Ride; the waves in Helen Hunts new movie

‘Ride’ is the tale of a single mother who travels across the US to join her college dropout son as he begins his new life as a surfer.

The film is written and directed by Helen Hunt: “I had this idea hearing the phrase ‘soccer mom’ all the time, in Canada you hear ‘hockey mom’, in LA you hear ‘surf moms.’ And there’s all these moms sort of benched while their kids play and I thought, ‘You should be flipping that around and we need to get the mother on the field or in the water so that was sort of the impetus for the movie.”

As well a writing and directing ‘Ride’ Hunt steps from behind the camera to perform in the movie, she says it was inevitable: 

“The first movie I made I told myself, I played this game with myself as if I wasn’t going to be in it and then ultimately I was. This time I didn’t bother because I really didn’t think I could get another actor to put up with what I put up with. I was in the ocean for nine hours at a stretch. You can’t ask a civilized human being to do that.”

‘Ride’ is currently making waves in the US and Canada.

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International choreographers perform at the Cairo Dance Festival

Suijkerbuijk has worked as an artist in residence at the Ezzat Ezzat Dance Company in Caïro, Egypt.

“It’s a collaboration between seven choreographers, who by chance all wanted to perform to work in the same period, so we decided to work together, and create one festival.”

Along with Ezzat Ismail the duo performed ‘Continued,’ which represents life as a continues movement.

Ezzat Ismail describes the piece: “It exposes the moments when we are hit by life’s problems and how they affect us, and shows the psychological impact when these problems are over, also how can we accept the problems and how we can continue in this life.”

‘The Balance’ choreographed by Egyptian dancer Hossam Abd Elhameed describes dream and balance and the relationship they share.

The choreographer explains:“It’s the balance between the past and the present and between the good and bad things, and between different types of dance, trying to explain human emotion, like hate and control, I tried to mix all these things together, me and the other person who is my mirror.”

American Megan Mazarick presented “Monster” a piece of work, which creates fantasy by mixing up archetypes.

Cairo-based NUT Dance Company presented “Bolt” a show by choreographer Hazem Header focusing on issues of gender in Egyptian society.

Our correspondent in Cairo Mohammed Shaikhibrahim says:

“Dance troupes crossed borders bringing with them a message of peace, joy and escapism for those living in the turbulent region.”

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The Turkish ghost town where Russell Crowe filmed The Water Diviner

Turkish hotel owner Mustafa is recalling the time he woke up to find Hollywood star Russel Crowe outside his bedroom window.'I opened my curtains and said, "Bloody hell!" I could see a film crew 300 yards away,' he says, pointing towards the hundreds of abandoned stone houses lining the hillside.We're in Kayakoy, one of the world's spookiest 'ghost towns' near Oludeniz in south-west Turkey, where Crowe filmed scenes for his latest movie The Water Diviner.Scroll down for video   The ghost town of Kayakoy was chosen as a location as it has remained largely untouched since the 1920sCrowe plays Australian farmer Joshua Connor, who travels to Turkey to discover the fate of his three sons, who went missing at the Battle of Gallipoli during the First World War.Crowe chose Kayakoy as a location as the area has remained largely untouched since the 1920s.It was once a thriving village but the population exchange agreement of 1923, following the Greco-Turkish war, saw Kayakoy's mostly Greek inhabitants sent to Greece, while attempts to settle Turkish-speaking people from Greece in Kayakoy failed.
Crowe plays Australian farmer Joshua Connor, who travels to Turkey to discover the fate of his three sons, who went missing at the Battle of Gallipoli during the First World War The lower church in Kayakoy is closed for restoration. When it will reopen is anybody's guessAlthough Kayakoy has been a protected archaeological site since the 1980s, there are plans to develop it.Opponents fear it will lose its authenticity and have set up a Facebook group to save it. Louis de Bernières, whose novel Birds Without Wings was inspired by the setting, is one of those uncertain about the ghost town's future. For now, there are few signs of mass tourism.A handful of restaurants sit at the entrance to the town, and the only attempts to lure tourists are souvenir stalls and a sign advertising camel treks. Looking for a nearby beach, try the beautiful heart-shaped sands of the Blue Lagoon in the Bay of Oludeniz Russell Crowe stayed at the Yacht Classic hotel in Fethiye, in one of its water villasWhen my husband and I enter, we discover the lower church, where Crowe filmed, is closed for restoration. When it will reopen is anybody's guess. It has been locked up for months with no sign of work. Locals shrug and say: 'Turkish time.

