France Picks ‘Titane’ As International Film Oscar Race Comes Into Focus

Tottenham Hotspur icon Rafael van der Vaart has had his fair share of excitement since retiring as a footballer.Van der Vaart’s glittering career saw him win two league titles with Ajax, over 100 caps for the Netherlands and represent Real Madrid and Spurs in his prime.The 39-year-old’s last club was Danish side Esbjerg fB, where he eventually called time on his 18-year career back in 2018.But the former attacking-midfielder did not wait around idly for long, launching his darts career just a year later in April 2019 with a fine win after joining the British Darts Organisation.Van der Vaart made his debut at the Denmark Open in Esbjerg where he went toe-to-toe with Thomas Anderson.He defeated his opponent 4-2 but was given a quick reality check as he suffered a 4-0 defeat in the next round to Mogens ‘Turbo’ Christensen - a former semi-finalist in the event.Earlier that year, the Dutchman made waves in the darting world by appearing alongside compatriot and legend Michael van Gerwen at the Promi-Darts World Championship in Germany.What change of careers within sport surprised you the most? Let us know in the comments section.Want to be on the ball with all of the latest football news?Well then sign up for the brilliant Daily Star football email newsletter!From the latest transfer news to the agenda-setting stories, get it all in your email inbox - don't miss a thing.It only takes a matter of seconds.Simply type your email address into the box at the top of this article and hit 'subscribe'.And that's it, job done.

drug over the weekend. Elle Vickers, 18, and her friend Ellen Baldwin, 19, believe they were injected with a drug after they noticed they were left with bruises in "intimate areas" on Saturday, February 12.

Lord Alan Sugar.The Apprentice boss has said he was "now always looking over my shoulder" after three anti-Semitic letters were sent to him, with one saying “I would like to murder all f***ing Jews in Britain, Alan”.The letters, with the address typed and stuck to the front, were opened by Lord Sugar's assistant at his company and referred to the police.Patrick Gomes, 70, has denied sending the letters but was found guilty at an earlier trial of religiously aggravated harassment, putting those targeted in fear of violence.He was jailed for three years and six months at Chelmsford Crown Court on Wednesday and was handed an indefinite restraining order not to contact Lord Sugar.Adam Pearson, prosecuting, said that one of the letters said there was “no anti-Semitic element within the Labour Party” then “went onto say the author of the letter was a Jew hater”.previously thanked police in Essex for “helping to shine a light on the fact that this type of behaviour is simply not acceptable” after the man was found guilty.Gomes sent three letters to one of Lord Sugar’s businesses in Loughton between October and December 2018, Essex Police said, which contained anti-semitic abuse.Each letter was addressed directly to Lord Sugar and included abusive, threatening and offensive language, with them being derogatory towards the Jewish religion.Gomes was arrested at his home on March 19, 2019 after his DNA and fingerprints were found on one of the letters.Officers then found other discriminatory letters by Gomes, and the address they were sent to in his address book.There's MUCH more where that came from! Want all the jaw-dropping stories from the world of showbiz and up to the minute news from TV and soaps?Well, we've got you covered

the Australian now looks set to be moved on from the role.The 2021 season ended in a controversial manner, with Red Bull's Max Verstappen taking glory from under the nose of a resurgent Lewis Hamilton on the last lap.As destiny was decided at 200 miles per hour, angry Hamilton fans questioned some of the decisions by Masi, as did Hamilton's Mercedes team.With the build-up to the new season intensifying, and crafty teams revealing their new designs ahead of a season that brings in a raft of rule changes, a huge amount of excitement and scrutiny is going to be focussed on those in F1's top positions.Masi came under criticism a number of times last season, not just for the incident in the final race. Teams and drivers complained of a lack of clarity and consistency applied to wheel-to-wheel racing rules.So why are F1 fans calling for Michael Masi to go ahead of the 2022 season?F1 fans are questioning Michael Masi's position due to a controversial decision made at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix last year.When Lewis Hamilton entered the final lap of the race, he was world champion, set to become so for a record eighth time.

