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Red Sea Film Festival Reveals Panel of Judges for Lodge Residency

The Red Sea International Film Festival unveiled the panel of judges that will preside over the 12 projects taking part in the inaugural Red Sea Lodge Residency. (Official website)
The Red Sea International Film Festival unveiled the panel of judges that will preside over the 12 projects taking part in the inaugural Red Sea Lodge Residency. (Official website)
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Red Sea Film Festival Reveals Panel of Judges for Lodge Residency

The Red Sea International Film Festival unveiled the panel of judges that will preside over the 12 projects taking part in the inaugural Red Sea Lodge Residency. (Official website)
The Red Sea International Film Festival unveiled the panel of judges that will preside over the 12 projects taking part in the inaugural Red Sea Lodge Residency. (Official website)

The Red Sea International Film Festival unveiled the panel of judges that will preside over the 12 projects taking part in the inaugural Red Sea Lodge Residency.

The panel includes Russian film producer Nadia Turincev, writer and producer Meinolf Zurhorst and the award-winning Egyptian film director Yousry Nasrallah.

The jury will announce the winners of two $500,000 production prizes at an online ceremony on September 25. Six of the participant film projects are from Saudi Arabia, while the remaining are from the Arab world.

The third workshop aims to train participants on how to propose and present their projects, in preparation for the digital meetings of November’s TorinoFilmLab. The event is a year-round, international laboratory that supports talents from all over the world, through training, development, production and distribution funding initiatives, including ScriptLab, FeatureLab and SeriesLab and the Red Sea Lodge.

While the TurinFilmLab, in collaboration with the Red Sea Film Lodge, selected 12 cinematic projects, each project’s team, from the director to the producer, and cinematographer, collaborated with a cinematic expert to develop their work and refine their skills as per the requirements of each stage of the creative process. This comprehensive program was designed to accommodate projects during whatever stage of development they had reached.

TorinoFilmLab Executive Director Savina Neirotti said: “The collaboration with the Red Sea Film Lodge has exceeded all expectations, even with the interruption caused by the unforeseeable global pandemic. The 12 projects have developed and evolved into fantastic projects and we are sure a large number of them will end up as films, whether they are awarded the production grant or not”.

Every stage of filmmaking is explored, from script consultations to work with experts in the fields of directing, cinematography and sound, through to post-production as well as a commercial focus on financing, sales, and audience engagement. Structured around diverse, stimulating exchanges with colleagues and mentors, the program is designed to enrich projects through multiple approaches and perspectives.

The final phase of the Lodge and the awarding of the grants was due to take place at the Red Sea International Film Festival in March, which was unable to take place due to coronavirus and the declaration of a global pandemic.

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K-pop Stars BTS to Release Album in March Ahead of World Tour

Fireworks light up the midnight sky over the Lotte World Tower, South Korea's tallest building in Seoul during New Year's Day celebrations on January 1, 2026. (Photo by Jung Yeon-je / AFP)
Fireworks light up the midnight sky over the Lotte World Tower, South Korea's tallest building in Seoul during New Year's Day celebrations on January 1, 2026. (Photo by Jung Yeon-je / AFP)
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K-pop Stars BTS to Release Album in March Ahead of World Tour

Fireworks light up the midnight sky over the Lotte World Tower, South Korea's tallest building in Seoul during New Year's Day celebrations on January 1, 2026. (Photo by Jung Yeon-je / AFP)
Fireworks light up the midnight sky over the Lotte World Tower, South Korea's tallest building in Seoul during New Year's Day celebrations on January 1, 2026. (Photo by Jung Yeon-je / AFP)

K-pop megastars BTS will release a new album in March ahead of a world tour, the group announced on Thursday.

South Korea's biggest musical act has been on self-described hiatus since 2022 as its members undertook national military service required of all men under the age of 30.

All seven members were discharged last year, and the group announced a comeback for the spring of 2026.

They confirmed on Thursday that they would release an album on March 20 before heading on tour, AFP reported.

The exact date was revealed in handwritten letters sent to paid members of the official BTS fan group, and later confirmed by their label Big Hit Music.

"I have been waiting more earnestly than anyone else," group leader RM wrote in the letter.

No further details about the album or tour were given.

The album will be BTS's first since the anthology "Proof" which became South Korea's bestselling record of 2022.

Before their military service, BTS generated more than 5.5 trillion won ($3.8 billion) in South Korea per year, according to the government-backed Korea Culture and Tourism Institute.

The figure is equivalent to roughly 0.2 percent of the country's total GDP.

BTS has expanded beyond their home nation to become a global musical phenomenon in recent years.

They hold the record as the most-streamed group on Spotify, and became the first K-pop act to top both the Billboard 200 and the Billboard Artist 100 charts in the United States.

