Moroccan Director Hicham Lasri Talks About ‘Moroccan Badass Girl,’ ‘Happy Lovers,’ Black Comedies Centering on Antiheroes

Timothee Chalamet is all smiles on the red carpet for the Canadian premiere of Wonka!

Timothee Chalamet is all smiles on the red carpet for the Canadian premiere of Wonka!

French director Justine Triet’s Cannes Palme d’Or winning film Anatomy Of A Fall swept the awards at 36th European Film Awards in Berlin this evening, winning Best European Film, Director, Screenplay (with Arthur Harari) and actress for Sandra Hüller.

Beginning as a simple two-hander in which a young working-class caretaker comes under the spell of his returning boss — a charismatic military man who has designs on getting into local politics — Makbul Mubarak’s debut film Autobiography soon develops into a tense psychological thriller about the way populist leaders groom and abuse their people. It works on its own terms, as a simple yet dark father-son allegory set within Indonesia’s military culture, but there’s a universality here that’s hard to miss.

While fans wait for “Gangs Of London” Season 3, how about a film directed by one of the TV show’s directors? “Mayhem!” doesn’t star anyone from the British crime series, but it operates in a similar vein: a crime-ridden tale about violence, vengeance, and the value of family. READ MORE: The Most Anticipated Films Of 2024 “Mayhem!” follows a French ex-pro boxer released from prison who escapes to Thailand after his past catches up with him.

Rafa Sales Ross Guest Contributor The third edition of the Red Sea Souk, the market arm of the Red Sea Film Festival, awarded its top prize of $100,000 to “The Return of the Prodigal Son” by Rani Massalha. Another eight feature projects and two TV series were awarded cash and in-kind prizes as part of the Red Souk Awards.

Anticipation for next year’s Amy Winehouse movie Back to Black is growing with Studiocanal unveiling a second image and announcing release dates.

This year, I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! has been full of ups, downs and plenty of drama. From the early exits of Grace Dent and Jamie Lynn Spears to Frankie Dettori spilling the beans on an "incident" that could "escalate," it's fair to say that there's been a lot going on.

EXCLUSIVE: Fox Nation’s Jesus Christ show has found its distributor and director.

Moroccan filmmaker Asmae El Moudir has made history at the 20th edition of Morocco’s Marrakech Film Festival as the first local director to win its top prize with her hybrid documentary The Mother Of All Lies.

Alissa Simon Film Critic Egypt’s Oscar submission “Voy! Voy! Voy!,” from director-writer-producer Omar Hilal, is a blackly comic look at migration viewed through the lens of a conman pretending to be visually impaired in order to play in the Blind Football World Cup. The fast-paced, entertaining film makes its Moroccan debut in the Special Screenings section of the Marrakech Film Festival. Following its September premiere in Egypt, it held the top box-office spot for two months and did remarkably well in the Gulf states.

Justine Triet’s Anatomy of a Fall has given her an experience unlike any other she’s had over her 15-year career — one that includes winning the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival. “I would say that the job I’ve been doing since May is a job that I had never done before. It’s a new craft entirely,” she says. Anatomy of a Fall, which she co-wrote with her partner Arthur Harari, eschews the traditional courtroom drama to explore familial relationships when an ambitious, sexually self-assured novelist, played by Sandra Hüller, is put on trial for the suspicious death of her husband Samuel at their home in the French Alps.

The Marrakech Film Festival celebrated its 20th edition this year, arriving at the landmark some 22 years after its 2001 launch due to the missed years of the pandemic.

Former Mister Smith sales executive Antone Saliba has launched management and production company Untamed Talent, with the backing of Dubai-based Front Row Productions.

Bananarama is one of the biggest pop acts of all time!

Iranian directors Behtash Sanaeeha and Maryam Moghadam, whose last collaboration Ballad Of A White Cow made waves on the festival circuit, have been banned from travel and face a trial in relation to their upcoming film My Favourite Cake.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Melita Toscan du Plantier has been the driving force behind the Marrakech Film Festival ever since her late husband, revered French producer Daniel Toscan du Plantier, wrote to Morocco’s king two decades ago expressing “his ambition for a big international festival in Morocco,” as she recounts. The festival’s 20th edition is currently underway in the ancient Moroccan city, despite the Israel-Hamas conflict that has caused cancellations of several other fests in the region as well as the earthquake that hit the country in September.

EXCLUSIVE: Whale with Steve Backshall, the latest high-end natural history series out of the UK is racking up international sales, as the Sky Nature show’s executive producer Wendy Darke talked up the importance of distribution and tax credits in getting such programs made.

Following her Best Original Screenplay win for Promising Young Woman, Saltburn, Emerald Fennell’s sophomore feature, presents a gothic tale of obsession and excess, starring Barry Keoghan as Oliver, a social-climbing Oxford student obsessed with the aristocratic Felix (Jacob Elordi). The multi-hyphenate Fennell also pops up as the pregnant Midge doll in Barbie and is co-penning the upcoming John Wick spinoff Ballerina. Here, she agrees to revisit some best memories, or, as she puts it, “rummage around those skeletons.”

Perfume lovers, listen up! You can now get a 50ml bottle of YSL Libre for £27 less this Black Friday.This luxury scent is a favourite among the YSL range, boasting fruity, floral, woody and musky tones that last up to 10 hours. LookFantastic is selling the Yves Saint Laurent Libre Eau de Parfum for £69, but with the code EXTRA at checkout, you can get an extra 5% off, making it just £65.55. Described as blurring "blur masculine and feminine facets to create a distinctive, unisex appeal", YSL Libre has vibrant top notes of tangerine, neroli and aromatic lavender, revealing a sun-drenched heart of jasmine and radiant Moroccan orange blossom.This "sensual" and "sophisticated" perfume has received a glowing 4.92 out of a possible 5 stars on LookFantastic.