Category: media

Under the Taliban, TV was forbidden in Afghanistan. But now “television is off to a phenomenal start, with Afghans now engrossed, for better or worse, in much of the same escapist fare that seduces the rest of the world: soap operas that pit the unbearably conniving against the implausibly virtuous, chefs preparing meals that most people would never eat in kitchens they could never afford, talk show hosts wheedling secrets from those too shameless to keep their troubles to themselves.”

A new movie released in Pakistan is being hailed as a remarkable look at the central conflict in the Islamic world – that of moderates versus jihadists – and Pakistanis of all backgrounds are lining up by the thousands to see it. “The story of two musician brothers – one studies music in Chicago and the other becomes a Taliban fighter in Afghanistan following the American invasion – is a fantastical tale that warns its audience of the threat of Islamic radicalism to Pakistanis.”

The Venice Film Festival is adding a prize to its annual lineup which will recognize the best in gay/lesbian cinema. “The Queer Lion award, a take on the festival’s main Golden Lion prize, will go to the best full-length film featuring a gay theme or character. [It took] four years of negotiations to introduce the award.”

“Canadians are spending less time listening to radio, but the number of stations across the country is rising… Average weekly listening time – which includes mornings, at work and while driving, the three points of the day when most people tune in – has fallen substantially from eight years ago.”

“The National Archives and Records Administration announced yesterday that it has reached a non-exclusive agreement with Amazon.com and one of its subsidiaries to reproduce and sell to the public copies of thousands of historic films and videotapes in the Archives’ holdings. … Archives and CustomFlix officials stressed yesterday that the agreement is non-exclusive, unlike the controversial semi-exclusive deal the Smithsonian Institution struck recently with the cable television network Showtime.”

“Critics and gamers have long bickered over whether games are a form of art, on par with traditional genres like painting, poetry or novels. But now a new generation of artists are neatly inverting this debate — by making art about their experiences inside games.”

“Barcelona’s city hall is providing one million euros (£673,200) and the Catalan Regional Government half a million – 10% of the film’s budget. While some officials see this as an investment, local taxpayers are not convinced.”

The latest Jane Austen film to emerge from Hollywood is actually about the author herself – specifically, about her romance with law student Tom LeFroy and his effect on her literary passions. Austen scholars are not expected to be among the film’s fans. “It’s all very be-still-my-beating-heart.” It’s also all very speculative, which is a nice way of saying that it’s probably very untrue.

Think being an indie filmmaker sounds like fun, working independent of the big studios and calling your own shots? Think again: “you can be a film festival favorite one day, the victim of a poor test screening the next, and then wake up in the hands of a new, untested distributor.”