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Elton John Says He Has Lost His Eyesight

Elton John waves to the waiting media as he leaves the Royal Courts of Justice in London, Monday, March 27, 2023. (AP)
Elton John waves to the waiting media as he leaves the Royal Courts of Justice in London, Monday, March 27, 2023. (AP)
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Elton John Says He Has Lost His Eyesight

Elton John waves to the waiting media as he leaves the Royal Courts of Justice in London, Monday, March 27, 2023. (AP)
Elton John waves to the waiting media as he leaves the Royal Courts of Justice in London, Monday, March 27, 2023. (AP)

British singer Elton John, 77, told a theater audience on Sunday that he had lost his sight.

One of the biggest selling artists of all time, the "Tiny Dancer" and "Rocket Man" star attended the launch of a show in London's West End but said he had been unable to watch the performance.

"As some of you may know I have had issues and now I have lost my sight. I haven't been able to see the performance but I have enjoyed it," John said, according to the Daily Mail.

John said in recent months that an eye infection had left him unable to see out of his right eye and that his left was "not the greatest", meaning he could no longer read or watch anything, and putting his ability to record any new music in future at risk.

John was on the red carpet on Sunday for the launch of "The Devil Wears Prada", a musical based on the best-selling novel for which he has written the score.

"It's hard for me to see it but I love to hear it and it sounded good tonight," he said.

John, who shot to fame in the early 1970s and whose piano-led rock songs and ballads such as "Candle in the Wind" have kept him in the spotlight since, played a farewell tour between 2018 and 2023, and has since focused on his family.

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Marrakech Film Festival Opens in Morocco with 'The Order'

FILE -A view of the venue of the 2023 Marrakech International Film Festival in Marrakech, Morocco, Nov. 24, 2023. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy, File)
FILE -A view of the venue of the 2023 Marrakech International Film Festival in Marrakech, Morocco, Nov. 24, 2023. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy, File)
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Marrakech Film Festival Opens in Morocco with 'The Order'

FILE -A view of the venue of the 2023 Marrakech International Film Festival in Marrakech, Morocco, Nov. 24, 2023. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy, File)
FILE -A view of the venue of the 2023 Marrakech International Film Festival in Marrakech, Morocco, Nov. 24, 2023. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy, File)

One of the Middle East and North Africa's largest film festivals opened Friday in Morocco, drawing actors and directors from throughout the world to present 70 features from 32 countries.
The Marrakech International Film Festival, now in its 21st year, will showcase Oscar contenders and screen films for members of the public. But unlike larger festivals in Venice, Cannes or Toronto, it places unique emphasis on emerging directors and films from the Middle East and Africa.
The roster of actors and directors who will participate in this year’s conversations and tributes includes Sean Penn, Alfonso Cuaron and David Cronenberg.
Remi Bonhomme, the festival's artistic director, said what makes the festival unique is its ability to draw talent on par with the world's largest festivals while also spotlighting up-and-coming directors from Morocco, the Middle East and Africa.
“We pay a lot of attention to countries that are underrepresented in cinema,” he said. “We support filmmakers who have their own voice, who develop a story that is in a specific context, whether it is Iran, Morocco or the US."
“But they don’t have to be the voice of their country. They have the need to have the freedom to express their own personal vision,” he added.
Among the themes that Bonhomme is excited about in this year's films is family. Filmmakers, including “The Seed of the Sacred Fig” director Mohammad Rasoulof, are “exploring social and political impact through the scale of a family,” Bonhomme said.
The festival opens Friday with “The Order” — a thriller starring Jude Law that chronicles an FBI manhunt for the leader of a white supremacist group.
The jury competition contains 14 first or second films. The nine-person jury includes actors Jacob Elordi and Andrew Garfield as well as Ali Abbasi, the Iranian-Danish director of “The Apprentice.” Luca Guadagnino will preside over the jury.
The films in competition include Saïd Hamich's “Across the Sea” about a young Moroccan man's immigration to Marseille and Damian Kocur's “Under the Volcano,” Poland's Oscar entry for Best International Feature.
The festival — founded by Morocco's King Mohammed VI and is presided over by his brother Prince Moulay Rachid — plays a major role in showcasing and promoting Moroccan films and directors.