Women and POC Filmmakers See Sustained Growth as Directors of Top Films Despite Pandemic

The Scottish Government has confirmed 5,301 new cases of coronavirus have been identified overnight.

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

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.

Since the pandemic hit, most of us are spending more time at home than ever which has changed the way we view our interiors. Rather than somewhere we return to, for many people their home has become the centre of their world.This is why we are keen to tailor our personal sanctuaries precisely to our tastes and create a space we look forward to spending time in.This year, interior trends are set to take an unexpected turn with minimalism being ditched in favour of homes that reflect us as individuals.

Htun Zaw Win, who uses the professional name Wyne, has been arrested in Myanmar following a year on the run evading charges of encouraging government employees to join protests against local military rule.

Dave and Shirley Griffiths always look like they're having lots of fun giving their opinions on the week’s television. And it's no wonder! The Gogglebox stars told new! that they are keeping their spirits up when they work through the long filming day from their home in Caerphilly, South Wales, with a little bit of help from the booze cabinet. Shirley exclusively told us: “Sometimes me and Dave have a little bit too much… We get a little bit drunk!” Get exclusive celebrity stories and fabulous photoshoots straight to your inbox with OK!'s daily newsletter.

An boxing coach turned aspiring actor sexually assaulted a stranger after luring her into his home on the premise of helping his injured dog.

Wigan has one of the highest rates of tooth decay in the whole country, according to figures.

The Good Boss, Fernando León de Aranoa’s comedy-drama starring Javier Bardem, dominated Spain’s top film prizes this year, The Goyas, collecting six awards including Best Picture.

The weeks are flying by and we're already at episode five of Dancing On Ice.

Harry Styles has been spotted filming a new music video on a giant bed on wheels outside Buckingham Palace.The pop star is expected to release his third solo album at some point this year and it looks like the first track from it could be arriving soon.Photos show Styles in a brown-and-blue polka dot pyjama top lying under blankets on the big bed. He was joined by two musicians on the oversized piece of furniture at some points, which was positioned on The Mall with the palace in the background.“There was loads of security around him trying to move people away and the road was closed,” one person who saw the filming told the Sun.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentChiara Bellosi, whose first work, “Ordinary Justice,” launched from Berlin’s Generation 14plus section in 2020, is back with “Swing Ride” (“Calcinculo”) about an overweight 15-year-old named Benedetta pining for attention in an Italian province where she falls in love with the skinny non-binary Amanda.A key difference between the two films is that while “Ordinary Justice,” which examined the lives of two families on opposite sides of a murder case, originated from a deeply researched screenplay that Bellosi wrote, “Swing Ride” — premiering in Panorama on Feb. 13 — stems from a prizewinning script proposed to her by Carlo Cresto Dina, her producer, who also discovered Alice Rohrwacher (“Happy as Lazzaro”) and is known for nurturing the cream of Italy’s new cinematic crop.   “It’s a very different process; it was the first time that I had to start from a world that didn’t germinate from me,” said Bellosi about working from the script penned by Maria Teresa Venditti and Luca De Bei that won Italy’s prestigious Solinas prize in 2018.It was like moving into a new house that she had to make her own, she said.“I worked with the writers; I wanted to make a few tweaks and we did that together,” she added, noting that initially “it was a leap into the void.” But directing from their screenplay actually ended up giving her “more freedom” than her previous pic because “the container is already there; but you can go pretty wild with the rest.”This freedom also made it more fun.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentMK2 Films, the banner behind Joachim Trier’s “The Worst Person in the World,” has boarded “Love Life,” the anticipated next film of laureled Japanese director Koji Fukada. Fukada’s credits include the 2016 movie “Harmonium” which won the jury prize at Cannes’ Un Certain Regard, as well as “A Girl Missing” which played at Toronto. His latest film, “The Real Thing” was part of Cannes 2020’s Official Selection.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentTrustNordisk has closed a flurry of sales on a pair of 3D-animated family features, “Little Allan — The Human Antenna” and “The Super,” underscoring the market appeal of independent youth-skewing movies.“Little Allan – The Human Antenna” marks Danish film Amalie Naesby Fick’s follow up to her commercially successful debut “The Incredible Story of The Giant Pear,” which premiered in the the Generation Kplus section at Berlin in 2018. This year, the helmer has her daring drama series “Sex” selected for the Berlinale Series.The film takes place during summer vacation, when introverted, 11-year old Allan starts acting as a human antenna for his old neighbor, who thinks a huge invasion fleet from the outer space is on its way.

