Iraq Showbiz Latest News and Updates

Alissa Simon Film Critic As you read this, new titles from filmmakers of Tunisian, Moroccan and Franco-Palestinian-Algerian heritage are making their mark at the Venice Film Festival, while Toronto Film Festival will premiere a trio of first features from Saudi Arabia, along with discoveries from the UAE and Palestine, plus a handful of Arab titles screened at Cannes and Venice. Those in the know say that the annual number of Arab films produced has increased along with the emergence of new filmmakers, and that fall festivals such as El Gouna, Marrakech, Cairo and Red Sea will be chockablock with fresh regional titles.

Oscar-winning filmmaker Errol Morris unveiled his new documentary The Pigeon Tunnel – about the spy-turned-novelist David Cornwell, aka John le Carré – at the Telluride Film Festival on Friday. Audience buzz afterwards ranked it among Morris’s best work, a canon that includes the classics The Thin Blue Line and Gates of Heaven.

Justin Theroux is back in the dating game, or so it seems!

A hopeful electrician aced his maths GCSE just hours after learning of his mum's sudden death. Carl Turner, 52, sat his maths exam the the morning after he found out that his mum Lynn passed away from a lung haemorrhage at the age of 69.

EXCLUSIVE: DCTV, the nonprofit acclaimed as “New York City’s preeminent community of and for documentary storytellers,” is celebrating its 50th anniversary with a series spotlighting the work of DCTV founders, the filmmaking couple Keiko Tsuno and Jon Alpert.

Jaden Thompson Season four of the podcast “Blowback,” co-hosted by Brendan James and Noah Kulwin, will be released on Aug. 25. The podcast is described as “a deeply reported, and cinematically produced, historical podcast that takes a deep look at past wars and moments in history.” Season four will turn to focus on Afghanistan, following seasons on the Iraq War, the Cuban Revolution and the Korean War.

An army veteran troubled by concerns about his business was found dead on a beach in North Wales, an inquest heard. Gareth Arnold - affectionally known by some as 'Cheeky' - disappeared after leaving his in-laws' home in Bury, apparently to buy clothes for a family holiday in Barbados.

Fast-paced, adrenalin-pumping docuseries that shine the “blue light” on our 999 services have never been more popular. And Emergency, which is filmed in London, is back to capture all the drama as it follows the stories of seriously injured patients and the people – consultants, ambulance response teams, doctors, nurses and therapists – helping to save their lives. The series focuses on the work of the London Major Trauma System, a network of trauma units, air ambulances and medics set up in the wake of the 2005 London terrorist bombings to provide specialist care for critically injured patients.

Busan International Film Festival has announced the 30 projects selected for this year’s Asian Project Market (APM), including new projects from leading Asian filmmakers such as Japan’s Koji Fukada, Indonesia’s Makbul Mubarak and India’s Rima Das.

Sean Penn has protested wars in Iraq, walked with democracy demonstrators in Cairo and spearheaded natural relief efforts. But today in Burbank, CA on the 19th day of the SAG-AFTRA strike, and 92nd day of the WGA work stoppage, the two-time Oscar winner braved the muggy 87-degree weather in support of his fellow writers and actors.

It is summer in Erbil, Iraq, and all day, the dusty streets have been baking. In the punishing 40 degree heat anyone who can stays inside, and those who are out can only move with the pace the day allows.

On a dry, dusty minefield in northern Iraq, mine detection dog Jota is hard at work.

Millions of people live with the reality that one wrong step could kill them - and you can understand their experience like never before.

Evil ISIS rigged games controllers and mobile phones with lethal explosives in order to target children, it has been revealed.

A bachelorette party at a remote desert house is suddenly terrorized by home invaders.

