Report: Spotify is being used by criminal gangs to launder money in Sweden

In a move that many people may describe as provocative, the Göteborg Film Festival has set Ingmar Bergman’s landmark arthouse drama Persona for an AI-assisted restoration. 

Anna Marie de la Fuente Barcelona-born director Carla Simón, whose sophomore film “Alcarràs” clinched the 72nd Berlinale Golden Bear last year, received the 2023 National Cinematography Award, one of the highest honors bestowed by Spain’s Ministry of Culture. On hand to present the award in a ceremony held at the San Sebastian Film Festival was Miguel Iceta, Spain’s Minister of Culture and Sports, who first addressed Simón in Catalan before switching to Spanish: “With only two feature films, you have left your mark on the recent history of cinema in our country: a short but undisputed trajectory in terms of its strength and personality, recognized both nationally and internationally.

Owen Gleiberman Chief Film Critic In my opinion, the two greatest directors to emerge from the nexus of international cinema in the 1990s were both Scandinavian. One of them, Lars von Trier, became quite famous, for reasons both good and bad.

Marta Balaga Sweden’s Isabella Eklöf has followed up her acclaimed debut “Holiday” with the Greenland-set “Kalak,” this time around opting for a male protagonist. “He’s a guy, but the story is exactly the same,” she says. “It’s still about sexual assault and ‘restaging’ your trauma, or looking for family and connection, but I have never explored that perspective before.

Thania Garcia Newly reunited NSYNC kept it real for their episode of the YouTube series “Hot Ones” — their first official interview since surprising the world with an appearance at the MTV Video Music Awards earlier this month. Chris Kirkpatrick, JC Chasez, Justin Timberlake, Lance Bass and Joey Fatone assembled around a table to eat the show’s unbearably hot chicken wings while host Sean Evans asked them about some of their most memorable pop culture moments.

Seeing the Northern Lights is something on the top of most people’s bucket lists and Iceland is one of the best places to spot them during the winter months. For a limited time Icelandair is offering a holiday package deal with flights, accommodation and tours all included for less than £500 per person.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Norwegian filmmaker Joachim Trier will next direct “Sentimental Value,” a family drama starring Renate Reinsve, who won best actress in Cannes for her role in Trier’s Oscar-nominated 2021 film “The Worst Person of the World.” “Sentimental Value” will follow Nora (Reinsve), an actor, and her sister Agnes, who are grieving the loss of their mother while their father Gustav reappears in their lives after a long absence. Gustav, a once-celebrated filmmaker, has written a script for a comeback movie and offered the main part to his daughter Nora, but she categorically refuses the role.

Anette Novak is out at the Swedish Film Institute. 

Travel blog by Travels of Adam (Hipster Blog) – Travels of Adam (Hipster Blog) - Travel & Lifestyle Hipster Blog With history, culture, blondes and meatballs, Sweden is one of Europe’s most diverse and unique destinations. Discover my reasons on why you should visit Sweden One of Europe’s best destinations for cool & hip holidays, Sweden has a lot to offer. From the country’s impressive countryside to a rich cultural heritage, the country has a bit of everything.

Jehnny Beth has released a new ‘Live’ EP that features two new unreleased songs titled ‘More Adrenaline’ and ‘Amazing Life’.The two tracks feature Beth’s signature beats with ‘More Adrenaline’ being eclectic and eccentric. Lyrics such as “I’m in my bed/I had an orgasm and I lost my cigarette in my sheets” are followed by the anthemic chorus “More adrenaline / more adrenaline” ready to make any dance floor come to life.‘Amazing Life’ is a slower-paced tune that still has a heavy beat.

IDLES have shared details of an upcoming European tour, set to take place in Spring 2024.The British indie band announced the update on their social media pages this morning (September 18), confirming that they will be headed to Europe soon for a run of live tour dates.“We are coming to Europe, a place that brought us up with beauty and vigour. We promise to return the favour, show after show after show,” the band wrote in the caption of their Instagram post.“All is love,” they added, confirming that the general on sale for tickets will be available this Friday (September 22) at 10am CEST.

It’s a tale as old as time – and yet stranger than fiction. A young woman meets the love of her life in unexpected circumstances. Forced apart, they face battle after battle, defying adversity in order to be reunited.

Spotify to launder money, according to a Swedish newspaper.The publication, Svenska Dagbladet, reported that gang members convert money received from drug deals, robberies, fraud, and assassination missions into Bitcoin, which they then use to acquire fake streams for artists with gang associations. They then collect the money paid out to those streams at a later date.One source Svenska Dagbladet spoke to said that Spotify is “very good for recruiting purposes,” since gang members can use popular artists, particularly in Sweden’s gangster rap scene, as a front for their activities.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent “Vogter,” a psychological thriller directed by Gustav Möller, whose previous film “The Guilty” won the Audience Award at Sundance, has been pre-sold by Les Films du Losange to multiple territories. “Vogter,” which was just completed and is now in post, has been picked up for Germany, Austria, Switzerland (Ascot Elite), Spain (La Aventura), Italy (Movies Inspired), Japan (Happinet Phantom Studios), Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg (Cineart), Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania (Kino Pavasaris) and Hungary (Vertigo). Les Films du Losange has closed these deals since unveiling the project at Cannes and is negotiating further sales in other key territories.

Alissa Simon Film Critic Swedish writer-director Lukas Moodysson is much beloved internationally for films such as “Show Me Love” (1998), “Together” (2000) and “Lilya 4-Ever” (2002). His filmography also includes the mostly English-language drama “Mammoth” (2009) with Michelle Williams and Gael Garcia Bernal, and “We Are the Best!,” (2013), a delightful adaptation of his wife’s graphic novel. His new film, “Together 99,” marks a sequel to his second feature. Why did you want to revisit the characters of “Together” 24 years on from the original film? I wanted to make a movie about the passage of time, but also about the feeling of time standing still.

Former Dumfries and County player Connor Syme got some Swiss bliss with his best finish of the season on Sunday.

As if to come to the aid of her national cinema after the debacle that was Roman Polanski’s The Palace, Poland’s Agnieska Holland, soon to turn 75, restores some of her homeland’s cultural dignity with a devastating exposé that angrily, and quite brilliantly, questions its humanity and political integrity. At 144 minutes, and in black and white, it is not exactly a Trojan horse, and its moral rigor does not come with a spoonful of sugar. But Green Border earns every second of that running time, and with a focus and energy that belies its directors age. Awards-wise, this may prove to be the international feature to beat.

Jessica Kiang While you’re still in the vice-like grip of its multilevel narrative it may not feel like it, but a film like Agnieszka Holland’s bruisingly powerful new refugee drama ultimately comes from a place of optimism. It is optimistic to expect and nurture of a reaction of potentially motivating outrage, when you portray the brutality of which human individuals, at the behest of human institutions, are capable. It is optimistic to believe that, faced with extraordinary cruelty, a viewer’s ordinary decency will be compelled to rise and rebel.

New cases of the 'highly mutated' Pirola variant of Covid-19 have been detected in the UK, as numbers of those infected with the virus rise.

Louise Redknapp can command a stage like any popstar, but she's not what you'd call a towering woman. Now, in a picture she's posted of herself with her two sons, fans are seeing how tiny the pint-sized performer really is.