Venice: Diversity and Love at Heart of ‘Laila in Haifa,’ Director Amos Gitai Says

Less than a year after his appointment, the Stephen Glass experiment at Aberdeen is officially over.

Davina McCall stunned diners at an Ayrshire restaurant after making a shock visit.

A Rutherglen man has praised a new NHS weight loss programme after shedding a staggering four stone in less than a year.

CHARLOTTE Church was unmasked at The Masked Singer's Mushroom on Saturday night - much to the delight of fans. The Welsh classical singer was finally revealed to be under the mask after weeks of the tough TV competition.

The end is near! Hollywood is gearing up for spring by buying plenty of spring and summer pieces to refresh their closets.

Brandon Boyd has shared a new animated video for his latest single, ‘A Better Universe’ – you can watch it below.Produced by John Congleton, the rousing new track is the fourth to be lifted from the Incubus frontman’s upcoming new solo album, ‘Echoes And Cocoons’.In a statement explaining the inspiration behind ‘A Better Universe’, Boyd said: “Did you ever encounter someone so far gone in their malignant narcissism and self aggrandizing, self assured egomania that all you could do was take a deep breath and walk away? Of course you have, you see a potential ‘them’ in the mirror each day.“Have you ever wished that that ‘someone’ would die? Would that even solve the problem? For if they found an audience so eager and ready to glutton themselves on the message, could it not be argued that there will be yet another wolf in wolf’s clothing waiting in the wings to rush in and fill that void? I found myself in the teeth of this dilemma recently and I struggled with the ethical problem that was clinging to its heels. Then, shortly after locking horns with this philosophical bull, I met the person whom I’d come to this unfortunate impasse with in a dream.”Boyd then went on to quote some of the song’s lyrics: “I met you in a dream, and in the dream you died/ I slow danced on your grave, and I got all teary eyed/ I woke up with a smile, wiped the tears away/ I wished that it were real/ So it goes, so I’ll say, I’m sorry but it’s a better universe without you in it/ Did you read the book or did you just see the movie?/ Every breath you take is just a waste of air.”“Do I wish ill upon my fomenter? I do not.

Former Hamilton boss Alex Neil says he's aiming to rack up plenty of wins to help his new Sunderland side into the English Championship.

Ex Pussycat Dolls singer Kimberly Wyatt is said to be feeling “awkward” after discovering that her fellow Dancing on Ice celebs have a group chat she knew nothing about, it has been reported. Kimberly, 40, is said to have been unaware that some of her fellow cast mates from the ITV skating show had been chatting in a WhatsApp group. And after discovering news of the chat, Kimberly reportedly felt "excluded" by the move.

Holly Jones Bolivian-Mexican filmmaker Natalia López Gallardo enjoyed tandem careers in editing (“Jauja,” “Post Tenebras Lux”) and acting (“Nuestro Tiempo”), as she made her debut as auteur with the short film “En el cielo como en la tierra.” In her first feature-length project, “Robe of Gems,” she tackles the parallel individual struggles of three women against a backdrop of unrelenting cartel infiltration.What lured you into directing after careers in editing and acting? Was it a natural progression?Definitely, yes, it was there, but I think maybe it took time to accumulate the big necessity. I think it’s very important to have that need to do a film. It’s not a desire; it’s not an objective; you have to need it because that impulse that makes you start a film has to last maybe five years with the same power.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentThe Berlin Film Festival, whose scaled-down edition kicked off on Thursday evening with strict COVID measures, has recorded only eight positive cases among the film teams, the festival spokesperson confirmed to Variety. Unlike at Cannes or Venice, the Berlinale is requiring guests to take a daily test, even if they’re vaccinated three times, in order to access screenings, as well as select events and venues.

Netflix's recent documentary The Tinder Swindler has had international attention after it shared the story of several women on their mission to track down the man who tricked them into giving him tens of thousands of dollars after meeting him on a dating app. Shimon Hayut, 31, known to his victims as Simon Leviev, is estimated to have stolen $10m (£7.4m) through expensive dates and manipulative ploys. He was arrested and sentenced to 15 months on fraud, theft and forgery charges in December 2019, but only served five months of his sentence, being released on 'good behaviour' in May 2020.The women met Simon on the dating app Tinder, so OK! caught up with life and relationship coach Kapil Gupta on if, and how, we can avoid matching with people using the app for sinister purposes.

