Berlin Review: Li Ruijun’s ‘Return To Dust’

Holly Jones Set in Costa da Caparica, Portugal, amidst the 2008 economic crisis, “Vanda” – which screened at Berlin Film Festival’s European Film Market – tells the true-to-life story of distressed hairdresser turned unlikely criminal Dulce Caroço.Our titular character, played by Gabriella Barros (“Al Berto”), is introduced as she lies on the floor, vacant-faced, smoking a cigarette. Moments later, we see her doused in disguise, a blond wig and oversized sunglasses.In this hour-long, crime-heist episodic, created by Patrícia Müller (“Madre Paula”) and directed by Simão Cayatte (“A Viagem”), Vanda goes from surviving to destitute in a matter of scenes.

Berlin Film Festival has staged its first in-person edition since 2020, soldiering on amid a wave of the COVID omicron variant in Germany and a last-minute virtual pivot for the European Film Market. Here are our main takeaways below:Film Industry Pining For In-Person Meetings Despite the EFM being online, a clutch of buyers and sellers made the trek to Berlin where they held a mix of online and physical meetings in the Marriott and a very bare Gropius Bau.

Ed Meza @edmezavarZDF Enterprises has struck further deals for the first season of post-apocalyptic disaster thriller “Sløborn,” including sales in the U.K., Russia and Japan.The eight-part series is produced by Christian Alvart’s Berlin-based Syrreal Entertainment in co-production with ZDF, Tobis, Nordisk Film and ZDF Enterprises. Alvart, who also penned and helmed the Netflix series “Dogs of Berlin,” co-wrote and directed “Sløborn” along with Adolfo J.

Brother in Every Inch definitely offers the world something it’s never seen before — the training of Russian air force pilots on an actual Russian air base — but guess what: It looks exactly flight training in any other country. All the same, this second feature from director Alexander Zolotukhin (after his debut three years ago with A Russian Youth) does take you somewhere new as it examines the progress of twin brothers as they undergo the rigors of learning to fly jet fighters, even if it’s presented in a semi-arty way that is both aesthetically pleasing and dramatically skimpy. This visually entrancing short feature (just 80 minutes long) premiered in the Encounters section of the Berlin Film Festival.

Fêted and eternally fabulous, Isabelle Huppert is this year’s Berlin Film Festival honorary Golden Bear laureate for her life’s work so far, with an accompanying program of some of her most celebrated films. About Joan is her newest, screened out of competition as a Berlinale Special gala (though Huppert was unable to make the trip to Berlin after testing positive for Covid). That is quite a lot of weight to carry for Laurent Larivière’s slender story about the malleability of memory. That subject in itself, broad and deep as it is, may be too much for this rickety film to bear, even with Huppert’s flickering brilliance in the title role.

Sea Girls have returned with their new single ‘Lonely’ and announced details of their biggest UK tour to date.The band’s new album ‘Homesick’ is set for release on March 25 via Polydor, following their 2020 debut album ‘Open Your Head’. New track ‘Lonely’ follows recent singles ‘Sick’, ‘Sleeping With You’, ‘Hometown’ and ‘Again Again’.Discussing the new song, frontman Henry Camamile said: “It was written the day Ennio Morricone died, so was initially in honour of him, a nod to the good, the bad and the ugly – hence the whistle and the line ‘OK Corral’.“It’s about the best friend I probably should have gone out with, but never did.

K.J. Yossman Bullying, harassment and discrimination remain rife in the U.K.

India.Arie has clarified her reasons for leaving Spotify, after she became one of many artists to boycott the service in recent weeks.When she first pulled her music from the service earlier this month, Arie cited their exclusive hosting of Joe Rogan’s podcast and his “language around race” as the reason she left Spotify.“Neil Young opened a door that I must walkthrough,” she wrote on Instagram, explaining how was following on from Neil Young’s exit from Spotify due to Rogan spreading “misinformation” about COVID-19 on his podcast.“I believe in freedom of speech. However, I find Joe Rogan problematic for reasons other than his COVID interviews,” she said at the time.Now, in a new interview with Trevor Noah on The Daily Show, Arie has discussed how Spotify’s royalties scheme and business practices also influenced her decision.Asked if Rogan was her enemy by Noah, Arie said: “My conversation has been about Spotify and its treatment of artists.“I have to say that asking for my music to be pulled from Spotify in protest doesn’t actually serve me,” she added, “but I did it in protest just because I felt like my dignity was being … I felt like I was being disrespected.”Discussing royalty payments artists get from Spotify, Arie explained: “What happens is, they say, ‘Well, this is just how it is; this is just what you get paid.

Jessica Kiang In a valley in the Swiss canton of Bern dominated by the local watchmaking industry, the first ever International Anarchist Congress was held in 1872. And inside a traditionally made clockwork watch, such as the factories of Bern would have been producing at the time, there is a tiny spiral wheel that balances the mechanism, called the unrueh — the unrest.This dainty coincidence of echoing terminology at most might raise a “huh” from those of us into wordplay and social history and Twitter accounts that exclusively post images of machinery at work.

ITV talk show host Lorraine Kelly doesn’t seem like the kind of person who would get shy, but the star has admitted to Express.co.uk that she's been feeling self-conscious on the red carpet of late.The journalist has teamed up with WW (formerly known as Weight Watchers) in hopes of getting her “va va voom back”, after forming unhealthy lifestyle habits over lockdown.Lorraine, 62, spoke about how she was dismayed to find that she had gone from a size 10 to a size 14 due to a lack of exercise and indulging in more junk food during lockdown. The star agreed that, while the perfect size is different for every person, she wanted to get back to feeling like herself again with the help of WW.“It’s not about how much space you take up in the world,” Lorraine explained. “It’s about what’s right for you.

