Moroccan director and screenwriter Maryam Touzani will be part of the 76th Cannes Film Festival jury, alongside eight others from the industry.
The jury will decide who will be awarded the Palme d’or prize, from one of the 21 films announced in competition. The event in Cannes, France begins on Tuesday and runs until May 27.
Touzani, who is from Tangier, comes from a journalist background and started her career writing about movies. She then began writing scripts and directing short films and documentaries. After a number of critically acclaimed documentaries such as Sous Ma Peau Vieille, which looked at the lives of street workers in Morocco, Touzani directed her first feature film Adam in 2019.
The film takes place in Morocco and follows the story of Samia, a young unwed mother who is pregnant, at a time where it was illegal to be so. She is then taken in by a widowed baker named Abla.
The film was selected for the Cannes Film Festival in the section Un Certain Regard, which recognises films with unique styles and non-traditional stories. Adam was also selected as Morocco's entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 92nd Academy Awards.
Touzani then co-wrote and stared in the film Razzia, directed by her husband and filmmaker Nabil Ayouch. She also co-wrote Casablanca Beats, a film about breaking free from tradition through hip-hop culture.
Her most recent project was the highly acclaimed The Blue Caftan released last year. The film centres around a middle-aged couple whose life is disrupted when they hire a handsome apprentice for their tailoring business.
The film was selected for Un Certain Regard at Cannes and long-listed in the International Feature Film category at the Academy Awards. It is nominated forBest Film and Best Director at the seventh Critics Awards for Arab Films.
Touzani will serve as a jury member alongside actress Brie Larson, actor/director Paul Dano, Swedish director Ruben Ostlund, French director Julia Ducournau, Afghani director Atiq Rahimi, French actor Denis Menochet, British-Zambian screenwriter Rungano Nyoni and Argentine writer Damian Szifron.
French business
France has organised a delegation of leading businesses to travel to Syria. The group was led by French shipping giant CMA CGM, which struck a 30-year contract in May with the Syrian government to develop and run Latakia port. Also present were water and waste management company Suez, defence multinational Thales, and Ellipse Group, which is currently looking into rehabilitating Syrian hospitals.
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Closing the loophole on sugary drinks
As The National reported last year, non-fizzy sugared drinks were not covered when the original tax was introduced in 2017. Sports drinks sold in supermarkets were found to contain, on average, 20 grams of sugar per 500ml bottle.
The non-fizzy drink AriZona Iced Tea contains 65 grams of sugar – about 16 teaspoons – per 680ml can. The average can costs about Dh6, which would rise to Dh9.
Drinks such as Starbucks Bottled Mocha Frappuccino contain 31g of sugar in 270ml, while Nescafe Mocha in a can contains 15.6g of sugar in a 240ml can.
Flavoured water, long-life fruit juice concentrates, pre-packaged sweetened coffee drinks fall under the ‘sweetened drink’ category
Not taxed:
Freshly squeezed fruit juices, ground coffee beans, tea leaves and pre-prepared flavoured milkshakes do not come under the ‘sweetened drink’ band.
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
'The worst thing you can eat'
Trans fat is typically found in fried and baked goods, but you may be consuming more than you think.
Powdered coffee creamer, microwave popcorn and virtually anything processed with a crust is likely to contain it, as this guide from Mayo Clinic outlines:
Baked goods - Most cakes, cookies, pie crusts and crackers contain shortening, which is usually made from partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. Ready-made frosting is another source of trans fat.
Snacks - Potato, corn and tortilla chips often contain trans fat. And while popcorn can be a healthy snack, many types of packaged or microwave popcorn use trans fat to help cook or flavour the popcorn.
Fried food - Foods that require deep frying — french fries, doughnuts and fried chicken — can contain trans fat from the oil used in the cooking process.
Refrigerator dough - Products such as canned biscuits and cinnamon rolls often contain trans fat, as do frozen pizza crusts.
Creamer and margarine - Nondairy coffee creamer and stick margarines also may contain partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.
