United News of Bangladesh

Chris Martin-led British band Coldplay made history last week when it performed its biggest show yet at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on January 26. However, his next stop is the Grammy Awards ceremony this Sunday on February 2. Chris Martin to perform at Grammys On Wednesday, the official X handle of Recording Academy, the organiser of Grammy Awards, shared a picture of Chris and stated in the caption, “Chris Martin of @coldplay will join our roster of performers at this year's #GRAMMYs (gramophone emoji).” Other performers at this year's ceremony include Academy Award-nominated Wicked star Cynthia Erivo, John Legend, and Stevie Wonder among others. In light of the catastrophic wildfires that have swept through Los Angeles, the Recording Academy announced that this year's Grammys will take on a significant new role. The telecast will raise funds to aid Los Angeles wildfire relief efforts and honour the bravery of the first responders who have risked their lives in combating the flames. Lady Gaga announces March release for new album 'Mayhem' The Recording Academy had initially considered postponing the event or airing it as a fundraiser, but ultimately decided to proceed with the show as a platform for both celebration and giving back to the community. The show will still take place with Beyonce leading the nominations with 10 nods. Other artists who have received multiple nominations include Taylor Swift, Charli XCX, Post Malone, Sabrina Carpenter, Kendrick Lamar, and Chappell Roan. Coldplay's India tour Chris Martin and his girlfriend and actor Dakota came to India on January 16 for the Coldplay's musical tour. Chris, along with the members of Coldplay, had concerts lined up in Mumbai and Ahmedabad. Their last show of the Indian leg of Music of the Spheres tour was conducted at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Republic Day. The historic show, attended by 1.3 lakh spectators, was live-streamed on Disney+ Hotstar. Source: with inputs from Hindustan Times

Incarcerated men in the Alabama prison system risked their safety to feed shocking footage of their horrifying living conditions to a pair of documentary filmmakers. The result is “The Alabama Solution,” which premiered this week at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City. Filmmakers Andrew Jarecki and Charlotte Kaufman became interested in Alabama prisons in 2019. Jarecki, the filmmaker behind “The Jinx” and “Capturing the Friedmans,” and Kaufman first gained access to the restricted grounds through a visit with a chaplain during a revival meeting held in the prison yards. There men pulled them aside and whispered shocking stories about the reality of life inside: forced labor, drugs, violence, intimidation, retaliation and the undisclosed truths behind many prisoner deaths. The Associated Press has written extensively about the problems in the state’s prison system, including high rates of violence, low staffing, a plummeting parole rate and the use of pandemic funds to build a new supersized prison. This process eventually led them to incarcerated activists Melvin Ray and Robert Earl Council (also known as “Kinetik Justice”) who had for years been trying to expose the horrifying conditions and deep- seated corruption across the system. They helped feed dispatches to the filmmakers with contraband cellphones. “We’re deeply concerned for their safety, and we have been since the first time we met them,” said Kaufman. “They’ve been doing this work for decades and as you see in the film, they’ve been retaliated against in very extreme ways. But there are lawyers who are ready to do wellness checks and visit them and respond to any sort of retaliation that may come.” On Tuesday at the first showing of the film, she had Council on the phone listening in. They put the microphone up to the cellphone so that Council could speak. “We thank you all for listening, for being interested,” Council said. “On behalf of the brothers of Alabama, I thank you all.” Several family members of their incarcerated subjects were also in the audience, including Sandy Ray, the mother of Steven Davis, who died in 2019 at William E. Donaldson Correctional Facility, his face beaten beyond recognition. Prison officials said Davis was killed in self-defense because he didn’t put down his weapons. The prisoners tell a vastly different story. Akshay Kumar reveals most dangerous stunt of career Alelur “Alex” Duran, who spent 12 years in prison in New York, also helped produce the film. Jarecki said they wouldn't have taken on the subject without the expertise of someone who had been incarcerated. “What you’re seeing in this film is going on all over the nation,” Duran said. Also embedded in the story is Alabama’s long history of contracting prisoners to do work at private companies from Burger King to Best Western, an issue that the AP investigated for over two years. The cheap, reliable labor force has generated more than $250 million for the state since 2000 — money garnished from prisoners’ paychecks, the AP wrote in December. Parole numbers have also plummeted in recent years. “We want to show viewers the truth about a system that has been cloaked in secrecy,” Jarecki said. “We hope the film sparks an effort to allow access for journalists and others so the public can have transparency into how incarcerated citizens are treated and how our tax dollars are being spent. We hope to inspire Alabama’s leadership to acknowledge the crisis and to overhaul its prison system and its use of forced labor.” The film will have a theatrical release before it debuts on HBO sometime this year, but the specific dates and details are still being worked out. And while it is in its early days, the impact, Jarecki said, has already been seen, including in a class action labor lawsuit.