We follow a walking map that takes us round the town. It's 9.30am but already the sun is blazing and I feel my heart pounding as we take the steep, rocky path up the hill.The air is still except for the chorus of crickets. We stop to peer into one of the houses - its roof is missing and a tree is growing inside.A lizard scurries up one of the walls. It's hard to imagine the lively place this once was.After an hour of exploring, it's back to civilisation in nearby Fethiye and our luxury hotel, the Yacht Classic, where Crowe stayed in one of its water villas.Anatolian Sky Holidays  offers seven nights at the Yacht Classic Hotel in Fethiye from £659 per person. This includes return flights from Gatwick, transfers and B&B accommodation.Tours of Kayakoy can be arranged for £28 per person. Daniel Craig stayed in the penthouse while filming Skyfall and it was renamed the 007 James Bond PenthouseHe's not the only famous guest. Daniel Craig stayed in the penthouse while filming Skyfall and it has been renamed the 007 James Bond Penthouse.

At nearby Koca Calis beach, where Skyfall's beach scene was shot, every bar claims to be 'the 007 bar'. In reality, the film's purpose-built bar has long since been dismantled. Locally, it's worth visiting the blue lagoon at Oludeniz, taking a '12 islands' boat trip, and going to one of newsreader Michael Buerk's favourite restaurants, Oztoklu, in Fethiye. Here the owners take us to the neighbouring fish market to choose our dinner before it is cooked using a family recipe.

Yacht Classic owner Banuhan Argin tells us that Daniel Craig stuck to a diet of sea bass, salmon and spinach during his stay, while Russell Crowe loved a big steak.'They had different styles,' she says.'Daniel wanted to be alone but Russell had parties with 200 guests. There were wine barrels everywhere. I think they both loved Fethiye because when they were checking out, I saw the smile.

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Man on intense slingshot ride maintains straight face as he is thrown into the air

When people on amusement park rides are captured on video they can generally be seen screaming in fear or gripping the safety bars.But one man showed off the unique way in which he enjoys the thrill of a ride – by keeping a ‘stone cold’ straight face and staring down the lens of the camera.Huy Nguyen was filmed riding the Human Sling Shot – also known as a reverse bungee – in Kissimmee, Florida. Huy manages to maintain eye contact with the camera despite being thrown about in the capsuleThe video opens with Huy staring at the camera while sitting alongside a fellow passenger already in position.While she holds the handles in anticipation and looks up in excitement, Huy relaxes with his hands by his side as if sitting on any regular chair.Suddenly the slingshot is fired into the air and immediately the fellow passenger begins screaming.

Despite being thrown about and the wind moving his hair back and forth, Huy manages to maintain eye contact with the camera. Huy's fellow passenger screams throughout the ride that enables its users to experience total weightlessnessAs the ride comes to an end the fellow passenger laughs and puffs out her cheeks.Huy then reacts for the first time by putting his thumbs up to the camera.The hilarious video was uploaded to Reddit and Huy’s lack of a reaction – to what is considered an intense ride – has garnered many comments of approval. The video was uploaded to Reddit and Huy’s lack of a reaction has garnered many comments of approvalReddit user zaffaroni wrote: ‘This is so comfortably disturbing’.The slingshot ride was invented by Troy Griffin in 1978 as an alternative to the bungee jump.The capsule is catapulted vertically with a g-force of 3–5 and enables passengers to experience total weightlessness. 