Leo Barraclough International Features EditorAhead of Sunday’s world premiere of documentary “1341 Frames of Love and War,” which plays in Berlinale Special, Variety spoke to Israeli writer/director Ran Tal about the film and its subject, Israeli war photographer Micha Bar-Am.In some ways “Frames” continues Tal’s interest in Israeli history evident in his previous work, “What If? Ehud Barak on War and Peace,” which centered on the former prime minister of Israel. Bar-Am was born in Berlin in 1930, but grew up in what became Israel, and across a five decade-long career as a photographer he documented many of the major episodes – in particular the wars – in the life of the young country, founded in 1948.

Naman Ramachandran Acclaimed Bangladeshi director Rubaiyat Hossain, known for her powerful women-centric films, has a new project participating in the Berlinale Co-Production Market and is launching a female filmmaker grant.Her Berlinale co-production market project, “The Difficult Bride,” follows Novera, a bride-to-be in present-day Dhaka who is in love with the groom and the idea of a fairytale wedding, but secretly struggles with her body, which does not seem to comply with the wedding rituals. She makes continuous trips to the beauty salon and uses home remedies to “cure” her body.

Thousands of children were made homeless during the pandemic, according to shock new figures branded a “national disgrace.”

Javier Bardem at Saturday’s Goya prize ceremony. The prizes marked both Leon and Bardem’s seventh Goya wins. Produced by El Reposado and The Mediapro Studio, and a workplace dramedy skewering the abuse of power practised by a seemingly benign factory owner, “The Good Boss” also won best director and original screenplay for León, as well as best score and editing.Blanca Portillo beat out “Parallel Mothers’” Oscar-nominated Penélope Cruz, thanks to Portillo’s powerful performance as Maixabel Lasa, the real life widow of former Basque Country governor Juan Mari Jauregui who agreed in 2011 to meet one of his ETA killers. Her forgiveness, and Portillo’s portrait, has touched a large nerve in Spain.

Robbie Savage believes despite Harry Maguire's lack of form, Manchester United are better with him in the team.

No pranks here. Steve-O revealed his true thoughts about his friend Machine Gun Kelly’s relationship with Megan Fox — and it’s safe to say he ships the pair.

Tati Gabrielle is getting some support from Tom Holland and Zendaya!

Manchester City fans were left in awe of Raheem Sterling once again as he put his side in front at Norwich in spectacular fashion.

Under-fire Stephen Glass insists he won’t walk away from the fight at Aberdeen.

The latest incarnation of the live-action “Barbie” feature film is quickly a wild and utterly unexpected affair. After moving to Warner Bros., the movie was gifted a script from an unlikely duo, Greta Gerwig (“Little Women,” “Lady Bird”) and Noah Baumbach (“Marriage Story”).

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentJuliette Binoche (“The English Patient”) and Vincent Lindon (“Titane”) who starred for the first time together in Claire Denis’s “Both Sides of the Blade” said the experience was emotionally draining at the Berlinale press conference. The highly anticipated film, which was acquired by IFC Films ahead of the festival, is world premiering in competition on Saturday evening.

Rihanna showed off her baby bump at her Fenty Beauty and Fenty Skin party in Los Angeles! The 33-year-old style icon has been making maternity style entirely her own since announcing her pregnancy with boyfriend A$AP Rocky — and her Feb. 11 soirée at the Goya Studios was no exception. RiRi opted for a green colored chain top that was totally backless, allowing her baby bump to peak through the front as the two shared a romantic snuggle on the carpet.

Motherwell Football Club’s off-field achievements have been praised at Holyrood.