Rangers icon Brian Laudrup believes his old side can stun inconsistent Borussia Dortmund, as long as they try to get at their defence.

Seth Rogen is taking a not so fond trip down memory lane!

Russia has begun working on a massive submarine that it says could sneak out of radar detection.Plans to build the 72-metre (236 feet) long Strazh 2.0 sub with a displacement of 1,300 tons were announced this week by the state-owned Rubin Design Bureau firm, reports The Mirror.It is designed to be multi-functional to keep costs down in light of spending cuts to the nation's military budget follwoing the economic effects of Covid.The sub will be based on another version of the Guardian submarine that the firm are already working on.Early data reportedly suggests that the underwater craft will be able to reach a speed of 21 knots, which is achieved by installing a huge power plant and working to reduce resistance when it is in the surface position.The firm claimed that the Strazh 2.0 will be able to dip out of radar detection thanks to its shape, saying: “The new contours with the wave-cutting forward bow and sloping sides reduce rolling motion, increase the ship’s steadiness as a weapons platform and cut radar signature.“Additionally, the ship can be used for conducting drills with anti-submarine forces and training the crews of classical submarines.

Chris Pine is currently in talks with Paramount to return to the role of Captain James T. Kirk in an upcoming Star Trek film.The 41-year-old actor is the first member of the cast who has been approached to join the sequel, which is expected to start production in late 2022, Deadline reported on Tuesday.Pine was last at the helm of the USS Enterprise for the 2016 movie Star Trek Beyond, which ended up underperforming at the box office.

The new trailer for : A New Era has arrived, and we now have some additional narrative tidbits for the sequel. Following the success of the 2019 film, the popular television series is continuing to live on in the form of movies.Downton Abbey: A New Era reintroduces several of the original cast members as well as a few newbies. Hugh Dancy, Dominic West, Nathalie Baye, and Laura Haddock are among the newcomers to the Crawley family for this new adventure.

Angelique Jackson As the Met Gala sets its return to the first Monday in May, the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art has announced plans for the 2022 spring exhibition themed “In America: An Anthology of Fashion.”The Met curators, led by Andrew Bolton, the Wendy Yu curator in charge of the Costume Institute, have enlisted eight film directors —- Janicza Bravo, Sofia Coppola, Julie Dash, Tom Ford, Regina King, Martin Scorsese, Autumn de Wilde and Chloé Zhao — to help bring the exhibition to life.“Anthology” is the second of a two-part presentation saluting designers and dressmakers who worked in the United States from the 19th to the mid-late 20th century. It follows Part One, titled “In America: A Lexicon of Fashion,” which opened in September 2021.

Heroism, obsession, sheet ice and huskies. It’s a winning combination, the stuff of stories that show men – because these were stories about men – reaching beyond themselves to survive the elements. Sometimes, even in stories, they didn’t survive because they sacrificed themselves for their comrades, finding their best selves in tough situations. Before imaginary superheroes took over, these tall tales and true of derring-do used to fill children’s annuals.

Two very different musicals are wrapped up into one bewildering package with the New Group’s “Black No More,” which opened Tuesday night off-Broadway.  Part of the show is an occasionally on-the-money satire about a fictitious device from the 1930s that can turn black people white. The poetic opening narration brings to mind “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” and “Little Shop of Horrors.” But what follows is an unnecessarily bombastic melodrama that makes “Les Misérables” look like “Blue’s Clues.”2 hours, 30 minutes, with one intermission.

Editors Note: In Hollie McKay’s latest special report for Deadline, the veteran foreign affairs correspondent and Only Cry for the Living: Memos from Inside the ISIS Battlefield author is in eastern Ukraine, where Vladimir Putin’s forces loom just over the border as Russia threatens a possible invasion.

fried eggs, poached eggs on toast, spicy sausage and egg naan, and Welsh rarebit.But one man took offence when the waitress told him they didn't do scrambled eggs and left a one star Google review while at the table with four female companions."Will only give you fried eggs on the breakfasts,” he raged, “which is great if you like them fried. If you like them cooked any other way, they’re too entitled to do something that every other breakfast-serving place in the country will do for you”.However, Kevan Pierrepont, who runs the business with his wife Jane, defended their decision and said it was the sense of entitlement that infuriated him.He told Nottinghamshire Live: "The waitress came over for some advice, saying he's thrown a bit of a tantrum because he can't have scrambled egg, which we don't do anymore."He threw the menu across the table.

Davina McCall has given her honest opinion on what she refuses to celebrate Valentine's Day.The Big Brother star, who recently appeared as a celebrity judge on ITV's The Masked Singer believes the special event can lead to arguments and confrontation if someone isn't able to satisfy their partner.Sharing her thoughts with her 1.5million Instagram followers, Davina, 54, uploaded a candid video where she spoke directly to her supporters.Wearing a brown polar neck jumper the TV personality confessed: "I don't celebrate Valentine's Day because I feel like it's one of those days where it usually sparks an argument, doesn't it, about whoever it was didn't do Valentine's Day properly.She continued: "Or they're disappointed with the card and something happens and it sparks an argument and you think 'oh what was the point in that?'"Let's just love each other every day."Davina also paid a tribute to those who may be feeling lonely on Valentine's Day or those who have lost a loved one.She expressed: "And I almost always do this, but I want to do a big special shout-out to anybody who is feeling a bit lonely."Who may have lost someone that they love and it might be a bit of a trigger for them.""Or who is just happily alone, erm yeah. Lots of love to you."Davina's fans seemed to agree with her wise words and took to the comment section to share how they feel on Valentine's Day too.One social media user said: "I totally agree Davina.