Despite the best efforts of Sofia Coppola and Kathryn Bigelow, it still sometimes feels as though the world of film is a boys' club, a forum for unfeasibly rich and powerful geeks to live out their fantasy lives of fast cars, high-tech gadgets, explosions and, of course, beautiful women. Are there enough chicks in movies? Of course: just look how pretty they make the red carpet!
In other words, while the archetypal movie-star is a glamorous Anne Hathaway type (after all, how dull would the Oscars be if it were all penguin suits and no fashion parade?), the classic film director is a scruffy Peter Jackson, an unhinged Stanley Kubrick or an intense Martin Scorsese. The producer? A Jerry Bruckheimer. The scriptwriter? A sleazy, scrabbling Joe Eszterhas or self-deprecating William Goldman. The leading man could be a polymath of the George Clooney or James Franco type and no one would bat an eyelid.
The ideal female star, meanwhile, is a stunningly beautiful creature with soulful eyes, a brood of kids (not that you could tell from her designer-dress-rocking figure) and a few charitable concerns to give her a serious edge (think Angelina Jolie, not Pamela Anderson).
On Friday night, at the 68th Venice Film Festival, the inaugural Gucci Award for Women in Cinema was awarded by Madonna to Jessica Chastain, the unconventionally beautiful breakthrough star of Terrence Malick's The Tree of Life.
The aim of the award is, says Gucci, to "recognise an outstanding achievement by a woman in filmmaking", and the nominees were selected by an advisory committee led by the Venice Film Festival's director Marco Mueller. The final choice came down to a jury of the creative director of Gucci, Frida Giannini, the actors Robin Wright, Valeria Golin and James Franco, and the film journalist and Venice's US programmer Giulia D'Agnolo Vallan. As part of the prize, Gucci will give US$25,000 (Dh92,000) to the Maurice Kanbar Institute of Film and Television at NYU Tisch School of the Arts in Chastain's name.
Gucci is not new to the world of film: for the past six years the luxury fashion brand has been working with Scorsese on The Film Foundation, which has restored the prints of movie greats from Federico Fellini's La Dolce Vita to John Cassavetes's A Woman Under the Influence.
It is a somewhat disappointing realisation, though, that in the second decade of the 21st century, the company still feels that women need a specific award of their own to draw attention to their body of work. That one of the best-known (by the general public, at least) female directors in the world is Madonna, whose new film W.E. has garnered a little grudging praise and a lot of back-in-your-box criticism, is something of an indictment of our expectations of women in film. (The images of her directing were telling: no perfectly wavy golden hair or beautifully applied lipstick. Instead it was make-up-free, serious-specs-and-unflattering-hat-wearing: intellectual Madonna.)
Yet there is no doubt that over the decades there have been women who have made films on their own terms, without having to resort to rom-coms and family dramas. Bigelow is one - she's no delicate flower or glamorous fashionista, and with The Hurt Locker, she directed a movie admired by men and women alike. Emma Thompson, too, has made her name in acting, directing, producing and screenwriting (albeit with the very family-friendly Nanny McPhee at the top of her script credits). Sofia Coppola, of course, has transcended her family name to become one of the industry's most promising filmmakers (though Lost in Translation remains her most famous outing). Gurinder Chadha, director of Bhajion the Beach, Bend It Like Beckham and Bride and Prejudice, has overcome both gender and cultural norms to become a respected player in the industry.
Gucci's own shortlist for the award featured some interesting names, and indeed Chastain's was the only acting credit there. Frederica Pontremoli was shortlisted as the screenwriter of Habemus Papam; Nansun Shi as producer of Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame; Caroline Champetier as director of photography for Of Gods and Men; and Athina Tsangari as director and producer of Attenberg.
But for every stereotype-busting director such as Lisa Cholodenko (The Kids Are All Right) or Lone Scherfig (An Education), there are 1,000 Los Angeles starlets desperate to be the face of a make-up company, the lead in a rom-com or the main attraction on the red carpet. Gucci has simply recognised that, as far as film is concerned, it's still a man's world.
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
Results:
5pm: Baynunah Conditions (UAE bred) Dh80,000 1,400m.
Winner: Al Tiryaq, Dane O’Neill (jockey), Abdullah Al Hammadi (trainer).
5.30pm: Al Zahra Handicap (rated 0-45) Dh 80,000 1,400m:
Winner: Fahadd, Richard Mullen, Ahmed Al Mehairbi.
6pm: Al Ras Al Akhdar Maiden Dh80,000 1,600m.
Winner: Jaahiz, Jesus Rosales, Eric Lemartinel.
6.30pm: Al Reem Island Handicap Dh90,000 1,600m.
Winner: AF Al Jahed, Antonio Fresu, Ernst Oertel.
7pm: Al Khubairah Handicap (TB) 100,000 2,200m.
Winner: Empoli, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson.
7.30pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap Dh80,000 2,200m.
Winner: Shivan OA, Patrick Cosgrave, Helal Al Alawi.
