Diversity: Last News

Jamie Lang As Passion Pictures approaches its 20th year of business, the company’s French satellite, Passion Paris, has appointed Caroline Audebert as its new Managing Director. Audebert will oversee future expansion, such as the opening of a new creative studio on Quai de Jemmapes. The bespoke space is custom-made for Passion’s 2D series work as well as its 3D and stop-motion production for shorts and series.

Major changes due to be made to a train route that runs through Oldham borough ‘will cause some disruption’, the council has warned. Network Rail is planning to undertake an upgrade of the Transpennine Route, which will fully electrify the trainline running between Stalybridge and Greenfield.

The family of missing Victoria Taylor have issued a statement as the hunt for the 34-year-old continues.

Big Brother is back this Sunday on ITV, with a new batch of hopefuls hoping to make it all the way to the final and win the show. AJ Odudu and Will Best are back at the helm, having already hosted one civilian series and one celebrity version previously.

The search for missing mum Victoria Taylor has entered its fourth day, with police divers continuing to scour a river, while a touching photo of her was shared online.

The M67 will be closed this weekend with bridge demolition works set to go ahead.

Gordon Cox Theater Editor The playwright Jez Butterworth recently had perhaps the most eventful recording session in the history of “Stagecraft,” Variety’s theater podcast. Listen to this week’s “Stagecraft” podcast below: “In the course of this call, I have returned one dog to its owner and seen four foxes,” Butterworth said during a conversation with director Sam Mendes about their latest Broadway project, “The Hills of California.” With Mendes recording from New York, where “Hills” opened Sept.

K.J. Yossman Sony Pictures-owned VFX studio Pixomondo has set its new heads of business development in Europe and North America. The pre-production, virtual production and visual effects studio has upped Michelle Martin to lead in Europe and Naomi Foakes in the U.S.

A number of flood 'warnings' and flood 'alerts' remained in force across Greater Manchester on Tuesday morning.

A model with a 126cm behind has lashed out at societal standards for discriminating against larger body shapes.

A tragic triple stabbing on the streets of Clapham has resulted in one fatality and two individuals hospitalised following an early morning altercation, as confirmed by emergency services. Paramedics were dispatched to Wandsworth Road on the border of Clapham and Battersea at 4am today after receiving reports of the incident.

Callum McLennan SAN SEBASTIAN — Among the diverse projects emerging from the Madrid Film School ECAM incubator, “Flowers For An Absent Mother” (“Flores para una madre ausente”), the feature debut of writer-director Ana Puentes Margarito, is poised to stand out for its intimate yet universally resonant story of family conflict and emotional recovery. Workshopped and refined through labs like LabGuion, FinLab and ECAM’s prestigious Incubator, the project has undergone a transformative journey. Puentes Margarito credits screenwriter Isabel Peña (“The Beasts,” “The Candidate”) as a key mentor in shaping the film’s final script.

A number of mosques across the country are holding open days to the wider public in efforts to tackle Islamophobia. 'Visit My Mosque' is part of a scheme set up by the Muslim Council of Britain and hopes to highlight the personal experiences and reflections from diverse Muslim communities.

Christopher Vourlias LevelK has boarded Paula Korva’s “Sudden Outbursts of Emotion,” a sex-positive comedy about the complexities of modern love and midlife crises, which took home the top prize this week at the Finnish Film Affair, an annual industry event running parallel to the Helsinki Intl. Film Festival. Korva’s feature debut follows Jane, a travel agent who sells people on adventure but is happily settled in her own life with her partner, Mikki.

The world of queer cinema has been significantly shaped by LGBTQ+ filmmakers from various regions. Ontario and Atlanta stand out as two cities where filmmakers have pushed the boundaries of queer storytelling, creating narratives that resonate globally.

Pub and bar giant Mitchells & Butlers has revealed slower sales growth in the latest quarter after damp summer weather and disruption from UK riots in August.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter Legendary Television has hired Ruth Chen as its new senior vice president of television business and legal affairs, Variety has learned exclusively. In her new role, Chen will work across Legendary’s scripted and unscripted slate, with a focus on international co-productions. She will report to Lee Rierson, Legendary’s executive vice president and head of TV business and legal affairs.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Operating for only the third time, the Jakarta World Cinema film festival is bringing a diverse slate of global and local pictures to Indonesia’s biggest city. It kicked off in high style on Saturday with a screening of Coralie Fargeat’s “The Substance.” The body horror-fantasy debuted at Cannes and has already proved a popular choice as either opening or closing film at multiple film festivals. In Jakarta, it got a reaction, extracting shrieks, gasps and applause from the opening night crowd. Earlier, in a breezy ceremony, complete with dancers replicating some of “The Substance’s” fitness moves, audiences had been told that organizers had assembled a lineup of just over a hundred titles. In a country, where cinema is popular, but a class of risk-taking indie distributors is an industry sector has yet to be fully developed, that is a significant number.

Naman Ramachandran The BFI London Film Festival is set to unveil a diverse slate of promising U.K. features at its fifth annual Works-in-Progress Showcase, offering a glimpse into the future of British cinema. Nine projects, ranging from gritty documentaries to offbeat comedies, will be presented to industry professionals on Oct.

Holy Trinity Church in Ayr has launched a new initiative with a “unique” singing programme.

K.J. Yossman Media entrepreneur and Luti Media founder Luti Fagbenle has launched a new TV production company called Osun Group, tapping “Supacell” producer Sheila Nortley as head of drama and exec producer. Osun will focus on compelling, high-end television, providing a comprehensive production framework with specialised teams across areas including production management, finance, legal, human resources and IT.