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Finnish punk rockers with Down's, Autism and Attitude enter Eurovision

Kari, Pertti, Sami and Toni will be representing Finland at the upcoming Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna.
The quartet, whose members suffer from mental disabilities like Down’s Syndrome and Autism, say they entered the contest to raise awareness about people with disabilities.
The first punk band to compete for the top prize at Eurovision, they are confident their style will appeal to voters.
“Well, we think that our music will be well received, just like any other type of music,” says Sami, the band’s bass player.
“You can always give it a try,” adds singer Kari.
Founded in 2009, PKN – short for Pertti Kurikan Nimipäivät (Pertti Kurikka’s Name Day) – has released five EPs and one album. Already a household name at home, they have toured Scandinavia, Europe and North America.
The band’s rise is chronicled in an award-winning documentary, ‘The Punk Syndrome’, a story of rebellion against the mainstream by people with disabilities, available on Vimeo on Demand with subtitles in seven European languages
After an Israeli transgender diva and a bearded Austrian drag queen, these could be the latest artists to challenge prejudice at the Eurovision song contest. Finland has a history of breaking the Eurovision mould: the contest’s first heavy metal glam-rock monster band, Lordi, gave the country its only victory back in 2006 with ‘Hard Rock Hallelujah’.
In true punk style, band members will be offering no concessions to Eurovision norms of style, saying they will make no changes in how they look or what they wear for the contest.
And what viewers can most look forward to is making fun of those trying to pronounce the band’s full name on the night.
Rendez-vous on 23rd May in Vienna.

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Matthias Schoenaerts co-stars in Thomas Hardy film adaptation

Based on Thomas Hardy’s classic novel of the same name, ‘Far From The Madding Crowd’ stars Carey Mulligan as a headstrong, independent country girl who inherits a large farm in Victorian England.

Bathsheba has her choice of three different suitors, a sheep farmer, a dashing soldier and a prosperous, older bachelor.

The Oscar-nominated actress says she was delighted to take on the lead role in this Thomas Hardy adaptation: “I was so excited to get to work on an adaptation of Hardy. I think his work is so interesting and detailed and dark in a way that a lot of (Jane) Austin… you know the Austin heroines have a slight lighter quality to them. Hardy heroines have a real depth and darkness to them.”

Since making a strong impression in the 2012 Cannes film festival hit ‘Rust and Bones’, Mulligan’s on screen romantic interest, Matthias Schoenaerts, has been shooting non-stop.

The Belgian actor explains what drew him to this role: “What attracted me the most was Gabriel, and the things he represents. His truthfulness, his honesty, his consistency, his determination, his loyalty, his friendship. Those are things that I really value in people and in life and I really see him as an example, even for myself,” he says.

‘Far from the Madding Crowd’ was last brought to the big screen in 1967 by Oscar-winning director John Schlesinger. This version is helmed by award-winning Danish filmmaker Thomas Vinterberg, who says he wanted to put a fresh spin on Hardy’s iconic characters: “Not knowing very much of Thomas Hardy before, I was overwhelmed by his descriptions of his characters, and his sort of playing around with fate, and fatalism. I thought that was very rich and he sort of reminded me that you can’t control life. It’ll easily control you, which I thought was great.”

The film has opened to mostly positive reviews with critics calling it sumptuously filmed, handsome and well played though they also describe it it as frustratingly polite adding that it could do with a little less polish.

‘Far From The Madding Crowd’ is on global release from now.

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Amy Winehouse's family slam biopic about the dead singer

A biopic about Amy Winehouse has been slammed by her family ahead of its Cannes film festival premiere.

Considered one of the most talented artists of her generation, Winehouse struggled with drug and alcohol problems throughout her career. She died of alcohol poisoning in July 2011 at the age of 27.

The film is the work of British director Asif Kapadia, who won a BAFTA for his documentary on the late Formula One racing driver Ayrton Senna.

Winehouse’s father complains that the doc offers a black-and-white portrait, treating him, his daughter’s former manager and her ex-husband as villains.

“What they’ve tried to do is they’ve tried to do a film which is a Hollywood blockbuster. They’ve forgotten it’s a documentary, so there’s a hero, a villain, me – in the main – and Raye (Amy’s manager) and Blake (Amy’s ex-husband Blake Fielder-Civil), obviously, and there’s the heroine who dies at the end, which is Amy. I mean, they’ve deliberately shown me at my worst, saying things that are taken out of context, saying things that are heavily edited,” says Mitch Winehouse.

