Lebanon Showbiz Latest News and Updates

EXCLUSIVE: Sara Boustany has joined the cast as one of the leads in Hello, Beautiful, which is based on the Christine Handy novel Walk Beside Me. Handy is producing along with Michael Espinosa, and Ziad H. Hamzeh–who will also serve as director.The film revolves around Willow, a successful model, struggling with the facade of a perfect life while confronted with a crumbling family dynamic and then, breast cancer diagnosis. Sara will play “Isabel,” her wild and resentful teenage daughter who is struggling with her own obstacles.

Lise Pedersen “The Landscape and the Fury” by Switzerland’s Nicole Vögele took the Grand Jury Prize in the International Feature Film Competition at Swiss doc festival Visions du Réel on Friday. Shot on the Bosnian-Croatian border, which is also the European Union border, the film unveils the struggle of refugees being chased away by police and navigating a terrain still contaminated with mines from the Bosnian War.

The Foreign Office has issued new travel warnings for 16 countries today following. In light of the recent drone attack on Israel by Iran, those planning to visit destinations including Morocco and the United Arab Emirates are strongly advised to check travel advice before making their journey.

The Foreign Office has issued a new urgent travel warning for 18 countries, including popular Mediterranean holiday destinations. The government's latest advisory cautions travellers about an increased risk of terrorist attacks in countries around the southern Mediterranean and the Middle East due to heightened tensions following recent events in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

Annika Pham Seven years after showcasing “You Make a Better Window Than You Do a Door” at Visions du Réel’s Short Film competition strand, Lebanese-born Farah Kassem is back in Nyon, this time in the main international competition with her doc feature-length debut “We Are Inside.” Variety was granted access to the trailer. The film was produced by the helmer’s regular collaborator Cynthia Choucair of Lebanon’s Road2Films, in co-production with Qatar’s Al Jazeera Documentary Channel and Denmark’s Good Company Pictures (“Photographer of War,” “Beautiful Something Left Behind”).

EXCLUSIVE: Amazon has acquired world rights for Beirut-set dramedy series Self Modulation from producers Falcon Films and Arna Media, in its first ever Arabic TV series acquisition.

An earthquake has shaken the densely populated New York City metropolitan area and much of the Northeast, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). A preliminary magnitude of 4.8 was recorded as locals reported feeling the quake.

New York City has been rocked by a 4.8 magnitude earthquake causing widespread tremors across the region.

An earthquake with a magnitude of 4.7 shook New York City this morning, with the tremor, lasting more than a few seconds and rattling windows, furniture and apartment floors, reportedly was centered near Lebanon, New Jersey, 40 miles west of New York City.

Dubai-based Front Row Productions has acquired the rights to the life story of Sally Hafez, the Lebanese woman who stormed a bank to access her savings in September 2022 during Lebanon’s financial crisis, in which citizens were illegally restricted from drawing from their accounts due to an unofficial capital control imposed by Lebanese banks. 

The second day of Dublin’s Storyhouse screenwriting festival kicked off with a bang on Friday as established writer-directors Ali Abbasi (Holy Spider), Mounia Akl (Costa Brava Lebanon) and Stacey Gregg (Ballywalter) all discussed at length the process of how they achieve their best work and how they balance the writer-director relationship. 

The Alice Group has sold its media arm, which includes the BFM and RMC TV channels, to French Lebanese billionaire Rodolphe Saadé in a deal valued at $1.68B (€1.55B).

A shot of apple cider vinegar a day helped overweight people lose as much as 8kg in three months, according to a recent study.

Krystyna Pyszková of the Czech Republic was crowned Miss World at a glittering contest held in India on Saturday night.Yasmina Zaytoun of Lebanon was the first runner-up among 112 contestants in the competition held in Mumbai, India’s financial and entertainment capital.“Being crowned Miss World is a dream come true.

The Doha Film Institute (DFI) kicked off its 10th Qumra talent and project incubator meeting on a somber note on Friday as its organizers spoke out about the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

When director Amber Fares came out with her documentary Speed Sisters, about the Middle East’s first all-women race car driving team, the New York Times praised it as “unconventional in form as well as content.”

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority (GEA) has launched a new film fund called Big Time Investment to boost production of quality Arabic movies and announced a slate of Egyptian feature films toplined by a biopic of Egyptian icon Umm Kulthum who is considered the Arab world’s greatest singer. Prominent Egyptian director Marwan Hamed, whose epic “Kira and El Gen” about local resistance to British occupation, is recent hit, will direct the film titled “El Set.” Egyptian star Mona Zaki will play Kulthum who from the late 1920s onwards became the first prominent Arab singer to disseminate her work to the masses via the new technologies of the times: radio, the phonograph, cinema and television.