inspiration for Paramount’s forthcoming action thriller “Special Ops: Lioness,” which debuts Sunday and stars Zoe Saldaña, 45, alongside Oscar winners Nicole Kidman, 56, and Morgan Freeman, 86. The eight-part series — a brainchild of Taylor Sheridan, the visionary behind “Yellowstone” and “Sons of Anarchy” — follows the journey of a young Marine named Cruz Manuelos (Laysla De Oliveria, 31, of Netflix’s “Locke & Key”).She’s recruited by the CIA’s Lioness Engagement Team to befriend the daughter of a terrorist group leader in an effort to ravage the criminal organization. Saldaña, who plays “Joe,” the station chief charged with readying new recruits for undercover operations, explains the significance of the niche program to De Oliveira’s “Manuelos” in the first episode, noting the evolution of their task force’s duties over the past two decades. “When the Lioness team was first formed we needed female soldiers to frisk and interrogate female insurgents,” she says. “What we do now is locate the wives and the girlfriends and daughters of these high value targets and we place an operative close to them,” continues Joe.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Iraqi film director and writer Amer Alwan, whose moving drama “Zaman, the Man From the Reeds” was shot right before the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq and had its North-American premiere at Tribeca in 2004, has died at 66. Alwan, who had long been living in France, died surrounded by family at the Simone Veil Hospital in the French town of Eaubonne on July 4 after battling an unspecified form of cancer for a year, his daughter, Camille Alwan, said by email. He was buried at Saint-Ouen Cemetery in Paris. Born in Babylon-Hills, Iraq, in 1957, Alwan graduated from Iraq’s National School of Drama and Arts and continued his studies at the Audio Visual School of Baghdad, which led to him doing TV work in Iraq. Then in 1980, he left Iraq to earn an advanced degree in philosophy of art and society from Paris’ prestigious Sorbonne university.

Over a decade ago, a period of anti-government revolution swept across the Arab world; with the death of Tunisian fruit and vegetable vendor Mohamed Bouazizi, who set himself on fire in protest outside a provincial government building, acting as its catalyst. What followed was a series of street demonstrations, rebellions, and uprisings in other countries including, Libya, Jordan, Syria, Iraq, and Egypt where millions called for the dismantling of corrupt regimes.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Seven films have been selected for the 11th edition of Final Cut in Venice, the works-in-progress section of the 80th Venice Film Festival. Final Cut in Venice, which runs Sept. 3-5, provides support for the completion of films from Africa and five Middle Eastern countries: Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine and Syria. It is one of the programs run by the festival’s industry section, Venice Production Bridge. Over three days, the working copies of the selected films will be presented to producers, buyers, distributors, post-production companies and film festival programmers. The first two days are devoted to screenings, and then one-to-one meetings between the producers of the projects and the professionals attending the Venice Production Bridge will take place on the third day. The program will conclude with the awarding of prizes in kind or in cash, the purpose of which is to provide support for the films’ post-production.

K.J. Yossman The BBC staffer accused of paying a teenager for sexually explicit photographs has been named as Huw Edwards, one of the network’s top anchors. The equivalent of NBC’s Brian Williams (before he was fired for embellishing an Iraq war story), Edwards is one of the most senior on-air figures at the corporation and was the anchor chosen to break news of Queen Elizabeth II’s death to the world last September. He is the fourth highest paid figure at the BBC. Edwards’ wife, Vicky Flind, issued a statement on the anchor’s behalf saying Edwards is suffering “serious mental health issues” and has been hospitalized. “As is well documented, he has been treated for severe depression in recent years,” she said. “The events of the last few days have greatly worsened matters.”

A kiler virus is spreading in Europe and experts warn it could reach the UK.

Prince Harry "needs friends" or he will be "swallowed up by Tinseltown", an expert has claimed.

Child actors sometimes continue on the Hollywood path, continuing to seek acting roles as they grow from cute kids to teens to adults.

Prince Harry did not attend the wedding of his "real best man" and was instead spotted over 5,000 miles away in the USA. According to Royal observers Jack Mann was considered Harry's "real best man" over brother Prince William, when he got married to Meghan.The Sun reported that while his polo teammate Jack tied the knot in Stutton, Suffolk, the Duke of Sussex was far away in Santa Barbara, California. Harry was known to have a close relationship with Jack, with the two bonding at Sandhurst during their training as officers in the Blues and Royals.They went on to serve together in Afghanistan and Iraq.

hailed as “unrecognizable” upon resurfacing years after leaving the industry. All grown-up now, Michael Conner Humphreys, 38, played the younger version of Tom Hanks’ title character in the 1994 film “Forrest Gump.”Humphreys was just 8 years old when he played the titular character, cast from an open call to play Forrest as a child.However, 29 years on from participating in cinematic history, he decided the spotlight wasn’t for him — instead choosing to finish school, then enlist in the US Army, spending four years as an infantry soldier, which included an 18-month tour of duty in Iraq. He completed his military service in 2008.

A major terrorist attack is being planned on a UK public gathering by British ISIS fighters, The Mirror has revealed.

The inquiry report into the Edinburgh trams debacle could be delayed until September, the Record can reveal.

David Bohrman, a longtime producer and news executive who was responsible for innovations in live and special events and breaking news, including at CNN and other networks, died on Sunday. He was 69.

Manchester United supporters are far from happy after hearing about Zidane Iqbal's imminent move to FC Utrecht.

News broadcaster Rae Stewart has sadly died aged 56.