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Joy Awards Honors Stars from Around the World

Syrian singer Assala. Riyadh Season
Syrian singer Assala. Riyadh Season
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Joy Awards Honors Stars from Around the World

Syrian singer Assala. Riyadh Season
Syrian singer Assala. Riyadh Season

It was a dreamy night on which art and artists were honored in Riyadh, the capital of arts and creativity. In the 3rd edition of Joy Awards, the largest event of its kind in the region, the Saudi General Entertainment Authority celebrated stars from the Arab region and the globe, and gathered esteemed figures from the worlds of cinema, TV, and sports under one roof.

Organized by the Entertainment Authority during the Riyadh Season every year, the Joy Awards is one of the most prominent awards in the region, and an opportunity which artists take to meet, connect, talk, and exchange expertise, as well as a destination for esteemed figures to explore the kingdom and discover the young Saudi talents.

The event celebrates artists and creatives in different industries with 15 various awards and many honorary ones that appreciate the journeys of exceptional figures in the world of art.

The honorary awards

As an appreciation of their works over the past years, the Entertainment Authority honored a number of prominent names in different fields. Indian legendary actor Amitabh Bachchan, one of Bollywood’s greatest stars. Among those who received the honorary awards was also Mel Gibson, one of the world’s best actors and winner of two Oscars.

Colombian-American actress Sofia Vergara was honored as Personality of the Year for all her works, including her famed series ‘Modern Family’, which gained a remarkable audience in the Arab region and the Middle East. The Joy Awards also honored Kuwaiti esteemed actresses Souad Abdullah and Hayat Al Fahad for their decades-long journey as two of the most prominent TV symbols in the Gulf and the Arab region.

The honorary awards also went to Egyptian cinema couple, Ahmed Helmy and Mona Zaki, US director Michael Bay, Saudi singer Rashed Al Majid, Kuwaiti singer Nawal, Spanish actress Esther Acebo, Waleed bin Ibrahim Al Ibrahim, chairman of MBC Group for his efforts in media and constant support of art, and Rotana CEO Salem Alhendi.

A night to appreciate local talents

Saudi artists had the biggest share of the awards in all categories. Ibrahim Al Hajjaj won Favorite Actor for his exceptional work on the Saudi drama ‘Minho Waladna?’; Ahmad Al Shugairi won Favorite Influencer; Jori Kattan won her first award, the New Voice Award, which she received with teary eyes. Abdul Majeed Abdullah won the Most Favorite Male Artist for his exceptional 50-year journey and many great albums that pleased the Arabic audience; and the Female Athlete of the Year Award went to Saudi swimmer Mariam bin Laden.

Awards for all Arabs

Many Arab artists were also honored in the Joy Awards evening including stars Ahmed Ezz and Hend Sabri with the Favorite Actor and Actress trophies for their roles in the film “Kira & El Gin”.

Star Nadine Nassib Njeim also picked up the Favorite Actress Award for her role in “Salon Zahra”; Syrian singer Assala won the Favorite Song Award for her song “Shokran”; and Lebanese influencer, Abir el-Saghir won the Favorite Female Influencer.

Salon Zahra, directed by Joe Bou Eid, won the prestigious Favorite TV Series Award; Egyptian singer Angham was honored with the Favorite Singer Award; and Moroccan player Achraf Hakimi was awarded Best Sportsman which he received with his mother.

Tribute to those who left

In a heart-warming gesture, the Entertainment Authority honored many prominent figures who passed away in 2022 including Algerian director and scriptwriter Yamina Bachir; former Kuwaiti media minister Mohammed Al-Sanousi; Egyptian sports commentator Ibrahim Hegazy; Qatari footballer Ahmed al-Malla; esteemed Lebanese actor Pierre Chamoun; and Egyptian actress Aida Abdel Aziz; in addition to Egyptian chef Osama el-Sayed; Saudi TV host Ghaleb Kamel; Saudi actor and director Ali el-Huyerini; Kuwaiti actor Ghanem al-Hamadi; Kuwaiti singer Suleiman al-Malla; Egyptian actress Rajaa Hussein; Saudi actor Khaled Sami; Kuwaiti actor Jassem Abbas; and Lebanese actor Joseph Abboud. The authority also paid tribute to Syrian singer Dhiab Mashhour; Moroccan comedian Noureddine Bikr; Lebanese singer George Rassi; Egyptian cinema producer Mohsen Alamuddin; Egyptian director Ali Abdel-Khalek; Syrian actress Antoinette Najeeb; and Egyptian director Galal el-Sharkawy.