Rebekah Vardy is said to have secretly invited Coleen Rooney to stay with her after husband Wayne was caught drink-driving in 2017, according to a new report. One source alleged that Rebekah, 39, invited Coleen, 35, to come and stay at her house with her children, two years before Coleen accused Becky's Instagram account of leaking "false stories" about the Rooneys to the press.

EMILY Atack has been spotted spending quality time with her family this weekend - including her rarely-seen dad Keith. The Inbetweeners star - who is best known for playing Charlotte Hinchcliffe - travelled home with her brother George and sister Martha.

KANYE West accused Kid Cudi of betrayal as the Donda rapper dropped him from his upcoming album and even crossed out Pete Davidson from a photo. Kanye, 44, opened up about his friend split with Cudi, 38, in an Instagram post.

Michael Nordine authorFew things will have you longing for an end to the pandemic like “Coma,” an experimental lockdown project from French provocateur Bertrand Bonello. If you’re the type to dread being alone with your thoughts, try being locked in a room with Bonello’s: The “Nocturama” director’s ruminations on free will, dreams and the deeper meaning of Michael Jackson’s music will have you longing to fall into a deep sleep, just so you don’t have to listen to it anymore.

THE Masked Singer runner-up Charlotte Church has been left red-faced as a tweet of her appearing to bash the show resurfaced. The opera singer was unmasked as Mushroom on ITV show last night - coming second place. But in 2020, Charlotte didn't sound too keen to be involved.

King Crimson founder Robert Fripp and his wife, singer Toyah Willcox, have shared a cover of ‘Too Drunk To Fuck’ by The Dead Kennedys – watch it below.The special Valentine’s Day cover – which they’ve renamed ‘Too Drunk To Funk’ – is a part of the pair’s ‘Sunday Lunch’ video series which returned last month after a brief break for the holidays.Launched in 2020, the series has so far seen the couple share renditions of songs by Ramones, Nirvana, David Bowie, Metallica, Billy Idol, The Rolling Stones, Judas Priest, The Prodigy, Guns N’ Roses, Alice Cooper and many more through Willcox’s YouTube channel.Last week’s cover saw the pair perform Billy Idol’s ‘White Wedding’.

Marvel boss Kevin Feige has described upcoming Disney+ series Moon Knight as “brutal” and a show that sees “the boundaries shifting on what we’re able to do.”A first look at the upcoming Disney+ series, which sees Oscar Isaac play the titular role of Marc Spector, “a mercenary who has numerous alter egos”, arrived in a trailer last month. The show will debut on Disney+ on March 30.“He’s brutal,” Feige told Empire of Spector, adding: “It’s been fun to work with Disney+ and see the boundaries shifting on what we’re able to do. There are moments [in the series] when Moon Knight is wailing on another character, and it is loud and brutal, and the knee-jerk reaction is, ‘We’re gonna pull back on this, right?’“No.

In its heyday Figure of Eight Park drew tourists from across the country to marvel at its rides, illuminations and a 100-tonne stuffed whale known as Eric.

EXCLUSIVE: The Berlin Film Festival, which got underway on Thursday evening, has recorded more than 60 positive Covid results from its testing procedures, organizers have confirmed to us.

Haifa, a port city in Israeli, is famous for its mixture of Arabs and Israelis, making it an ideal location for inter-cultural dramas. Well-known Israeli filmmaker Amos Gitai, who hails from the city, aims to make the most of it in Laila in Haifa, wherehe brings a hip bunch of contemporary Israelis and Palestinians together in mixed couples.

Guy Lodge Film CriticClub Fattoush is a real-life bar and arts space in the Israeli port city of Haifa: a kind of bohemian, liberal-minded gathering point for a broad array of residents, be they Israeli or Palestinian, Jewish or Arabic, gay or straight, and so on. Veteran Haifa-born filmmaker Amos Gitai is sufficiently enamored of the venue to have made a feature-length fictional celebration of its diversity and cultural import.

Malina Saval Associate Editor, FeaturesSeven years after the release of her 2013 debut feature “Palo Alto,” which was nominated for the Horizons Award at the Venice Film Festival, Gia Coppola is back with her sophomore drama, “Mainstream.” The film, which centers on a trio of young, fledgling Angelenos—Maya Hawke, Andrew Garfield and Nat Wolff—who rise to Internet fame, world premieres Saturday as part of Venice’s Horizons section.For Coppola, who holds Italian citizenship, the film, which also features Coppola’s cousin, Jason Schwartzman, captures “the female point of view” in a world where “women can tend to get overshadowed.” She spoke to Variety ahead of the premiere.“Mainstream” explores our technology-saturated society, online fame