Jake Paul tattoo in an attempt to catch the attention of the YouTuber turned boxer has been left red-faced.Mairis Briedis called out Paul and got a warning to the Problem Child tattooed on his thigh in January but has been unable to secure a fight with the unbeaten social media star since.Instead he is now set to defend his IBF cruiserweight world title in Australia later this year against Jai Opetaia, according to News.com.Meanwhile, Paul has yet to even acknowledge Briedis' challenge as he flirts with the possibility of switching to mixed martial arts in the future.Briedis, who's only professional loss came against Oleksandr Usyk in 2018, showed off his tattooed warning to Paul back in January after calling him out.The 37-year-old Latvian got the message "Jake's bad karma" and a deer's head inked on his thigh as part of his attempts to secure a big money fight.At the time, he told iFL TV: "I saw Jake had a tattoo that said 'karma' and thought I could combine it with my deer logo."It looks very nice, that's why we're even speaking, this year I've had a lot of ideas for what I need to do, I don't know what's happened.Who should Jake Paul's next opponent be? Let us know in the comments section below."This is my life, my choice, my body, and it's like poker, I've gone 'all in'."The tattoo is a crazy thing for me, for my family, but we will see what happens, I hope my crazy things will become true."This is very serious, this is a crazy tattoo, but I will do everything to get my goal and I wish my dreams would happen."However, his attempts to catch Paul's attention fell on deaf ears, although Paul has yet to confirm his next opponent since moving to 5-0 in December with a knockout win over Tyron Woodley.He has so far hinted

teenager from Victoria, Australia has caught himself a £42,000 prize pot after winning a fishing competition down under. The GoFish competition, held in Victoria's Nagambie town, saw over 883 Murray Cod caught with a total length of 40,629.3 centimetres for all cod caught.A total of 2,250 fish were caught, measuring to a whopping 89,131.6 centimetres, as well as an impressive total of 2,594 beers consumed over the course of the tournament.But ambitious anglers were chasing more than beer tallies, with their eyes on the £42,000 ($82,000 Australian) up for grabs, given to whoever caught the largest cod on the day.The honour this year went to 18-year-old Jono Moore, who nabbed the largest Murray cod just 20 minutes into his participation in the competition.Speaking to ABC, Moore said he had been fishing with his dad since before he could walk and he kept pursuing it in the ensuing years.He said: "Me and my mates, we go out pretty much every weekend just fishing everywhere from Mitchelton all the way town to Murchison."The impressive 105 centimetre catch gave the competition winner a clear shot at the prize pot, but was anxious when others confronted him with rumours of a bigger catch elsewhere.Moore said: "It was pretty hectic.

Don’t worry, that’s just Jessica Biel! The 39-year-old actress looked totally different as she was spotted on-set in costume for her latest role playing the axe-killer. Candy Montgomery on Tuesday February 15. Jessica was the spitting image of the infamous Texas killer, while she walked around on-set in her Candy costume.

Priscilla Presley, 76, finally has a daughter-in-law! Her son Navarone Garibaldi, 34, got married to his girlfriend Elisa Achilli, 22, after dating for four years on February 15. Priscilla revealed on Instagram that the couple said “I do” during a romantic outdoor ceremony at Schloss Hünigen hotel in Konolfingen, Switzerland. The businesswoman and actress, who shares Navarone with ex Marco Garibaldi, was among family and friends in attendance.

If you have not watched the first five episodes of Love Is Blindseason 2, bookmark this for later or proceed with caution. The second season of Netflix's hit dating experiment is certainly not lacking in drama. The first five episodes were released last week, and already fans are all about following this season's love triangles and biggest shockers. Perhaps the most jaw-dropping moment thus far happened early on when Kyle Abrams shocked Shaina Hurley by proposing with his mother's engagement ring after the pair had expressed some fundamental religious differences — he is an atheist, she is a Christian. Shaina surprisingly accepted the proposal, but it was clear from her on-camera reaction that she was very conflicted.

How I Met Your Father that Present Sophie () would hook up with a lot of dudes before settling down with the father of her future son. And it looks like the show will make good on that promise! Hulu just gave the green light to a second, 20-episode season of the sitcom, which follows the dating adventures of 20- and 30-something New Yorkers in the age of Tinder.“[Series writers] Isaac [Aptaker] and Elizabeth [Berger]’s inspired vision for How I Met Your Father has proven to be true appointment viewing that fans cannot get enough of week to week.

risky business.The 59-year-old action star proved that he still does his own stunts accomplishing a “Top Gun” moment on Tuesday when he landed his own helicopter in South Africa.And in typical Tom Cruise fashion, he was smiling and waving the whole time.Gillian Soames, who lives in Hoedspruit, said the “Jack Reacher” actor has flown by her town several times, but she got to witness his mega-watt smile up close when she snapped photos of him expertly landing the chopper.“For the last week, he has driven past my house two or three times a day and flies over every day and night to wherever they are filming that day,” she told South West News Service.In fact, Soames said that Cruise was staying just a few hundred meters from her home and has been a “delight” to locals.“I must have seen him 11 times now,” she added, “but yesterday was the first time he took off his mask to smile for us so we could see his face.” Soames, 49, also added it’s the first time she’s seen him flying the helicopter on his own, though the veteran actor is well-known for doing his own risky stunts — like recently when he was photographed riding atop a speeding train and grinning for fans and paparazzi. “It was also the first time he flew the chopper himself,” she noted to SWNS.

