Culture

French Cinema Emerges as Russia’s Cultural Lifeline Amid Western Boycotts

This is Beirut 10:30 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

French cinema Audiences Russia Sanctions Culture

On a cold autumn evening in Moscow, Alexandra was headed to a cinema, hoping to escape reality for a few hours by taking in a new French comedy. With Hollywood boycotting the Russian market over Moscow's offensive on Ukraine, French films are one of the few cultural windows Russians have left to the West. And even as relations between Paris and ...

HighlightA Symphony of Style: Lebanese Creativity Captivates the Paris Runways

Marie-Christine Tayah 09/10 18:00 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Fashion Paris Lebanon Designers Culture Fashion Week

This season, Paris once again moved to the rhythm of fashion. From September 27 to October 7, the city dressed in its finest attire to welcome Fashion Week, dedicated to the Women’s Ready-to-Wear Spring–Summer 2026 collections. On the official calendar, Lebanese designers once more carried high the banner of the Land of the Cedars on the ...

Dolly Parton, Country Singer, Reassures Fans with “I Ain’t Dead Yet” Message

This is Beirut 09/10 16:45 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Music Dolly Parton US culture

A very much alive Dolly Parton took to Instagram on Wednesday to declare "I ain't dead yet!" after her sister sent fans into a tailspin when she called for prayers for one of America's most beloved celebrities. In a video posted to her official account, the 79-year-old Queen of Country thanked the public for their concern, but insisted she was ...

Hungary’s Laszlo Krasznahorkai Wins Nobel Literature Prize

This is Beirut 09/10 14:25 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Nobel Prize Literature Laszlo Krasznahorkai Hungary Sweden Culture

The Nobel Prize in Literature was on Thursday awarded to Laszlo Krasznahorkai, considered by many as Hungary's most important living author whose works explore themes of postmodern dystopia and melancholy. The Swedish Academy honored him "for his compelling and visionary oeuvre that, in the midst of apocalyptic terror, reaffirms the power of ...

Countdown to Nobel Literature Prize 2025: Experts Favor Western Contenders

This is Beirut 09/10 12:10 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Literature Nobel Prize Speculations Sweden Culture

The Nobel literature prize could go to a Western author this Thursday, experts predict, though bookies have several authors from Asia as top picks even after South Korea's Han Kang last year became the first Asian woman to win. Awarding the prize to another woman this year would make history: it has never gone to a woman two years in a row, and ...

Netflix Docuseries: Inside Victoria Beckham’s Journey from Spice Girl to Fashion Mogul

This is Beirut 09/10 10:30 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Fashion Documentary Victoria Beckham Netflix Britain Culture

Ex-Spice Girl turned designer Victoria Beckham describes herself as someone who "desperately wanted to be liked" in a new three-part documentary about her life. In the Netflix series due to launch on Thursday, the 51-year-old once known as "Posh Spice" recounts her battle to reinvent herself as a fashion designer after the British girl band ...

ExplainerThe Couple and Life’s Challenges: Grief, Illness, Conflict, and Vulnerability

David Sahyoun 08/10 18:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Couple Psychoanalysis Challengens Culture

Life occasionally interrupts the usual flow of events. Illness, bereavement, separation, conflict, exile, and insecurity can erupt, and thought itself may falter. W. Bion describes these moments when the drive runs wild and suffering defends itself by halting thought. Sometimes one partner becomes the caregiver, the other the patient; this ...

Beirut Souks Celebrates its Relaunch

This is Beirut 08/10 11:10 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Lebanon Shops Beirut Downtown Beirut

Under the patronage of the Prime Minister, Nawaf Salam, Beirut Souks will host an official celebration marking its relaunch, reaffirming its position as a leading landmark at the heart of the capital. Following the arrival of numerous prestigious international and exclusive brands, Beirut Souks is once again set to stand as one of the city’s ...

Return To Elegance: Highlights from Paris Fashion Week

This is Beirut 08/10 10:30 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Paris Fashion Fashion Week Culture Art Luxury

A historic Paris Fashion Week has wrapped up after 10 days of Spring-Summer 2026 womenswear shows, featuring many new faces and hailed by critics as marking a "return to elegance". AFP looks back on the key moments: Global Makeover After a momentous Milan Fashion Week, marked by the absence of the late Giorgio Armani and new creative directors ...

Saudi Arabia Hosts its First Riyadh Comedy Festival

This is Beirut 07/10 18:00 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

Comedy Riyadh Comedy Festival Saudi Art Culture

Jokes about geriatric sex and endless profanity have been embraced by Saudi fans at the Riyadh Comedy Festival even as foreign comedians face a backlash for taking part. The star-studded event, backed by a Saudi government body, has driven a wedge through the stand-up scene, as comics who staunchly defend free speech in the West are accused of ...

Nobel Literature Buzz Tips Swiss Postmodernist, Australians for Prize

This is Beirut 07/10 15:05 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Nobel Prize Literature Culture Art Academy Prize

Swiss postmodernist novelist Christian Kracht and Australia's Gerald Murnane and Alexis Wright are among the favorites for the Nobel literature prize, experts told AFP ahead of the Swedish Academy's much-anticipated announcement on Thursday. The academy made history last year by choosing South Korea's Han Kang, making her the first Asian woman to ...

Matthieu Blazy Launches Chanel’s New Era With Starry Paris Debut

This is Beirut 07/10 13:00 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Chanel Paris Fashion Week Culture Fashion Luxury

New Chanel designer Matthieu Blazy unveiled his first sumptuous collection on Monday in front of a crowd of admirers and stars sitting beneath giant glowing planets during Paris Fashion Week. Ahead of the most anticipated show of the season, some had wondered how much the 41-year-old would dare change the classic designs of the French ...