SOLIDARITY: Last News

Christopher Vourlias Belarusian filmmakers and industry professionals gathered in Berlin on Friday to announce the launch of the Belarusian Film Academy (BIFA), an organization formed to give a platform to independent filmmakers in the repressive former Soviet republic and staunch Kremlin ally. Born in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, when more than 130 Belarusian filmmakers signed a collective statement condemning the unprovoked act of aggression, the academy was created to “solidify, unite and support” their voices, according to co-founder Volia Chajkouskaya. “Living under state censorship and control, we have been searching for ways to unite for a long time,” said Chajkouskaya, a producer, director and founder of the Northern Lights Film Festival. “Since [the start of the Ukraine war], we all continued to face challenges individually and felt that we should unite in solidarity to form a unified front.”

Actors’ Equity Association is looking to change its name to be more reflective of its entire membership.

The family of teenager Brianna Ghey, who was found stabbed in a park, are 'overwhelmed by support and compassion' from across the country, police said.

While LGBTQIA+ activism in Australia did not start in 1978, the events of the first Mardi Gras Parade in 1978 were the most significant and far-reaching in Sydney’s queer history.The first activist organisations were the Australasian Lesbian Movement (originally the Daughters of Bilitis, named after the US organisation); the ACT Homosexual Law Reform Society formed in 1969; and CAMP Inc., established in 1970, which became the primary activist organisation.78ers march in the 2022 Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras parade.But how did the first Mardi Gras parade come about? Forty-five years ago, a letter from San Francisco asked Sydney activists to organise international solidarity activities in late June 1978 – the ninth anniversary of the 1969 Stonewall riots in New York.US activists were campaigning against the anti-gay Briggs Initiative on the California ballot that would have made it an offence for anyone employed in a school to speak positively about homosexuality.Sydney activists formed a coalition of lesbian and gay groups which became the Gay Solidarity Group. On 24 June 1978, they staged a Saturday morning protest march around the Sydney CBD, a forum on the international gay movement and a night-time, street party for our community.

Rihanna is getting real about motherhood and her decision to perform at the Super Bowl after a years-long hiatus!

Mourners lined the street outside Sackville Gardens to catch a glimpse of the vigil for Brianna Ghey, and to reflect. Hundreds had already poured into the park to pay their respects to the 16-year-old transgender girl, from Warrington.

Rihanna has explained her decision to agree to perform at the Super Bowl after infamously turning previous offers from the NFL down.The star rejected the organisation’s approach for her to be the Halftime Show performer in 2018. That move was made in solidarity with Colin Kaepernick, the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback who was shut out of the league after taking a knee to protest police brutality during the US national anthem at games.In a new interview with British Vogue, Rihanna acknowledged there were still issues with the system and society. “There’s still a lot of mending to be done in my eyes,” she said.

The 2023 Berlin Film Festival will open Thursday with a live video message from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Rihanna is preparing to shine bright like a diamond at the Super Bowl LVII halftime show, but she was initially wary to accept the offer.

Nearly 500 WGA members gathered today at the Writers Guild Theater in Los Angeles to hear their leaders discuss the guild’s upcoming negotiations for a new film and TV contract. The press wasn’t allowed inside, but out on the street, cheers and applause could be heard emanating from the meeting. This was the first of four member meetings that will be held this month, with two more scheduled in L.A. and one in New York.

WGA East-represented news writers and producers at HuffPost have ratified a new three-year contract. According to the guild, the pact was approved unanimously by the 91-member bargaining unit employed at the online news site.

In a show of solidarity, more than 400 film and TV writers – including Adam McKay, David Simon, Tina Fey, Alfonso Cuarón, Lilly Wachowski, John Waters and Alan Zweibel – have signed a petition calling on MSNBC to negotiate a fair first-time contract with the WGA East for the cable news network’s news writers and producers.

An uncanny, brand new waxwork of Rihanna was unveiled this Tuesday at the Madame Tussauds in New York City.The latest tribute is based on the sexy Pope look that Rihanna, 34, - who is rumored to be gearing up for a tour - wore to the Catholic-themed Met Gala in 2018.Madame Tussauds went public with the new wax figure just days before Rihanna is scheduled to perform the Super Bowl halftime show.Designed with scrupulous attention to the details of Rihanna's 2018 costume, the creation took about six months to put together, Billboard reports.The original outfit was designed by Maison Margiela and featured a bejeweled mini-dress that played up Rihanna's cleavage and flaunted her vertiginous legs.

The six-member editorial staff at Talking Points Memo has voted unanimously to ratify the WGA East’s new three-year contract with the political news website.

The WGA East and HuffPost have reached an agreement on a new three-year contract, averting a threatened strike. The guild’s contract with the online news outlet had been set to expire last night at midnight, and 98% of its 91 writers and editors had signed a pledge vowing to strike if a fair deal wasn’t reached.

Holy Spider star Zar Amir Ebrahimi led a demonstration in support of the people of Iran and the artists who have been detained by the country’s political regime at the Göteborg Film Festival Tuesday evening.

This year marks the 25th anniversary of Perth’s twinning with the Polish city of Bydgoszcz.

James Jeggo has put pen to paper on an 18-month deal at Hibs as the defensive midfielder becomes Lee Johnson's first January signing.

The on-air talent at Telemundo’s Spanish-language TV station KVEA 52 in Los Angeles have voted overwhelmingly to unionize with SAG-AFTRA, which called the vote “another major organizing victory in Spanish-language media.”

The NFL on Saturday postponed the start of today’s Tennessee Titans-Houston Texans game in Nashville by an hour because of rolling power outages in the state due to the massive winter storm hitting most of the U.S.

The sister of a man who died after being restrained by police officers has said she received racist abuse the evening before an inquiry into his death resumes.