Entertainment

‘Zootopia 2’ Breaks Record to Become Top-grossing Disney Animation Film

FILE PHOTO: Moviegoers hold character cutouts to pose for a photo at a movie theater on the release day of the movie Zootopia 2, in Shanghai, China, November 26, 2025. REUTERS/Go Nakamura/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Moviegoers hold character cutouts to pose for a photo at a movie theater on the release day of the movie Zootopia 2, in Shanghai, China, November 26, 2025. REUTERS/Go Nakamura/File Photo
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‘Zootopia 2’ Breaks Record to Become Top-grossing Disney Animation Film

FILE PHOTO: Moviegoers hold character cutouts to pose for a photo at a movie theater on the release day of the movie Zootopia 2, in Shanghai, China, November 26, 2025. REUTERS/Go Nakamura/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Moviegoers hold character cutouts to pose for a photo at a movie theater on the release day of the movie Zootopia 2, in Shanghai, China, November 26, 2025. REUTERS/Go Nakamura/File Photo

Walt Disney Animation Studios' "Zootopia 2" surpassed 2019's "Frozen 2" to become its highest-grossing film ever, the company said on Wednesday, marking a bright spot in a year when global box office continues to trail pre-pandemic levels.

The animated sequel is the fifth Walt Disney Animation Studios film to cross $1 billion globally, ⁠grossing around $1.46 billion at the box office after its strong US Thanksgiving weekend opening, Reuters reported.

The film's success has been fueled by an extraordinary reception in China, where "Zootopia 2" has grossed over $560 million. ⁠The sequel dominated its opening weekend in China, capturing approximately 95% of all movie ticket sales.

"Zootopia 2" launched Hollywood's crucial holiday season with an estimated $556 million in global ticket sales in the opening weekend. The film reunites rabbit police officer Judy Hopps and her fox ⁠partner Nick Wilde in a new adventure through the bustling animal metropolis.

With global box office still falling short of pre-pandemic 2019 levels, the sequel's success has been a welcome relief to the studio and theater owners banking on packed shows during the year's second-busiest moviegoing season.

Entertainment

French Minister Criticizes Clooney’s ‘Double Standard’ Passport

France's junior Minister of the Interior Marie-Pierre Vedrenne reacts as she addresses MPs during a session to discuss France's social security budget (PLFSS) for 2026, at the National Assembly, French Parliament lower house, in Paris on November 5, 2025. (AFP)
France's junior Minister of the Interior Marie-Pierre Vedrenne reacts as she addresses MPs during a session to discuss France's social security budget (PLFSS) for 2026, at the National Assembly, French Parliament lower house, in Paris on November 5, 2025. (AFP)
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French Minister Criticizes Clooney’s ‘Double Standard’ Passport

France's junior Minister of the Interior Marie-Pierre Vedrenne reacts as she addresses MPs during a session to discuss France's social security budget (PLFSS) for 2026, at the National Assembly, French Parliament lower house, in Paris on November 5, 2025. (AFP)
France's junior Minister of the Interior Marie-Pierre Vedrenne reacts as she addresses MPs during a session to discuss France's social security budget (PLFSS) for 2026, at the National Assembly, French Parliament lower house, in Paris on November 5, 2025. (AFP)

A junior member of President Emmanuel Macron's government Wednesday criticized the French passports given to Hollywood superstar George Clooney despite him speaking poor French, saying the move suggested a "double standard".

The news of Clooney, his wife Amal Clooney and their two children becoming French comes ahead of language requirements for citizenship being toughened for everyone else under new immigration rules from January 1.

"Personally, I understand the feeling of some French people of a double standard," Marie-Pierre Vedrenne, a junior interior minister, told the France Info radio station.

"We need to be careful about the message we're sending."

Her boss, Interior Minister Laurent Nunez, and the foreign ministry however defended the decision.

The civil code states that "French nationality may be conferred by naturalization, upon the proposal of the minister of foreign affairs, to any French-speaking foreigner who applies for it and who contributes through their distinguished service to France's influence and the prosperity of its international economic relations."

But the 64-year-old Oscar winner has admitted that his French remains poor despite hundreds of lessons.

Under the new immigration rules from Thursday, applicants will need a certificate showing they have a level of French that could get them into a French university. They will also have to pass a civic knowledge test.

Clooney has a property in southern France and said he has hailed French privacy laws that keep his family largely protected from international media intrusion.

"I love the French culture, your language, even if I'm still bad at it after 400 days of courses," the actor told RTL radio -- in English -- in December.

His wife, an international human rights lawyer and dual UK-Lebanese national, speaks fluent French.

- 'Meets the conditions' -

Clooney bought the Domaine du Canadel, a former wine estate, near the Provence town of Brignoles, in 2021. He said it is where his family is "happiest".

Nunez, the interior minister, said he was "very happy" with the actor and his family becoming French, saying the country was lucky to have them.

The French foreign ministry said the passport allocation for the Clooneys "meets the conditions set by law" for naturalization.

The family "followed a rigorous procedure including security investigations, regulatory naturalization interviews at the prefecture, and the payment of tax stamps," the ministry added.

It highlighted the Clooneys had a French home and they "contribute through their distinguished service to France's international influence and cultural prestige" through the actor's role in the film industry.

This "can only contribute to maintaining and promoting France's position in this essential economic sector", it said.

Amal Clooney is "a renowned lawyer" who "regularly collaborates with academic institutions and international organizations based in France," the ministry added.

Some 48,800 people acquired French nationality by decree in 2024, according to interior ministry figures.

Clooney is not alone in wanting a French passport.

Hollywood director Jim Jarmusch announced on Friday that he was also applying, telling French radio that he wanted "a place to where I can escape the United States".