Hiam Abbas to screen Miu Miu film at Venice film festival

Plus: Lee Pace and Jamie Bell to star in new AMC dramas; Reena Roy returns to Bollywood; Wong Kar-wai directs kung fu film; singer-songwriter JJ Cale dies.

The actress and director Hiam Abbas. AFP

The Italian fashion label Miu Miu will return to the Venice International Film Festival next month with the latest in its series of silent short films, titled Women's Tales and featuring Miu Miu clothing. Launched last year and in partnership with high-profile female directors, the films include The Door by the American director Ava DuVernay and Le Donne della Vuccirira by the Palestinian actress and director Hiam Abbas (pictured). The films will premiere on August 29. There will also be discussion panels on the role of women in cinema. – The National staff

2 Pace and Bell to star in new AMC dramas

AMC, the American network responsible for bringing Mad Men, Breaking Bad and The Walking Dead to television, has ordered two new dramas for next year. Halt & Catch Fire is set in the early 1980s and looks at the personal computing explosion through the eyes of a visionary engineer. It stars Lee Pace (pictured) of TV's Pushing Daisies. The other drama, Turn, is set in 1778 and tells the story of a New York farmer who joins spies fighting for American independence. It stars Jamie Bell of Billy Elliot fame. – AP

Reena Roy returns to Bollywood

After an absence of 13 years, the Bollywood actress Reena Roy is poised to make a comeback. The 56-year-old star, who made dozens of Hindi movies in the 1970s and 1980s, will star in Agnidev Chatterjee's as-yet-untitled project, reported The Hindustan Times. She is set to co-star with the veteran actor Vinod Khanna. Roy was last seen on the big screen in J?P Dutta's 2000 film, Refugee. – The National staff

Wong Kar-wai directs kung-fu film

The life of Ip Man, the trainer of the kung-fu icon Bruce Lee, will be immortalised in a new film by Wong Kar-wai. The Grandmaster is a three-part film that begins in southern China in the 1930s and moves to Hong Kong after the Chinese Revolution of 1949. Inspired by a short film showing Ip, then 70, teaching his techniques, Wong says the film will clarify general misconceptions about Chinese martial arts. "I've never seen a film that is so honest to the value of Chinese martial arts," he said. – Reuters

Singer and songwriter J?J Cale dies

The Grammy-winning singer and songwriter J?J Cale, whose music was made famous by Eric Clapton, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Johnny Cash and others, died in California on Friday after suffering a heart attack. He was 74. The Oklahoma native made music for more than 50 years and worked closely with Clapton. He wrote the latter's hit song After Midnight as well as Angel, a track from Clapton's recent album. – AFP

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