Russia’s Invasion Of Ukraine “Risks World War Three”, Says Oscar-Nominated Filmmaker Evgeny Afineevsky, As ‘Freedom On Fire’ Premieres – Venice

A concert venue in Kraków, Poland has canceled two upcoming shows by onetime Pink Floyd frontman Roger Waters following recent comments the singer-songwriter made about the ongoing war in Ukraine.

Pink Floyd co-founder Roger Waters has canceled upcoming concerts in Poland over backlash prompted by his beliefs about Russia's war against Ukraine, which he attributes to "extreme nationalists" in Ukraine. Waters was initially planning to perform two concerts at the Tauron Arena in Krakowin in April, but an arena official confirmed the events have been scrapped. "Roger Waters’ manager decided to withdraw ...

Roger Waters has denied reports that he’d cancelled the two Polish dates of his 2023 world tour, instead accusing a councillor in Krakow – the city he’s slated to perform in next April – of attempting to censor the former Pink Floyd leader.Waters is due to perform at Krakow’s Tauron Arena on Friday April 21 and Saturday 22. The dates have been removed from Waters’ website, however, with a report from The Guardian claiming they were cancelled over backlash he’d received after making incendiary comments on the Russia-Ukraine war.In the report, it was said that Lukasz Pytko, a representative for the Tauron Arena, claimed Waters’ management “decided to withdraw [from their scheduled booking] without giving any reason”.

Sir Keir Starmer has accused the Government of 'gambling with people's finances and mortgages' with its 'casino economics'. Speaking before his party's annual conference in Liverpool the Labour leader said Prime Minister Liz Truss and Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng had shown their 'true colours' with their raft of tax cuts that mainly benefit the wealthy.

Guardian).She said her husband wanted “the end of the deaths of our boys for illusory goals that make our country a pariah and weigh heavily on the lives of its citizens”.A post shared by ALLA PUGACHEVA (@alla_orfey)Galkin was added to the foreign agents’ register by the authorities in Russia last Friday (September 16), having lost his prime-time TV show back in April and been dropped from a number of contracts since.The actions of Putin, who has claimed that Russia does not intend to occupy Ukraine and that his country’s actions amount to a “special military operation”, have drawn widespread condemnation from across the globe.As reported by the BBC, President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said of Galkin: “Our paths have clearly diverged – he has made very bad statements.”Artemy Troitsky, a musician and Kremlin critic who left the country in 2014, said: “I think this is her first ever strong political statement and this in itself, of course, is quite shocking for the people in Russia.“I think she’s not the only one who may turn the public opinion.

Marta Balaga Acclaimed cellist Lukas Stasevskij pursues his dream of cinema with documentary “My Ukraine,” currently in development and set to make a bow next week during film industry event Finnish Film Affair. The film is produced by Tero Tamminen (East Films) and Ilona Tolmunen (Made), also behind Aino Suni’s “Heartbeast,” recently snapped up by France’s Wayna Pitch. “When Lukas approached Tero Tamminen and then they called me, we were both immediately interested,” Tolmunen tells Variety, praising Stasevskij’s “universal” story about finding one’s identity and understanding the meaning of roots.

A few minutes before the North American premiere of “Freedom on Fire: Ukraine’s Fight for Freedom,” director Evgeny Afineesvky summed up his state of mind in a single word: “exhausted.”That makes sense, because “Freedom on Fire” screened at the Toronto International Film Festival about six months after Afineevsky and his team began working on it, barely more than a month after its final footage was filmed and only a few weeks after Helen Mirren recorded narration for a scene that comes early in the documentary.For Afineevsky, who landed Oscar and Emmy nominations for 2015’s “Winter on Fire: Ukraine’s Fight for Freedom,” this sequel of sorts was made in a six-month rush, including just three months of editing after Russian forces invaded Ukraine in February of this year. “The urgency of the movie,” the Russian-born director told the audience before the Tuesday morning TIFF screening, “is to not neglect the situation right now.”Certainly, urgency is a hallmark of “Freedom on Fire,” a harrowing document shot by dozens of people inside Ukrainian cities as the Russian army conducted a bombing campaign and an invasion that seemingly targeted civilians, despite Vladimir Putin’s claims that Russia was there to “demilitarize” and “denazify” the country, and to somehow “free” it – though as more than one person in the film points out, the Russian offensive has resulted in ordinary citizens being freed from their lives, their homes, their families.The director’s first film about Ukraine, “Winter on Fire,” was an on-the-ground look at the 2013-2014 Maidan uprising, in which student protests against the Russian-backed president drew a brutal response but resulted in the removal of the president.

