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey.

King Charles has given a strained four-word response amid the accusations made in Endgame regarding the royal racism row.