This is Beirut

El Fan Connects Lebanese Artists with European Audiences in 2025

Marie-Christine Tayah, 23/04 14:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

El Fan Culture Art Artists Lebanon France

Since its inception in November 2022, El Fan has established itself as a key player in the French-Lebanese cultural landscape. Driven by Fabienne Touma’s vision and based in France, the platform functions as both a directory of artists and a committed project designed to amplify Lebanese artistic voices internationally. “When I first ...

Oscar Voters Must Watch All Nominated Films First

This is Beirut, 22/04 12:00 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Oscars Cinema Film Culture Art

Oscar voters will be required to demonstrate that they have watched all the films in each category before they cast their final ballots, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced Monday. The new rule, which addresses a longstanding concern that voters are skipping some films, will apply for the next Oscars ceremony in March 2026, ...

'Andor' Ends as Boldest and Darkest Series of 'Star Wars'

This is Beirut, 20/04 19:20 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Series TV Andor Culture Art

Often hailed by critics as “the best Star Wars series,” Andor returns this Wednesday for its final season—shaped by historical accounts of war and revolution, according to creator Tony Gilroy. Premiering on Disney+ in 2022, the large-scale production cost over $645 million across its two seasons, according to Forbes. The show traces the ...

AI-Generated Starter Packs and Ghibli Art Go Viral

This is Beirut, 20/04 10:00 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

AI Ghibli Art

There's no escaping them on social media—those plastic blister-packed figurine-style images complete with quirky accessories, known as “starter packs.” A playful trend, yes, but one that stirs deeper questions about copyright, environmental impact, and data privacy. One image shows a long-haired doll next to a tiny dog and an embroidery ...

Mulatu Astatke’s Timeless Ethio-Jazz Legacy Continues Worldwide

This is Beirut, 18/04 10:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Music Jazz Art Cuture Paris Ethiopia

Mulatu Astatke struggled for decades before his name became associated worldwide with a musical genre, and he was finally born as the father of Ethio-jazz. Now, despite that long journey and his 81 years of age, the Ethiopian music legend cannot even "think about retirement." A one-man band, equally at home with the vibraphone and the conga, a ...

Christian Lacroix Reveals His True Calling in Costumes

This is Beirut, 17/04 10:30 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Fashion France Christian Lacroix Paris Luxury Art

He describes himself as an “impostor” in haute couture: at 73, Christian Lacroix is now fully dedicated to what he calls his “real profession”—that of a costume designer. His flamboyant style, shaped by fashion history, folklore, and painting, now finds its true expression on the stage. “As a child, I thought in terms of costumes, of ...

Peru Pays Final Tribute to Literary Giant Vargas Llosa

This is Beirut, 15/04 15:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Culture Art Peru Mario Vargas Llosa Writer

The Peruvian flag flew at half-staff Monday as the South American country marked the passing of literary great Mario Vargas Llosa with a day of national mourning. Tributes poured in from around the world as President Dina Boluarte attended a private wake at the Vargas Llosa family home for the novelist and Nobel laureate, who died there Sunday ...

'A Minecraft Movie' Breaks Records, Tops Box Office Again

This is Beirut, 14/04 14:00 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Movies Cinema Culture Art US

A Minecraft Movie easily held on to the top spot in North American theaters this weekend with estimated ticket sales of a solid $80.6 million, analysts said Sunday. That was roughly half the total of its huge opening last weekend. But with $281 million in domestic ticket sales to date, along with $269 million internationally, Minecraft has set ...

Five Fascinating Things to Know About Expo 2025 Osaka

This is Beirut, 14/04 10:00 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Osaka Japan Expo 2025 Exhibition Art Culture

A multi-eyed mascot, a vast wooden Grand Ring, 160 countries and regions strutting their stuff, and robots and sushi galore: Expo 2025 began on Sunday in Osaka, Japan. The World Expo is held every five years in different global locations. Here are five things to know about this event, which runs until mid-October. Grand Ring Encircling dozens of ...

Disneyland Paris Unveils First Fully Transformed Studio Building

This is Beirut, 13/04 14:00 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Disney Premiere Paris Disneyland Culture Art

Disneyland Paris will open to the public on May 15 the newly redesigned “World Premiere,” a fully reimagined building and the first step in the massive renovation of its second park, Walt Disney Studios, which is set to double in size. The American group The Walt Disney Company announced in 2018 a large-scale expansion and transformation plan ...

Lady Gaga, Missy Elliott Set Coachella on Fire

This is Beirut, 12/04 18:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Music Festival Culture Art

The California desert was buzzing Friday as the premier music festival Coachella got underway, with Lady Gaga and Missy Elliott set to helm day one's main stage. Thousands of music fans traversed the sprawling grounds whipping paper fans and wielding parasols, as temperatures cracked the 100-degree Fahrenheit mark (37.8 degrees Celsius). That ...

Ellen Pompeo Reinvents Herself in Chilling New Series

This is Beirut, 12/04 15:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Series Art Film Psychology Thriller

After 20 years saving lives in the title role of Grey’s Anatomy, actress Ellen Pompeo makes a dramatic career shift in Good American Family, a tense series inspired by true events where she plays a disturbing adoptive mother — a “big challenge” she had long been hoping for. Already airing in the United States since March and arriving ...

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