Winehouse’s family have disassociated themselves from the film, saying it does a disservice to individuals and families suffering from the complicated affliction of addiction.

“I’m not just fighting for me, I’m fighting for Amy,” says Mitch Winehouse. “Because this is not the film that Amy would have wanted. She would want her true friends to be recognised, which they’re not, she would want the man she was going to marry to be mentioned in the film, which he’s not. She’d want me not to be portrayed in this light because she knows what we all went through. So we have now withdrawn our approval of the film. On the credits, it shouldn’t have any reference to us because we don’t support the film in any way.”

The filmmakers claim they approached the project with total objectivity, conducted some 100 interviews with people who knew Amy Winehouse, including friends, family and former partners, and that the film is a reflection of their findings.

One of the most hotly-anticipated releases of the year for music fans, ‘Amy’, the documentary about the tragic life and death of British singer Amy Winehouse, is being screened at the Cannes Film Festival in May.

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Sweet tooth's heaven: chocolate festival in Obidos, Portugal

Welcome to Obidos and its International Chocolate Festival.

Whether they like it dark, milk or white, each year around 200,000 visitors gather in this medieval Portuguese town to indulge on chocolate, chocolate and more chocolate.

The theme of the festival this year is love.

“Obidos is a romantic town and many people come here to be with their significant other,” said Ricardo Ribeiro, the festival’s organiser.

“Obidos is a land of passion. When we like someone we offer them chocolates, so I think it’s the perfect connection. And here is the place of the great love story between Pedro and Ines – so you have Obidos, chocolate, and their common denominator, love: it’s the perfect connection.”

If there’s a real-life equivalent to Romeo and Juliet in Portugal it’s indeed the forbidden romance between Prince Pedro and Ines in the 14th century.

Pedro’s father, King Afonso IV, opposed the union and ordered to kill Ines, but Pedro swore to avenge her and launched Portugal into civil war.

The tragedy has inspired many artists and poets across the centuriers. Today, it is being celebrated in Obidos with some mouth-watering sculptures.

But chocolate is not the easiest material to work with, as artist Diogo Esteves explains: “We need to be careful with humidity, because water ruins chocolate just like heat does. This is why we use air conditioning to control the room’s temperature. The sculptures cannot stand variations in temperature, otherwise they can be completely ruined.”

Children here get their own house of wonders where they can combine their favourite foods: pizza and chocolate, complete with marshmallow and candy toppings… Yum.

Meanwhile grown-ups can drink up a traditional sour cherry liquor – in a chocolate cup.

The Obidos Chocolate Festival runs until May 3rd.

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Paris exhibition marks centenary of Edith Piaf's birth

An exhibition dedicated to French singer Edith Piaf, whose ballads about love and sorrow turned her into an international icon, has opened in Paris to mark the centenary of her birth.

Among the 400 objects on show at the Bibliothèque Nationale de France are posters, letters, manuscripts, photographs, film clips and even her signature black dress.

“Thanks to this layout and to the audio-guide, which offers an extra sound dimension to the exhibition, you get a real taste of Piaf’s universe, or should I say of her universes, and we hope that visitors will really enjoy the show from beginning to end,” said curator Joël Huthwohl.

Edith Piaf had a song for every occasion, most of which mirrored the drama of her colourful life.

The daughter of street performers, she was abandoned by her mother and spent part of her childhood in a brothel run by her grandmother. The singer later said she believed her weakness for men came from mixing with prostitutes. I thought that when a boy called a girl, she would never refuse, she would later say.

“I feel very emotional, I find that she’s a remarkable woman, everything she went through in her life and all that she achieved in such a short time, it’s amazing. Her voice is just so strong and powerful,” said one visitor from Switzerland.

“I was lucky to live in Menilmontant, in the very same street as Edith Piaf, which is why I really wanted to see this exhibition, which is very good as it gives a truthful account of her life just the way it was,” said another.

The singer died in 1963 at the age of 47.

‘Piaf’, an exhibition chronicling the iconic French singer’s life, runs at the Bibliotheque Nationale de France in Paris until the end of August.

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