Cannes Film Festival has revealed its selection of films for this year’s iteration of the festival.
In addition to titles by Wes Anderson and Hirokazu Kore-eda, it will also showcase a handful of titles by Arab filmmakers, such as Oscar-nominated Tunisian director Kaouther Ben Hania and Brazilian-Algerian director Karim Ainouz.
From comedies and historical dramas to riveting tales about motherhood, here's what's screening.
Four Daughters
After landing an Oscar nomination for her 2020 film The Man Who Sold His Skin, many have been anticipating what Ben Hania will release next. Four Daughters tells the story of a mother, played by Hend Sabry, who discovers that two of her daughters have been radicalised and joined ISIS. The film is in the official competition for the coveted Palme d’Or, the festival’s top prize.
Firebrand
A horror historical drama by Ainouz, Firebrand tells the story of Catherine Parr, the sixth and last wife of King Henry VIII. The 16th-century English ruler famously ordered the execution of two of his wives, Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard.
The film stars Alicia Vikander as Parr and Jude Law as King Henry. It is also in the official competition of the Cannes Film Festival.
Goodbye Julia
A film by Arab Sudanese director Mohamed Kordofani, Goodbye Julia will be the first Sudanese film to feature at Cannes.
The film tells the story of a northern Sudanese singer, Mona, who is overcome with guilt after covering up a murder of a southern Sudanese man. Aiming to clear her conscience, she invites the man’s widow, Julia, and her son, Daniel, into her home.
Goodbye Julia is competing in the Un Certain Regard section.
The Nature of Love
Directed by Monia Chokri, a Canadian filmmaker with Tunisian Berber roots, The Nature of Love tells the story of a university professor in an unexciting marriage who becomes attracted to a construction contractor she and her husband have hired to renovate their home.
The film is competing in Un Certain Regard.
Kadib Abyad
Kadib Abyad (The Mother of All Lies) is directed by Moroccan filmmaker Asmae El Moudir. The documentary explores the deadly bread riots in El Moudir’s neighbourhood in Casablanca in 1981. The film is competing in Un Certain Regard.
Les Meutes
Kamal Lazraq’s debut feature is competing in the Un Certain Regard category. The Moroccan director is known for his shorts The Man with a Dog and Drari.
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
Emergency
Director: Kangana Ranaut
Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry
Rating: 2/5
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
We Weren’t Supposed to Survive But We Did
We weren’t supposed to survive but we did.
We weren’t supposed to remember but we did.
We weren’t supposed to write but we did.
We weren’t supposed to fight but we did.
We weren’t supposed to organise but we did.
We weren’t supposed to rap but we did.
We weren’t supposed to find allies but we did.
We weren’t supposed to grow communities but we did.
We weren’t supposed to return but WE ARE.
Amira Sakalla
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Squads
Pakistan: Sarfaraz Ahmed (c), Babar Azam (vc), Abid Ali, Asif Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Sohail, Mohammad Hasnain, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Shadab Khan, Usman Shinwari, Wahab Riaz
Sri Lanka: Lahiru Thirimanne (c), Danushka Gunathilaka, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Avishka Fernando, Oshada Fernando, Shehan Jayasuriya, Dasun Shanaka, Minod Bhanuka, Angelo Perera, Wanindu Hasaranga, Lakshan Sandakan, Nuwan Pradeep, Isuru Udana, Kasun Rajitha, Lahiru Kumara
THE CLOWN OF GAZA
Director: Abdulrahman Sabbah
Starring: Alaa Meqdad
Rating: 4/5
T20 World Cup Qualifier fixtures
Tuesday, October 29
Qualifier one, 2.10pm – Netherlands v UAE
Qualifier two, 7.30pm – Namibia v Oman
Wednesday, October 30
Qualifier three, 2.10pm – Scotland v loser of qualifier one
Qualifier four, 7.30pm – Hong Kong v loser of qualifier two
Thursday, October 31
Fifth-place playoff, 2.10pm – winner of qualifier three v winner of qualifier four
Friday, November 1
Semi-final one, 2.10pm – Ireland v winner of qualifier one
Semi-final two, 7.30pm – PNG v winner of qualifier two
Saturday, November 2
Third-place playoff, 2.10pm
Final, 7.30pm
