Dhaka, Feb 7 (UNB) - A five-day screening of Iranian films and photo exhibition will begin in the city on Friday.

Iranian Cultural Centre, Dhaka and Bangladesh National Museum will jointly organize the film screening at the Begum Sufia Kamal Auditorium of the museum. 

An inaugural session will be held at the main auditorium of the National Museum at 3.30 pm on the opening day.

Information Minister Hasan Mahmud is scheduled to be present as the chief guest.

Mohammad Reza Nafar, Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Bangladesh and Touqir Ahmed, eminent actor and film director, will be present as special guests.

The inaugural programme  will be followed by screening of the first film in the showcase, ‘M for Mother’, directed by Rasoul Mollagholipour.

Mumbai, India, Feb 7: Just a month after launching its campaign #Sharethelove for Pakistan and Bangladesh, ZEE5 [https://www.zee5.com ] summits the charts to become the No. 1 entertainment platform in both Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, and No. 2 in Pakistan. 

With this quick climb up the charts, ZEE5 becomes the fastest growing OTT platform across these markets, and as Amit Goenka, CEO, ZEE International and Z5 Global [https://twitter.com/AmitGoenka_] puts it, "We intend to replicate this winning streak across the globe."

ZEE5 offers 1,00,000 hours of Indian Movies, TV Shows, News, Videos and a slew of exclusive Originals, across 12 languages - English, Tamil, Hindi, Malayalam, Telugu, Kannada, Marathi, Bengali, Oriya, Bhojpuri, Gujarati and Punjabi, along with 60+ Live TV channels. 

It offers audiences in Pakistan and Bangladesh a range of relevant content including Hindi and Bengali originals like Rangbaaz, Kaali and the upcoming Sharate Aaj, original movies like Aranyadeb and Tigers and digital premieres like Namaste England.

ZEE5 also offers a range of Tamil content to Sri Lanka, including popular shows from ZEE Tamil like Sembaruthi, Yaaradi Nee Mohini, Poove Poochoodava, etc. and ZEE5 Originals like Sigai, Kallachirupu and America Mapillai. Also available is the upcoming Tamil Original movie - D7, along with a range of content dubbed in Tamil, including recently launched Original, Rangbaaz.

Amit Goenka, CEO, ZEE International and Z5 Global [https://twitter.com/AmitGoenka_] said, "Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka are high priority markets for us as we start our phased rollout globally, given the huge affinity for our content in these markets. Becoming the No. 1 platform in these markets in such a short period of time is great news, and we're extremely happy to see such a strong response for ZEE5 here."

Archana Anand, Chief Business Officer - ZEE5 Global [https://twitter.com/ArchanaAnand_], said, "We are beyond excited to get to this leadership position so soon into our launch. This only reaffirms our decision to prioritize these markets. We've also closed out some huge business partnerships which we will shortly announce. It's heartening to see ZEE5 win over hearts, one country at a time."

The ZEE5 App can be downloaded from Google Play Store or iOS App Store and can be accessed by visiting http://www.ZEE5.com. ZEE5 is also available on Samsung Smart TV, Apple TV Android TV and Amazon Fire TV.

*Source: SimilarWeb as on 2nd Feb, 2019
*Source: ZEE5

Los Angeles, Feb 7 (AP/UNB) — The British Academy of Film and Television Arts says it is suspending its nomination of director Bryan Singer amid accusations that he sexually assaulted minors.

Singer had been among those nominated for his work on the Queen biopic "Bohemian Rhapsody," which he was fired from in late 2017. BAFTA says Wednesday that the organization considers the alleged behavior unacceptable and incompatible with its values and that Singer has been informed of the suspension.

The Atlantic magazine last month published an expose detailing the stories of four alleged victims who said they were seduced and molested by the Singer while underage. Singer has denied the allegations.

The film and others nominated for it will remain eligible for BAFTAs, which will be presented Sunday.

Pasadena, Feb 6 (AP/UNB) — Oscars disarray over the exit of Kevin Hart as the host of the show had an upside — people paid attention, ABC's entertainment president said Tuesday.

"Ironically, I have found that the lack of clarity ... has kept the Oscars really in the conversation, and the mystery has been really compelling," said Karey Burke, whose network is the ceremony's longtime home.

She called the interest proof that the Oscars are still relevant.

Burke's worries about the host-less Feb. 24 ceremony have vanished as it comes together with a "phenomenal" line-up of presenters, she told a TV critics meeting.

Tina Fey, Whoopi Goldberg, Daniel Craig, Jennifer Lopez, Chris Evans and Constance Wu are among them.

The ceremony also has box-office hits — best-picture contenders "Black Panther," ''Bohemian Rhapsody" and "A Star Is Born" — with fans that could boost TV viewership.

The 2018 show drew a record-low 26.5 million people, a 20 percent drop from the 2017 show and the first time Oscar viewership dipped below 30 million, according to Nielsen records that go back to 1974. The best-picture winner, "The Shape of Water," only grossed $57.4 million in the U.S.

Burke also lauded the movie academy's pledge to keep the ceremony to three hours, avoiding the overtime that can drain off viewers.

The host-less Oscars was a decision that everyone involved got on board with fairly quickly after Hart withdrew in December, said Burke, who's been in the top ABC entertainment job just two months.

Hart dropped out amid criticism over years-old homophobic tweets, for which he eventually apologized.

New York, Feb 5 (AP/UNB) — Tina Fey, Whoopi Goldberg and Brie Larson will be presenters at the 91st Academy Awards.

The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences on Monday announced its first slate of presenters. Also among the 13 stars are Daniel Craig, Jennifer Lopez, Amandla Stenberg and Awkwafina.

Chris Evans, Amy Poehler, Maya Rudolph, Charlize Theron, Tessa Thompson and Constance Wu will also take the Oscar stage as presenters.

There has been some acrimony over exclusive rights to some presenters this year. The Screen Actors Guild earlier criticized the film academy for requiring that its potential presenters not appear at previous awards shows.

ABC will broadcast the Oscars live on February 24. No host has been announced after Kevin Hart stepped down following a backlash over past homophobic tweets by the comedian.