Lise Pedersen Marking the climax to this year’s Lumière Festival, Jane Campion, the first woman filmmaker to win a Palme d’Or (sharing the award for “The Pianist” in 1993), accepted the Prix Lumière in France’s Lyon on Friday night from Julia Ducournau, the second woman filmmaker to pick up Cannes’ prestigious top prize.With characteristic humility, Campion took to the stage with a big smile, saying: “I’m really moved – I’m a New Zealander: we don’t do this stuff, we don’t do emotion about ourselves.

Lise Pedersen Jane Campion, the first woman filmmaker to have received a Palme d’Or in Cannes (for “The Pianist” in 1993), is in Lyon for another first, as she becomes the first female filmmaker to pick up the Lumière Prize at the eponymous film festival.Warmly greeted by an enthusiastic crowd for a masterclass at the city’s historic Théâtre des Célestins, Campion answered questions by festival director Thierry Frémaux, who also runs the Cannes Festival.On the question of the place of women filmmakers in cinema, which the festival has been raising awareness about since its inception with a special section dedicated to them, Campion said to Frémaux: “Women are artists as well, every female filmmaker I know just wants to be seen first as a

Julia Ducournau’s Cannes Film Festival Palme d’Or winner Titane has been selected to represent France in the Best International Feature Film Oscar race. The country’s selection committee had previously shortlisted three titles as the potential submission, including Audrey Diwan’s Venice Golden Lion winner L’Evénement (Happening) and Cédric Jiminez’s Bac Nord (The Stronghold).

Guy Lodge Film CriticWhen French filmmaker Julia Ducournau took the Palme d’Or at Cannes this year for “Titane,” her wild explosion of body horror and gender politics, Jane Campion’s status in film history shifted slightly: no longer the only woman to take the top prize at the festival, the New Zealand writer-director will forevermore be the first.

Just after winning the Best Actor Oscar for his role in The Father, Anthony Hopkins has signed on to star in the movie’s follow-up, The Son.

Embankment and Cross City have sold out on The Son, Florian Zeller’s second feature following the Oscar winning The Father.

Audrey Diwan has emerged as one of the most exciting and relevant new voices of contemporary world cinema with her sophomore outing, “Happening.”Working with a tight budget, a fairly unknown lead actress (Anamaria Vartolomei) and a polarizing topic, Diwan was able to deliver a nuanced and relatable portrayal of Anne, a bright young female student determined to rise above her social upbringing who faces an unwanted pregnancy in 1960’s France — at a time when abortion was considered a crime.“Happening,” based on Annie Emaux’s semi-autobiographical novel, is now one of the three movies pre-selected by France’s Oscar committee to vie for an international feature film nomination, along with Julia Ducournau’s Cannes’ Palme d’Or winning “Titane”

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentAfter beating the odds last year by hosting a physical edition in the midst of the pandemic, Cannes’ chief Thierry Fremaux’s Lumière festival kicked off in Lyon with great fanfare and prestigious guests including Paolo Sorrentino, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Netflix’s co-CEO Ted Sarandos, Valeria Golino, Joachim Trier, Rossy de Palma, Melanie Laurent and Edouard Baer. The festival, which unfolds in the birthplace of the Cinematograph and its creators, the Lumière brothers, is dedicating its 13th edition to its long-time president Bertrand Tavernier, the beloved filmmaker who recently died.

Clayton Davis Audrey Diwan’s “Happening,” one of the three shortlisted films to represent France for the upcoming 94th Academy Awards, will make its North American premiere at the Chicago Film Festival as part of the Global Currants and Women in Cinema program on Saturday, Oct. 17.“Happening” (L’événement) had its world premiere at the 78th Venice Film Festival, winning the Golden Lion, making Diwan one of only five women who have ever won since 1949.Just acquired by IFC Films and Film Nation, the film is an adaptation of Annie Ernaux’s eponymous novel that looks back on her experience with abortion when it was still illegal in France in the 1960s.

Titane filmmaker Julia Ducournau didn’t just make history this year as the first female director to win Cannes Film Festival’s Palme d’Or solo, she was also the first to find out she had won the prize twice during the ceremony.