Stakeholders of Bangladesh's film industry have called for the establishment of a separate Ministry of Film Affairs to address the challenges and reforms necessary for the development of the sector at the National Film Conference 2025, held at Dhaka University's Nawab Ali Chowdhury Senate Building on Wednesday. Organized by the Bangladesh Film Students Association (BFSA) under the slogan "Reform film, change the country," the event brought together around 500 participants, including film students, teachers, filmmakers, actors, journalists, and several other stakeholders from across the industry. BFSA President Sadman Shihir emphasized the urgency of the demand, calling on the interim government to establish the ministry within three months. Stakeholders collectively agreed on the formation of the proposed ministry to address bureaucratic complications and ensure better coordination among relevant authorities. 'Bangladeshi and Swedish Baba' Photo Exhibition launched in Chattogram Speakers highlighted the limitations of managing film-related activities under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and called for structural reforms, including the creation of a Film Reform Commission to oversee proposed changes and action plans. More than 18 key demands raised at the conference included reform of the Bangladesh Film Certification Act, restructuring of the Bangladesh Film Development Corporation (BFDC), implementation of digital distribution, e-ticketing, and box office systems, establishment of a National Film Centre, investment in film education and training, revitalization of Gazipur Film City, opening up the import-export of films, formation of an Anti-Piracy Cell, and increased government investment in the industry. Cultural Affairs Adviser Mostofa Sarwar Farooki, who joined as a special guest, echoed the need for a separate ministry, calling on stakeholders to develop a comprehensive reform blueprint through workshops. “The Ministry of Culture is failing to prioritize films. A separate ministry could address these challenges effectively,” he said, urging stakeholders to amplify their demands towards the concerned authorities at the interim government to ensure action. Bangla Academy entitled to work independently: Farooki

Veteran Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar, fondly known as 'Khiladi Kumar' for his penchant for action-packed roles, has reflected on one of the most perilous stunts of his career. The feat, performed for the 1998 film Angaaray, saw him leaping from the seventh floor of one building to the fourth floor of another, separated by a narrow road below. Recalling the nerve-wracking moment during an interview with The Quint while promoting his latest film Sky Force, Akshay shared an amusing yet alarming anecdote involving the film’s director, Mahesh Bhatt. February 2025 South Indian Movie Releases: Top 12 Must-Watch Films “There was a stunt in Angaaray where I jumped from a seven-floor building. In between, there was a road, but only one lane, and there was another building on the other side. So, I had to jump from the seventh to the fourth floor,” Akshay explained. What made the incident even more unforgettable was Mahesh Bhatt’s reaction. The veteran filmmaker, fearing for Akshay’s life, decided to flee the scene before the actor could execute the daring leap. “During that, my director ran away,” Akshay revealed with a chuckle, recalling the palpable tension surrounding the stunt. Akshay Kumar, who has built a reputation for performing his own stunts throughout his illustrious career, has often credited his dedication to pushing boundaries for his success. His thrilling performances have earned him admiration from fans and colleagues alike. Film actress Nipun banned for life from Shilpi Samity While Akshay successfully executed the stunt in Angaaray, the anecdote highlights the risks he has taken to bring authenticity to his roles. His latest venture, Sky Force, further showcases his commitment to delivering high-octane performances. For Akshay, the journey of performing dangerous stunts continues to be a testament to his love for cinema, even if it occasionally leaves his directors in a state of panic. Source: Indian media  

