News and stories on CULTURE, movies, music, literature

GRAMMY AWARDS

Adele sweeps Grammys amid Whitney Houston tributes

British soul singer Adele took six Grammy pop music awards on Sunday, narrowly beating out the Foo Fighters, who won five awards. The Grammys also paid tribute to pop idol Whitney Houston, who was found dead earlier in the day.

FRENCH CINEMA

'The Artist' sweeps BAFTAs

The French silent film sensation "The Artist" swept Sunday's BAFTA awards, winning best film, best director, and best leading actor for star Jean Dujardin (pictured).

MUSIC

Whitney Houston's life, death and musical legacy

The world of music has been left stunned and saddened by the death of American singer Whitney Houston. FRANCE 24 takes a look back at her rise to stardom in the 1980s, her fall into drug addiction, and her musical legacy.

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PHOTOGRAPHY

Arab Spring picture wins World Press Photo Award

Spanish freelance photographer Samuel Aranda won the World Press Photo Award for his portrait of a woman in Yemen cradling a wounded relative (pictured). The photo, which ran in the New York Times, came to symbolise the Arab Spring.

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Germany

Berlin film festival opens with French revolution drama

The Berlin Film Festival kicks off Thursday with the world premiere of "Farewell My Queen", a French-language film about the revolution. Other films include Angelina Jolie's Bosnian war drama “In the Land of Blood and Honey”.

LITERATURE

Britain marks 200 years since Charles Dickens' birth

Britain marked 200 years since Charles Dickens' birth on Tuesday with Prince Charles laying a wreath at his grave in London's Westminster Abbey, where he was buried in 1870. Dickens is the author of such enduring classics as "A Christmas Carol".

CONTEMPORARY ART

Avant-garde sculptor and painter Antoni Tapies dies

Catalan avant-garde artist Antoni Tapies, has died aged 88, his art foundation said Tuesday. He began as a surrealist painter then moved towards informal art, incorporating waste paper, rags and other material into his canvases.

CULTURE

Depardieu to star in US film on Strauss-Kahn scandal

American director Abel Ferrara plans to make a film starring Gerard Depardieu (pictured) as Dominique Strauss-Kahn, whose political career was destroyed by a hotel maid's allegations of rape, with Isabelle Adjani in the role of his wife.

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'Zarafa': the tale of French giraffe mania

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CULTURE

US actor Ben Gazzara dies of pancreatic cancer aged 81

American actor Ben Gazzara died of pancreatic cancer Friday at the age of 81 in a Manhattan hospital, his attorney said.

CINEMA

Berlin Film Festival competition dips into the past

This year’s selection at the Berlin International Film Festival spans genres and geography, but features a large number of movies that look backward to various periods of history. UK director Mike Leigh (pictured) will serve as jury chair.

CINEMA

The Artist at the Oscars – a triumph for silent film and relentless campaigning

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OBITUARY

Nobel Prize-winning poet Szymborska dies aged 88

Wislawa Szymborska (pictured), a Nobel Prize laureate in poetry, died of lung cancer Wednesday, aged 88. Arguably the most popular poet in Poland, she tackled serious subjects with simplicity and humour.

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CULTURE

‘Kill It Kid’ bringing the blues back
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Marlon Roudette conquers Europe
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Emel Mathlouthi: the voice of the Arab Spring

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CINEMA

Hazanavicius takes Directors Guild honour for 'The Artist'

French filmmaker Michel Hazanavicius took the top award from the Directors Guild of America for "The Artist" on Saturday, beating out Woody Allen for "Midnight in Paris" and Martin Scorsese for "Hugo".

UK - OLYMPICS

Danny Boyle unveils London Olympics opening ceremony theme

Oscar-winning film director Danny Boyle, the artistic director for the 2012 Olympic Games opening ceremony in London, revealed Friday that the ceremony will be a Shakespeare-inspired celebration of British culture.

FESTIVALS

Honoured at Angoulême, Spiegelman tries to turn the page on ‘Maus’

The guest of honour at this year’s Angoulême Comics Festival is renowned US comic book writer Art Spiegelman, whose new book looks back at the process of creating “Maus”, the work that brought him worldwide fame – and a bit of discomfort.

CINEMA - OBITUARY

Greek film director Theo Angelopoulos dies at 76

Greece's foremost film director Theo Angelopoulos died Tuesday of a cerebral heamorrhage after being hit by a motorcycle while crossing a street. He was 76. His "Eternity and a Day" won the Palme d'or at the Cannes film festival in 1998.

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ASIA-PACIFIC

Asia welcomes the lunar Year of the Dragon

More than a billion Asians welcomed the Year of the Dragon on Monday as they celebrated the start of the lunar new year with feasts and fireworks from Malaysia to the Koreas. A dragon year is thought to bring luck and prosperity but also volatility.

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