Featured
Last news

London's V&A hosts new Chanel exhibition
A major retrospective opens in London this weekend into "Coco" Chanel, exploring her 60-year career that transformed women's wardrobes, and with new revelations about her troubled wartime past.

At Toronto film festival, prestige TV also makes its mark
When Ron Leshem, executive producer of the Emmy-winning television series "Euphoria," was deciding where to premiere his new project, gritty Israeli juvenile prison drama "Bad Boy," he set his sights on the Toronto film festival.

Stolen Van Gogh returned in IKEA bag 'damaged but restorable'
The precious Vincent Van Gogh painting stolen then sensationally returned to a Dutch art sleuth in an Ikea bag has been scratched but should be reparable, its museum director told AFP Wednesday.

Billionaire US collectors to return ancient artefacts to Cambodia
A billionaire family in the United States will return more than 30 looted ancient artefacts to Cambodia after agreeing it "wrongfully possessed" the treasures, the Cambodian government said Wednesday.

TikTok opposes mooted Indonesia social media transaction ban
TikTok on Wednesday criticised calls by Indonesia to ban social media transactions, as Jakarta rails against what it says are monopolistic practices by major companies with e-commerce platforms such as the Chinese-owned firm.

Ukraine in focus at Toronto film festival
More than 18 months into Russia's invasion of Ukraine, documentary filmmakers who screened their latest work on the conflict at the Toronto film festival say it is more important than ever to keep the crisis in the public consciousness.

US news outlet posts job ad for Taylor Swift reporter
Many music reporters pass their days immersed in the phenomenon that is Taylor Swift, but one US news outlet said Tuesday it's hiring a journalist dedicated solely to the pop titan.

Apple bows to EU and unveils iPhone with USB-C charger
Apple unveiled its new iPhone lineup on Tuesday, with its Lightning charger ports replaced on the newest models by a universal charger after a tussle with the European Union.

UNESCO removes Uganda tombs from endangered heritage list
UN cultural agency UNESCO announced Tuesday it was removing the fire-damaged tombs of royal leaders in Uganda from its endangered heritage list, saying it was satisfied with restoration efforts.

Van Gogh paintings snatched then found
Following the recovery of a Vincent van Gogh painting snatched from a Dutch museum during the Covid-19 lockdown, AFP looks back at some other heists involving works by the Dutch master:

Theatre director Bob Wilson among laureates of 'Nobel of the Arts'
Three American artists, including avant-garde theatre legend Robert Wilson, are among this year's laureates of the Praemium Imperiale, known as the "Nobel of the Arts", announced on Tuesday.

New York Fashion Week: on holiday with Michael Kors, shivers from Altuzarra
A holiday air with Michael Kors, shivers from Altuzarra, and Tory Burch asserting herself in a spectacular setting: New York Fashion Week expressed its diversity on Monday, the fourth day of the spring-summer 2024 shows.

Alexander Payne brings Oscars hopeful 'The Holdovers' to Toronto
Director Alexander Payne has entered the Oscars hunt with his new film "The Holdovers," a poignant 1970s-set dramedy about a cantankerous prep school teacher and a troubled student that screened Monday at the Toronto film festival.

Met Opera commissions new work about abducted Ukrainian children
New York's Metropolitan Opera on Monday announced it had commissioned a new work on Russia's abduction and deportation of Ukrainian children.

Musk biography describes troubled tycoon driven by demons
A hotly anticipated biography of Elon Musk describes the turbulent tycoon as a man driven by childhood demons, obsessed with bringing human life to Mars and who demands that staff be "hardcore."

Waititi, Keaton go behind lens at Toronto film fest
Every day at the Toronto International Film Festival features a jam-packed schedule with screenings from morning to midnight at multiple venues, making it a challenge to keep up with all the world premieres on offer.

Lil Nas X thrills Toronto fans as film fest looks at music
Lil Nas X brought his megawatt smile and star power to Toronto for the world premiere of a documentary tracking his meteoric rise -- one of several movies spotlighting the music industry at North America's biggest film festival.

Denzel hangs in but 'Nun' better in N.American theaters
Warner Bros.' new horror movie "The Nun II" floated to the top of the North American box office this weekend with an estimated take of $32.6 million, industry watcher Exhibitor Relations reported Sunday.

France's Ladj Ly back with new film on life in Paris suburbs
Four years after he lit up the Croisette in Cannes with his debut feature film "Les Miserables," Ladj Ly is back with a new searing and very personal take on life in the gritty Paris suburbs.

Yorgos Lanthimos and Emma Stone's 'Poor Things' wins Venice top prize
The Golden Lion in Venice was awarded Saturday to a hilarious and shockingly explicit reworking of Frankenstein, "Poor Things", starring Emma Stone as a sex-mad reanimated corpse, which had festival-goers in stitches.

Yorgos Lanthimos's 'Poor Things' wins top prize at Venice
The Golden Lion in Venice was awarded Saturday to a hilarious and shockingly explicit reworking of Frankenstein, "Poor Things", starring Emma Stone as a sex-mad reanimated corpse, which had festival-goers in stitches.

Greece's 'wizard of weird' Yorgos Lanthimos wins Venice top prize
With a catalogue of strange, dark and provocative films, Yorgos Lanthimos has established himself as one of the world's most imaginative directors, capped by his Golden Lion in Venice for a feminist reworking of Frankenstein, "Poor Things".

Cailee Spaeny wins Venice best actress for 'Priscilla'
Cailee Spaeny won the best actress award at the Venice Film Festival on Saturday, at the age of just 25, for her portrayal of Elvis Presley's wife in "Priscilla".

For Mads Mikkelsen, 'bad guys and good guys' is just not Danish
Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen may be one of Hollywood's favourite villains, but for cinema back home, he says, the question of good and evil is a bit more nuanced than most US films suggest.

Desert downpours dampen spirits of Burning Man festival in Nevada
Thousands of people were ordered to shelter in place at the Burning Man festival in the western state of Nevada on Saturday after heavy rains turned the desert site into a mud pit and forced organizers to close the gates.

'Maestro' magic and Polanski polemic in Venice
Bradley Cooper transforms into legendary conductor and composer Leonard Bernstein in "Maestro", which got its world premiere in Venice Saturday ahead of the controversial screening of Roman Polanski's latest and possibly final film.

Venice welcomes Polanski, Bradley Cooper but only on-screen
Roman Polanski and Bradley Cooper headline the Venice Film Festival on Saturday, though long-standing controversy and a Hollywood strike mean both will be missing from the red carpet.

'Margaritaville' singer Jimmy Buffett dies at 76
American singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett, best known for his 1977 hit "Margaritaville," has died at age 76, according to a statement on his website.

Venice sees Polanski, Bradley Cooper but only on-screen
Roman Polanski and Bradley Cooper headline the Venice Film Festival on Saturday, though controversy and a Hollywood strike mean neither is attending.

Leonard Bernstein: five things to know
A towering figure of 20th-century classical music, Leonard Bernstein is the subject of Bradley Cooper's much-anticipated biopic "Maestro", premiering at Venice.

Emma Stone wows Venice as sex-mad reanimated corpse
With Emma Stone as a sexually voracious reanimated corpse in "Poor Things" and Wes Anderson presenting his take on Roald Dahl, the Venice Film Festival was taken on some wild rides on Friday.

Burna Boy breaks UK record by topping albums chart
Nigeria's Burna Boy has become the first international Afrobeats artist to secure a number one album in Britain with "I Told Them...", the UK's Official Charts Company said on Friday.