‘The Woman King’ Director Gina Prince-Bythewood on the Importance of Speaking Up | How She Did It Presented by Johnnie Walker

For Iranian director and co-writer Cyrus Neshvad, bringing the story of The Red Suitcase to life was a matter of urgency. The film follows the harrowing journey of a 16-year-old Iranian girl as she attempts to flee an airport undetected by the man that she’s been sent off to marry. One of the short’s most instrumental scenes involves the girl removing her hijab for her safety, but also at the detriment of defying her culture. Considering the timely release of his short film coinciding with the recent female-led anti-hijab protests in Iran, Neshvad explains, “I don’t want the movie to be political. I just wanted to give this message that we should be free to do what we want… when I did this movie, I said, ‘I want a woman who has the choice to take this off, even if it’s for her freedom, for her free will.'”

It’s official – Meghan Markle and Prince Harry received an invite to King Charles’ coronation!

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have been in “email correspondence” with the King’s office over whether they will attend the Coronation, PA reports.

King Charles went ‘directly against the Queen’s style’ and made a ‘big mistake’ by evicting Harry and Meghan from Frogmore Cottage, a royal expert said. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex this week confirmed that they had been asked to vacate their UK home on the Windsor estate - which was gifted to them by the late Queen Elizabeth II after they tied the knot in 2018.

King Charles and Queen Consort Camilla are set to visit France and Germany for the first state visits of his new reign, it has been announced. The royal couple will use the occasion to "celebrate Britain’s relationship" with the two countries through an array of engagements. It will be the first time that Charles, 74, has travelled abroad in an official capacity since becoming King.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Already the highest grossing local film in its home market, courtroom drama, “A Guilty Conscience” has broken into Hong Kong’s all-time top ten box office ranking with a cumulative of HK$107 million ($13.7 million). Data from Hong Kong Box Office Ltd. shows the film achieving the feat after just 41 days in cinemas and coming within HK$1 million ($150,000) of overtaking “Top Gun: Maverick.” The data firm noted that the last time a Hong Kong film got this far was with fantasy-action-comedy “Kung Fu Hustle” in 2004. Since then, it has been overtaken by a fleet of Hollywood titles. Hong Hong’s current top ten is headed by “Avengers: Endgame” and includes six Marvel movies, the two “Avatar” titles and “Titanic.”

At previous in-person editions of Filmart, Hong Kong’s major film companies, including Edko Films, Emperor Motion Pictures (EMP), One Cool Group, Universe Films and Media Asia, always anchored the trade show floor with huge, elaborate booths promoting the latest Hong Kong films, animation and TV series. 

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King Charles III is causing a shakeup in Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's royal housing. According to royal reporter, Omid Scobie, the monarch is evicting the Duke and Duchess of Sussex from their Frogmore Cottage residence to allow his disgraced brother, Prince Andrew, to take up residence. The move comes after Charles took away Andrew's access to his former apartment and office inside Buckingham Palace.

In one fell swoop, King Charles III is getting revenge on three of his estranged relatives!

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Sculptor turned director Wu Lang made a splash at the Berlin Film Festival with his debut feature “Absence” playing in the festival’s showcase Encounters section. With a high-profile cast headed by Lee Kang-sheng (“What Time Is It There?” “The Wayward Cloud”) and Li Meng (“The Bad Kids,” “The Guillotines”) “Absence” is an art-house romance that uses skyscapes and urban landscapes as metaphors for inner feelings. The seduction starts with a man’s return to Hainan Island after ten years in jail and ends with a flock of sheep in an abandoned construction site. Wu: Shooting the first short film for me had two purposes. First, making a film is not easy in terms of financing and finding coproducers. So, first I wanted to make a short in order to get myself started.

Angelique Jackson The eighth annual Icon Mann Honors dinner will salute “The Woman King” filmmaker Gina Prince-Bythewood, “Sidney” director Reginald Hudlin and Uzodinma Iweala, CEO of the Africa Center NYC and author of the New York Times bestseller “Beasts of No Nation.” Icon Mann partnered with Sony Pictures for the event, which has a “Reimagining African Diasporic Narratives” theme and will take place on Wednesday, March 8 at the Waldorf Astoria in Beverly Hills, Calif. The dinner is part of a series of awards week events for Icon Mann, which is a media, production and management consultancy representing African Diasporic heritage. The company is a leading strategic broker for investments and enterprise within creative industries for Hollywood and media-driven African nations, cultivating a global network of creators and leaders focused on “positive narrative representation.”

Viola Davis brightens up the room in a stunning yellow dress at the 2023 Screen Actors Guild Awards on Sunday night (February 26) at Fairmont Century Plaza in Los Angeles.

Viola Davis brightens up the room in a stunning yellow dress at the 2023 Screen Actors Guild Awards on Sunday night (February 26) at Fairmont Century Plaza in Los Angeles.

NAACP Image Awards on Saturday evening. “The Woman King” director penned an essay in The Hollywood Reporter after her historical drama found itself completely shut out of the Academy Awards, despite landing several precursor noms across other awards bodies and craft institutions. Prince-Bythewood called the season “an eye-opener” and that “the Academy made a very loud statement, and for me to stay quiet is to accept that statement.” “We know the issues exist, but they felt amplified this year,” Prince-Bythewood told Variety senior entertainment writer Angelique Jackson on the red carpet, discussing her essay. “The responses have been really amazing. The number of people that have reached out and sharing it — whole companies are sharing it — and then going to the BAFTAs and having people reference it as well, there’s no denying some of the things I put in and people were able to see firsthand what happened.”

Royal rivals. Prince William and Princess Kate were rooting for opposing teams at a Saturday, February 25, rugby match.

BreAnna Bell The show continued on at the 54th Annual NAACP Image Awards despite an emergency flash flood warning and a torrential downpour effectively stopping the awards show red carpet. Attendees made the trip through the pouring rain to make the show, carefully treading through the rain-soaked pink carpet to find their seats at the L.A. Live Event Deck in Los Angeles, Calif. where they were treated to performances from gospel artist Tye Tribett and Too $hort as well as appearances from celebrities like Tichina Arnold, Katori Hall, the cast of Amazon Prime Video’s “Harlem,” and an impromptu wedding proposal. After Major gave the convocation, Tribett opened the show with his lively rendition of “Get Up,” which quickly pushed guests out of their seats and onto their feet to dance. The dinner’s host Bresha Webb announced her recent nuptials in her welcoming address and proceeded to poke fun at Ariana Debose with her own version of the Oscar winner’s now-viral BAFTA’s rap when honoring the night’s nominees.

Randee Dawn When the NAACP Image Awards returns on Feb. 25 for its 54th annual ceremony, there’ll be plenty of cause for celebration. Not only will artists from television, motion picture, music and literature find themselves feted for their contributions, but it’s also the 20th anniversary of the creation of the organization’s Hollywood Bureau – and the first time the show will be fully in front of a live audience since 2020. But an Image Award event isn’t just another reason to hand out accolades during a packed award season. For organizers and nominees alike, the existence of a show that largely focuses on Black entertainers is an achievement in itself. It exists both within the Hollywood bubble and outside of it, with its own rules and perspectives and, perhaps most importantly, own voters.

King Charles III and Queen Camilla will be crowned on May 6 coronation.

“The Woman King” is Thuso Mbedu’s first feature film, it’s been a long time coming. The “Underground Railroad” actress has overcome a number of challenges in her life so far, and said she’s been “living on survival mode” for most of the time.“The first challenge that I had to overcome was growing up in South Africa.