Concluding keynote…Artists from Syria

Turki Al Al-Sheikh, chairman of the Saudi Entertainment Authority, addressed the concluding keynote, in which he thanked the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz, and Crown Prince and Prime Minister, Mohammed bin Salman for their massive support to the kingdom’s entertainment industry which has witnessed a continuous progress.

Al-Sheikh congratulated the winners, and highlighted the importance of the winning and loosing culture, noting that everyone should be happy for the honoring of their colleagues. He also said he is happy to see Syria’s artists, noting that the Arabic audiences have missed the Syrian drama, the all-time favorite on Arabic TV screens.

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Kanye West's Planned Russia Concerts Cancelled, Organizer Says

FILE PHOTO: Rapper Kanye West makes a point as he holds his first rally in support of his presidential bid in North Charleston, South Carolina, US July 19, 2020. REUTERS/Randall Hill/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Rapper Kanye West makes a point as he holds his first rally in support of his presidential bid in North Charleston, South Carolina, US July 19, 2020. REUTERS/Randall Hill/File Photo
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Kanye West's Planned Russia Concerts Cancelled, Organizer Says

FILE PHOTO: Rapper Kanye West makes a point as he holds his first rally in support of his presidential bid in North Charleston, South Carolina, US July 19, 2020. REUTERS/Randall Hill/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Rapper Kanye West makes a point as he holds his first rally in support of his presidential bid in North Charleston, South Carolina, US July 19, 2020. REUTERS/Randall Hill/File Photo

Two concerts by ‌US rapper Kanye West in Russia that had been scheduled for October have been cancelled, the show's organizer, Say Agency, said.

West, who is also known as Ye, had been due to perform in St Petersburg. However, a week after the concerts were announced in mid-August, the venue due to host them said it had never signed a contract with the organizers, a separate Moscow-based company.

The ‌shows had ‌remained in limbo ever since, ‌with ⁠organizers providing no clear ⁠confirmation of whether they would go ahead.

"Friends, it is with sincere regret that we inform you that the YE concerts in St. Petersburg will not be able to take place on the scheduled dates. We will issue an official ⁠statement regarding the status of the project ‌and our future plans ‌in the near future," Say Agency posted on Telegram ‌on Wednesday.

West has faced concert cancellations and ‌performance bans in several European countries this year following a series of past antisemitic remarks, including praise for Adolf Hitler, and the use of Nazi imagery.

In January West ‌apologized for the remarks, which he attributed to an undiagnosed brain injury and ⁠untreated bipolar disorder.

Had ⁠the concerts gone ahead, West would have become one of the biggest international music stars to visit Russia since Moscow launched its full-scale war against Ukraine in 2022.

The planned gigs had drawn criticism from some Russian pro-war military bloggers, who questioned the appropriateness of hosting a US performer while Washington continues to provide military and financial support to Ukraine.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova criticized the planned shows, calling them unacceptable and citing what she described as the West's "glorification" of Hitler.

Entertainment

Kenneth Branagh Examines the Scars of Iraq War in 'Atonement'

Kenneth Branagh, Hiam Abbass and Boyd Holbrook star in 'Atonement', which examines the long tail of conflict. Rodin Eckenroth / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP
Kenneth Branagh, Hiam Abbass and Boyd Holbrook star in 'Atonement', which examines the long tail of conflict. Rodin Eckenroth / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP
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Kenneth Branagh Examines the Scars of Iraq War in 'Atonement'

Kenneth Branagh, Hiam Abbass and Boyd Holbrook star in 'Atonement', which examines the long tail of conflict. Rodin Eckenroth / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP
Kenneth Branagh, Hiam Abbass and Boyd Holbrook star in 'Atonement', which examines the long tail of conflict. Rodin Eckenroth / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP

Screenwriter Reed Van Dyk was leafing through a magazine one day in 2012 when he came across an article about the human cost of war that stopped him in his tracks.

He knew that one day he would have to bring it to the screen, but he did not feel he had the leverage in Hollywood to tackle such a weighty issue.

"I wasn't in a position to make a film about this back then," he told AFP.

That all changed after his short film "DeKalb Elementary" won critical acclaim and earned an Oscar nomination in 2018, so he went back to the New Yorker article and began work on "Atonement," which goes on limited release on Friday.

The film, based on the magazine piece, begins in 2003, when the lives of an Iraqi family and a war veteran became tragically intertwined in a Baghdad under fire.

Mariam Khachaturian, played by Hiam Abbass, and her family are trying to reach their home when their two vehicles are fired on by a Marine unit that believed it was under threat.

Three passengers die in the shooting, including Mariam's husband.

Eventually, the widow tries to leave the war behind by moving to the United States with her daughter.

Marine Lou D'Alessandro (Boyd Holbrook) also wants to move on, but the consequences of what he was involved in continue to haunt him.