Lewis Milestone’s 1930 classic, All Quiet On The Western Front was based on the 1928 novel by Erich Maria Remarque and became the first adaptation of a book to win the Oscar for Best Picture, as well as the first Best Picture Oscar winner to also take Best Director. It has hardly been touched by filmmakers since then save for a TV Movie remake by director Delbert Mann in 1979 that starred Richard Thomas. Now that has changed, and in a significant way , as the book has finally been taken on by Germany with director Edward Berger’s (Patrick Melrose, Your Honor) adaptation (co-written with Lesley Paterson and Ian Stokell) that finally shows us the perspective from the German side. It has already been selected as the German entry for the 95th Academy Awards Best International Film race, and just had its World Premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival today.

Paul McCartney, The Rolling Stones, Slash, Kasabian and Madness are auctioning off Gibson guitars to help victims of the war in Ukraine.The artists have been playing Gibson guitars featuring the colours of the Ukraine flag over the summer.Now, Gibson has crafted a limited edition run of four Guitars For Peace Les Paul Custom electric guitars, with autograph books by the artists that also include Chic, Paloma Faith, The Charlatans, The Vaccines, Toyah, My Chemical Romance and actor Jason Momoa.Starting on October 11, bidding will open via Julien’s Auctions. A live auction will take place online from November 11-13 here and in person at the Hard Rock New York.“I’m happy to auction this beautiful guitar of mine to benefit the fine people of Ukraine,” said McCartney.

The Ukrainian cast and crew of Luxembourg, Luxembourg — premiering in the Horizons section of the Venice Film Festival — today used their Lido photo call as a powerful call for support of Ukraine’s families.

[VENICE] It’s Saturday afternoon at the Tennis Club on the Lido, and American director Abel Ferrara chats on camera to an Italian television host before some of his customary swearing sets in, courtesy of a few brave souls wanting a photo with him next to the courts. He’s hungry.

Ben Stiller and Sean Penn are among 25 Americans who are permanently banned from entering Russia.

Famed actors Ben Stiller and Sean Penn have been permanently banned from entering Russia, according to an announcement from the country's foreign ministry Monday. Stiller and Penn were named on a list of 25 “high-ranking officials, representatives of the business and expert communities, as well as cultural figures” that can no longer legally enter the country. Both Stiller and Penn have been active in their support for Ukraine amid Russia's invasion of the Eastern European country. The actors have visited the country, met with leaders and been vocal in their support for Ukraine and opposition of Russia's attacks. A post shared by Sean Penn (@seanpenn)This year, Penn traveled to Ukraine to meet with President Volodymyr Zelensky while filming a  documentary.

blacklist of 25 people, Senators Rick Scott, Mark Kelley, Pat Toomey, Kevin Kramer and Krysten Sinema were also barred from the countryThis isn’t the only thing the actors have in common, however, as both Penn and Stiller made trips to Ukraine and met with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy earlier this year.Penn traveled to Ukraine to capture the crisis following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine for a Vice documentary and had a meeting with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Chris Cuomo also joined the actor in Ukraine in June as Penn worked on a “film showing the reality and helping the hurting with relief org CORE,” according to Cuomo’s Instagram.

Sean Penn and Ben Stiller today were among 25 “high-ranking officials, representatives of the business and expert communities, as well as cultural figures” banned from Russia today by that country’s foreign ministry.

Brendan Fraser on Twitter, following the first screening of his new film The Whale. The psychological drama from Black Swan director Darren Aronofsky premiered at the Venice Film Festival on Sunday (4 September).

Christopher Vourlias On the eve of the 79th Venice Film Festival, where his powerful Ukraine war documentary “Freedom on Fire: Ukraine’s Fight for Freedom” will premiere out of competition on Sept. 7, Oscar-nominated filmmaker Evgeny Afineevsky was in a frantic race against time. Footage was still being shot in Ukraine into the second week of August, with Afineevsky only completing the film on Aug. 31 — the same day that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed the A-list celebrities and foreign press at the festival’s opening ceremony, urging the world not to forget the war in Ukraine with the impassioned plea: “Don’t turn your back to us.”