He Named Me Malala, the Image Nation Abu Dhabi-produced documentary about the youngest Nobel Peace laureate, earned praise from the stars when it made its European premiere at the London Film Festival over the weekend. The film offers an intimate portrait of Malala Yousafzai, the passionate Pakistani advocate of girls' education who survived a Taliban assassination attempt in 2012, when she was shot in the head while on a school bus. She was 14 at the time. Even the biggest stars attending the festival seemed humbled by the teenager and her aspirations. American actress Meryl Streep hailed her as a worthy heiress of the suffragettes who battled for the right to vote in Britain in the early 20th century. Filmed over 18 months in Britain, Abu Dhabi, Kenya, Nigeria and Jordan, the film was made by Oscar-winning American director David Guggenheim (An Inconvenient Truth). The film will be released in the UAE on November 5. – AP
Starry line-up at the White House
Queen Latifah, Smokey Robinson and Trombone Shorty will help celebrate the arts at the White House on October 14. They will be joined by Usher, James Taylor, Audra McDonald and other celebrities for a PBS network special hosted by United States President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle. The event will mark the 50th anniversary of legislation that created the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities in the US. The latest instalment of the In Performance at the White House series will broadcast in January in the US. – AP
Admaf and TF54 extend partnership
Abu Dhabi Music & Arts Foundation and twofour54 have signed a letter of cooperation, renewing their partnership for the sixth year. It will allow them to develop media programmes, training sessions, workshops, the popular Young Leaders programme, and internship opportunities. The two organisations will also focus on Emirati creatives, and launch a new way to share information in the filmmaking community, aiming to support emerging and established Emirati filmmakers. – The National staff
New role helped F7 star cope with loss of pal
Vin Diesel says taking on the role of an immortal in his upcoming film, The Last Witch Hunter, helped him deal with his grief over the loss of Fast and the Furious co-star Paul Walker. Walker died in 2013 after the Porsche in which he was a passenger crashed and burnt north of Los Angeles during a break from filming Furious 7. Referring to the melancholy character he plays in The Last Witch Hunter, Diesel said: "2014 was a tough year for me. Playing a character that was masking his sorrow – his loss – was very appropriate because that's what I was doing in real life." – AP
Beauty and the Beast to debut in India
The Broadway show Beauty and the Beast will debut in India this month, opening in Mumbai before moving to Delhi. Based on the Academy Award-winning animated film, the show will be presented to Indian audiences on the same scale as the acclaimed productions in New York and London. The Mumbai show will be held on select days starting October 23, and in Delhi from December 18. The musical is directed by Vikranth Pawar. – IANS
Actress Manorama dies at age 87
Tamil comedienne and actress Manorama died of a heart attack in Chennai on October 10. She was 78. She started her career as a stage artist in 1937 and made her acting debut in the film Malayitta Mangai in 1958. She starred in more than 1,000 films and received the Kalaimamani Award and a National Award for Best Supporting Actress in the 1989 film Puthiya Pathai. She also won the Padma Shri, a civilian award, in 2002. Last week, she made her last public appearance, at an event with Kamal Haasan. – IANS
Busan film festival attracts record crowds
Despite a typhoon and a government budget cut, the 20th annual Busan International Film Festival drew a record number of visitors in South Korea. The event had 227,000 visitors over 10 days, an increase from last year. Filmmakers including Hou Hsiao Hsien and Leos Carax, American actor Harvey Keitel, French actress Sophie Marceau and Korean star Yoo A-in were among the stars who met audiences at movie screenings and open-air talks on the beach during the festival. – AP
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