The only way he feels he might be able to exorcise his demons is to seek out Mariam.

"I was so touched by this piece of writing and the story and all these characters and the way that their lives had intersected very tragically, and then by some miracle, they all intersect again a decade later," Van Dyk said.

In the movie, Lou and Mariam sit face-to-face in California, brought together by the efforts of Michael Reid (Kenneth Branagh), a journalist who had interviewed both of them about the war.

"I was very drawn to the idea of that complexity, and very drawn to the idea of being this witness at this remarkable meeting over years with two people trying to process the enormous pain and loss of very different kinds," Branagh told AFP on the sidelines of the Toronto International Film Festival.

"And then the really compelling drama of this immensely difficult thing, meeting again to feel, discuss, forget, forgive," said the British actor, whose character is inspired by journalist Dexter Filkins, author of the original article.

- 'A new context' -

"Atonement" arrives in US theaters days after the US formally ended its decades-long mission in Iraq, but with the country again at war -- this time with Iran.

"I was pulled to write about and explore these trio of people, and so that was in spite of the fact that you know it wasn't a story that headlines were echoing at the time of my writing," Van Dyk said.

But "as we're making the film, the world has sort of backslid into war everywhere. So it brings a new context to all of our work."

For Holbrook ("Narcos"), portraying the tormented Lou was "a fantastic experience," but also an intimidating one.

"The preparation for a film like this is everything, and for me it was life altering," he told AFP.

"It was something that I had to really find and discover in myself, the empathy and the courage that [his character] Lou had."

Abbass ("Blade Runner 2049" and "Succession") said she had wanted desperately to do justice to Mariam.

"I wanted to take her place and shout out my feelings and my anger towards why this should happen," she said.

"Why on Earth we keep going all the time, causing these pains to people, whoever they are, whatever they are, whatever nationality they come from, whatever conflict we're talking about."

Entertainment

Paramount Gets Court Green Light on Warner Bros Deal, Names Mattel’s Kreiz Co-CEO

The Paramount Studio lot in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, US, September 17, 2026. (Reuters)
The Paramount Studio lot in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, US, September 17, 2026. (Reuters)
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Paramount Gets Court Green Light on Warner Bros Deal, Names Mattel’s Kreiz Co-CEO

The Paramount Studio lot in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, US, September 17, 2026. (Reuters)
The Paramount Studio lot in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, US, September 17, 2026. (Reuters)

A US judge entered an order on Wednesday allowing Paramount to close its $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros, ending a months-long holdup, as the company named Mattel's Ynon Kreiz as co-CEO to help run the combined business.

US District Court Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín approved a Sept. 21 settlement with a California-led group of 12 states that had sued to block one of the largest media mergers in history, saying it would create a media behemoth ‌capable of driving up ‌film and TV prices.

Under the settlement, the combined ‌company ⁠must release at least ⁠30 films a year in US theaters for five years and spend an extra $300 million a year on US production. Falling short of the film quota could force it to sell Miramax.

It must also negotiate basic cable deals separately for the two companies' channels and create a board of journalists to oversee CBS News and CNN.

Groups opposed to the merger objected strongly to the settlement, with some ⁠urging the court to reject it.

Martínez-Olguín called the deal ‌a "reasonable factual and legal resolution," saying objectors' ‌hopes for the decree "to reach farther – to achieve more – do not rise to the level ‌of legal violations" warranting rejection.

A spokesperson for the California Department of Justice ‌said the settlement "resolves our antitrust concerns..., protects competition and consumer choice, and centers the needs, concerns, and futures of California workers".

The companies said in a late Wednesday statement that the deal is expected to close on October 6.

The companies also settled a Writers Guild ‌of America antitrust lawsuit, agreeing to pay $17.5 million to the guild's health fund and maintain WGA staffing levels at CBS ⁠News for five ⁠years.

MATTEL'S KREIZ TO BECOME CO-CEO

Separately, Paramount said Mattel CEO Ynon Kreiz will join on October 5 and become co-CEO when the deal closes alongside chairman and CEO David Ellison, running day-to-day operations and integration.

Kreiz, Mattel's CEO since 2018, turned the toymaker's brands into films, TV shows and games, delivering "Barbie," Warner Bros' highest-grossing film ever.

The hire gives Ellison, whose background is on the creative side, a seasoned operator who steered Mattel through the pandemic and tariffs, as Paramount aims for more than $6 billion in savings from the merger.

Before Mattel, he spent much of his career in TV and digital media, co-founding Fox Kids Europe and running "Big Brother" producer Endemol.

He later ran YouTube network Maker Studios, which he sold to Disney in 2014.