Pots for the Asian Qualifiers
Pot 1: Iran, Japan, South Korea, Australia, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, China
Pot 2: Iraq, Uzbekistan, Syria, Oman, Lebanon, Kyrgyz Republic, Vietnam, Jordan
Pot 3: Palestine, India, Bahrain, Thailand, Tajikistan, North Korea, Chinese Taipei, Philippines
Pot 4: Turkmenistan, Myanmar, Hong Kong, Yemen, Afghanistan, Maldives, Kuwait, Malaysia
Pot 5: Indonesia, Singapore, Nepal, Cambodia, Bangladesh, Mongolia, Guam, Macau/Sri Lanka
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Children who witnessed blood bath want to help others
Aged just 11, Khulood Al Najjar’s daughter, Nora, bravely attempted to fight off Philip Spence. Her finger was injured when she put her hand in between the claw hammer and her mother’s head.
As a vital witness, she was forced to relive the ordeal by police who needed to identify the attacker and ensure he was found guilty.
Now aged 16, Nora has decided she wants to dedicate her career to helping other victims of crime.
“It was very horrible for her. She saw her mum, dying, just next to her eyes. But now she just wants to go forward,” said Khulood, speaking about how her eldest daughter was dealing with the trauma of the incident five years ago. “She is saying, 'mama, I want to be a lawyer, I want to help people achieve justice'.”
Khulood’s youngest daughter, Fatima, was seven at the time of the attack and attempted to help paramedics responding to the incident.
“Now she wants to be a maxillofacial doctor,” Khulood said. “She said to me ‘it is because a maxillofacial doctor returned your face, mama’. Now she wants to help people see themselves in the mirror again.”
Khulood’s son, Saeed, was nine in 2014 and slept through the attack. While he did not witness the trauma, this made it more difficult for him to understand what had happened. He has ambitions to become an engineer.
'I Want You Back'
Director:Jason Orley
Stars:Jenny Slate, Charlie Day
Rating:4/5
THE%20SPECS
%3Cp%3EBattery%3A%2060kW%20lithium-ion%20phosphate%3Cbr%3EPower%3A%20Up%20to%20201bhp%3Cbr%3E0%20to%20100kph%3A%207.3%20seconds%3Cbr%3ERange%3A%20418km%3Cbr%3EPrice%3A%20From%20Dh149%2C900%3Cbr%3EAvailable%3A%20Now%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
What%20is%20Dungeons%20%26%20Dragons%3F%20
%3Cp%3EDungeons%20%26amp%3B%20Dragons%20began%20as%20an%20interactive%20game%20which%20would%20be%20set%20up%20on%20a%20table%20in%201974.%20One%20player%20takes%20on%20the%20role%20of%20dungeon%20master%2C%20who%20directs%20the%20game%2C%20while%20the%20other%20players%20each%20portray%20a%20character%2C%20determining%20its%20species%2C%20occupation%20and%20moral%20and%20ethical%20outlook.%20They%20can%20choose%20the%20character%E2%80%99s%20abilities%2C%20such%20as%20strength%2C%20constitution%2C%20dexterity%2C%20intelligence%2C%20wisdom%20and%20charisma.%20In%20layman%E2%80%99s%20terms%2C%20the%20winner%20is%20the%20one%20who%20amasses%20the%20highest%20score.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Sinopharm vaccine explained
The Sinopharm vaccine was created using techniques that have been around for decades.
“This is an inactivated vaccine. Simply what it means is that the virus is taken, cultured and inactivated," said Dr Nawal Al Kaabi, chair of the UAE's National Covid-19 Clinical Management Committee.
"What is left is a skeleton of the virus so it looks like a virus, but it is not live."
This is then injected into the body.
"The body will recognise it and form antibodies but because it is inactive, we will need more than one dose. The body will not develop immunity with one dose," she said.
"You have to be exposed more than one time to what we call the antigen."
The vaccine should offer protection for at least months, but no one knows how long beyond that.
Dr Al Kaabi said early vaccine volunteers in China were given shots last spring and still have antibodies today.
“Since it is inactivated, it will not last forever," she said.
Vidaamuyarchi
Director: Magizh Thirumeni
Stars: Ajith Kumar, Arjun Sarja, Trisha Krishnan, Regina Cassandra
Rating: 4/5
The BIO
Favourite piece of music: Verdi’s Requiem. It’s awe-inspiring.
Biggest inspiration: My father, as I grew up in a house where music was constantly played on a wind-up gramophone. I had amazing music teachers in primary and secondary school who inspired me to take my music further. They encouraged me to take up music as a profession and I follow in their footsteps, encouraging others to do the same.
Favourite book: Ian McEwan’s Atonement – the ending alone knocked me for six.
Favourite holiday destination: Italy - music and opera is so much part of the life there. I love it.
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
The%20specs
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%201.8-litre%204-cyl%20turbo%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E190hp%20at%205%2C200rpm%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20320Nm%20from%201%2C800-5%2C000rpm%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESeven-speed%20dual-clutch%20auto%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFuel%20consumption%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%206.7L%2F100km%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20From%20Dh111%2C195%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENow%3C%2Fp%3E%0A