Having championed the cause of animals in farmyard doc Gunda, Victor Kossakovsky is making a fresh appeal to the world through new work Architecton: stop using concrete.

Alex Ritman WestEnd Film has boarded “Mariana’s Room,” the adaptation of Aharon Appelfeld’s prize-winning 2006 novel “Blooms of Darkness,” for worldwide sales. The film — which is now in post-production — comes from writer-director Emmanuel Finkiel (“A Decent Man,” “Voyages”) who reunited with his Cesar-winning “Memoir of War” star Mélanie Thierry (“The Zero Theorem’).

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent The CGI animated sequel to “Chickenhare and the Hamster of Darkness,” the hit adventure film based on the Dark Horse comics which sold around the world, has lured buyers ahead of the European Film Market. Titled “Chickenhare and the Very Very (Very) Old Groundhog,” the movie is budgeted at $23 million (a large budget by European production standards) and brings back the creative team behind the first film.

Internationally renowned Israeli-born photographer Rafael Fuchs has always used his art to push boundaries and highlight the absurdities of modern life — even during wartime.Called to serve in Lebanon in 1983 while he was still an art student at Jerusalem’s prestigious Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design brought his avant-garde style to the battlefield.“I started taking picture showing how ridiculous war is,” Fuchs told The Post in Brooklyn on Wednesday.Fuchs began subverting the war photography genre by taking a series of self-portraits, in typical battle scenes, donned in Japanese Butoh-inspired theatrical makeup to highlight his anxiety about serving.“Where does it say in the Israeli army rule book that a soldier cannot perform his duties with makeup on?” Fuchs had asked his then-commanding officer.Following graduation and a stint in Paris where he was noticed by the eminent curator Francois Hebel, Fuchs emigrated to New York, where he was immediately enchanted by the city’s “spontaneity.”“It was hot. It was May 1st.

Rafa Sales Ross Guest Contributor Marcelo Gomes’ new film “Portrait of a Certain Orient” will be represented for world sales by Brazil’s O2 Play. The deal was sealed ahead of the film’s premiere at the International Film Festival Rotterdam, where it plays as part of the Big Screen Competition.

Naman Ramachandran Award-winning artist Justin Anderson’s debut feature “Swimming Home” has its world premiere in competition at International Film Festival Rotterdam. Variety has secured access to the first clip from the film. The film, an adaptation of Deborah Levy’s 2012 Man Booker Prize shortlisted novel, centers on poet Joe (Christopher Abbott) and war photographer Isabel (Mackenzie Davis), whose marriage is dying when Kitti (Ariane Labed), a naked stranger found floating in the pool at their sunny holiday villa in Greece, is invited to stay.

EXCLUSIVE: L.A. and Cairo-based production company Ambient Light Films is upping its support for Middle East and North African indie cinema.

The Berlinale has announced the full line-ups of its Panorama, Forum and Generation sidebars for the 74th edition running from February 15 to 24. (scroll down for full list)

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Lebanese singer Nancy Ajram, dubbed the “queen of Arab pop” by Spotify, has inked a publishing deal with U.S. indie music company Reservoir Media and PopArabia, its Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region partner.

Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye has donated to the Los Angeles based organization School on Wheels, which will support more than 1,000 students experiencing homelessness from kindergarten through twelfth grade. The artist has donated several million dollars to charitable organizations in recent years, including humanitarian efforts in Gaza, Ethiopia, Lebanon, Covid relief and more. According to the announcement, the mission of School on Wheels is to enhance educational opportunities for children who are the most disadvantaged in the city.

One of the stars on the breakout Israeli thriller Fauda has been seriously injured while fighting in Gaza as a member of the Israel Defense Forces, according to multiple Israeli media reports.

Salma Hayek as a Mexican-American actress, producer, and director who has won several awards throughout her career. However, not much is known about her parents - Sami Hayek Dominguez and Diana Jiménez Medina - who significantly shaped her personality and career. In this article, we’ll delve deep into the story of Salma Hayek’s parents and shed light on their background, achievements, and their impact on Salma’s life.Salma Hayek was born in Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz, Mexico.

John Bleasdale Guest Contributor South Korean director Hong Sang-soo was awarded the El Gouna Gold Star for best narrative film for his meditation on art and relationships, “In Our Day,” as the delayed edition of the El Gouna Film Festival held its closing ceremony on Thursday. The Italian animated film “A Greyhound of a Girl,” directed by Enzo D’Alò, and the Brazilian director Guto Parente’s “A Strange Path” picked up the Silver and Bronze Stars respectively.