For author Percival Everett, libraries have long been a source of knowledge and discovery and pleasure, even of the forbidden kind. “I remember making friends at age 13 with the librarian at the University of South Carolina, and she used to let me go through the stacks when I wasn't supposed to," Everett, who spent part of his childhood in Columbia, said during a telephone interview Sunday. “One of the wonderful things about libraries is that when you're looking for one book, it's surrounded by other books that may not be connected to it. That's what you get (online) with links, but (in libraries) no one's decided what the links are." Everett's latest honor comes from the country's public libraries. On Sunday, the American Library Association announced that Everett's “James” was this year's winner of the Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction, which includes a $5,000 cash award. Kevin Fedarko's “A Walk in the Park: The True Story of a Spectacular Misadventure in the Grand Canyon” was chosen for nonfiction. Everett's acclaimed reworking of Mark Twain's "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" from the perspective of Jim, Huck Finn's enslaved companion, has already received the National Book Award and the Kirkus Prize and is a finalist for a National Book Critics Circle award. “James” has even topped The New York Times fiction hardcover list, a rare feat in recent years for a literary work that wasn’t a major book club pick or movie tie-in. “Percival Everett has written a modern masterpiece, a beautiful and important work that offers a fresh perspective from the eyes of a classic character,” Allison Escoto, chair of the award's selection committee, said in a statement. “Kevin Fedarko’s unforgettable journey through the otherworldly depths of the Grand Canyon shows us the triumphs and pitfalls of exploration and illuminates the many vital lessons we can all learn from our precious natural world.” Read: Rare 1904 Olympic gold medal up for auction Fedarko is a former Time magazine correspondent whose work also has appeared in The New York Times and Esquire. A Pittsburgh native fascinated by distant places, Fedarko has a long history with libraries — Carnegie libraries. He remembers visiting two while growing up, notably one in the suburb of Oakmont near the hairdressing salon his parents ran. He would read biographies of historical figures from George Washington to Daniel Boone, and otherwise think of libraries as “important threads running through his life," windows to a “wider world.” Now a resident of Flagstaff, Arizona, Fedarko says that he relied in part on the library at the nearby Northern Arizona University campus for both “A Walk in the Park” and its predecessor, also about the Grand Canyon, “The Emerald Mile.” “The library has an important and unique collection about the Grand Canyon, and it's the backbone of the kind of history that helps form the framework of both books,” he says. “Neither of them could have been done without the library.” Previous winners of the medals, established in 2012 with a grant from the Carnegie Corporation of New York, includes Donna Tartt’s “The Goldfinch,” Colson Whitehead’s “The Underground Railroad” and Doris Kearns Goodwin’s “The Bully Pulpit.” This year's finalists besides “James” in the fiction category were Jiaming Tang's “Cinema Love” and Kavin Akbar's ”Martyr!" Read more: Prince Amyn Aga Khan conferred with Municipal Merit Medal Adam Higginbotham's “Challenger: A True Story of Heroism and Disaster on the Edge of Space” and Emily Nussbaum's “Cue the Sun! The Invention of Reality TV" were the nonfiction runners-up. All three fiction nominees were published by Penguin Random House and all three nonfiction finalists by Simon & Schuster.

Rose Byrne plays a mother in the midst of a breakdown in the experiential psychological thriller “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You.” Anticipation was high for the A24 film, which will be released sometime this year. Its premiere Friday at the Sundance Film Festival was easily the hottest ticket in town, with even ticketholders unable to get in. Those who did make it into the Library theater were treated to an intense, visceral, inventive story from filmmaker Mary Bronstein that has quickly become one of the festival’s must-sees. Byrne plays Linda, who is barely hanging on while managing her daughter’s mysterious illness. She’s faced with crisis after crisis, big and small — from the massive, gaping hole in their apartment ceiling that forces them to move to a dingy motel, to an escalating showdown with a parking attendant at a care center. The cracks in her psychological, emotional and physical wellbeing are become too much to bear. “I’d never seen a movie before where a mother is going through a crisis with a child but our energy is not with the child’s struggle, it’s with the mother’s,” Bronstein said at the premiere. “If you’re a caretaker, you shouldn’t be bothering with yourself at all. It should all be about the person you’re taking care of, right? And that is a particular kind of emotional burnout state that I was really interested in exploring.” Byrne and Bronstein went deep in the preparation phase, having long discussions about Linda with the goal of making her as real as possible before the quick, 27-day shoot. Byrne said she was obsessed with figuring out who Linda was before the crisis. The film was in part inspired by Bronstein’s experience with her own daughter, but she didn’t want to elaborate on the specifics. “That’s her story to tell,” Bronstein said. Part of Linda’s story involves her therapist, played by Conan O’Brien, who joked that he didn’t realize he was in a movie. “I’m not looking out for movie scripts or anything. But when I got a call from A24 that they wanted me to read something, I’m not stupid,” O’Brien said. “I showed it to my wife, who is one of the smartest people I know, and she read through it and she said, ‘I didn’t know they made movies like this anymore.’” He was particularly in awe of his director and co-star, saying he felt like a fraud standing beside them. “It was an amazing experience, one of the best experiences of my life, just to be with them and watch them work,” O'Brien said. “I don’t know how (Byrne) did that and not check into a hospital afterwards, because I haven’t seen any actor, man or woman, sustain that level for an entire movie.” Read: AI will rip off artists, Paul McCartney warns “I feel like I have to go to a hospital now, because this was the first time I watched it,” he added. “I’m a mess.” A$AP Rocky also co-stars, as a man Linda meets at the motel, but was not in Park City for the premiere. He is currently on trial, charged with firing a gun at a former friend. The film is full of ambiguity, metaphor and just plain artistic expression that Bronstein hesitated to explain, from the name itself to the hole in the ceiling, which takes on a somewhat supernatural quality. “When we have nothing left to give, we have an emptiness inside of us,” Bronstein said. “And that emptiness is actually not empty: It’s filled with all the darkness and self-hate and doubt and fear and dread and regret and everything. … That to me is what the hole is.” Some of it, she said, she doesn’t even fully understand. The point is the experience, and critics and Sundance audiences are already fully on board. Bronstein, a bit of a cult figure in the film world, made her directorial debut in 2008 at the SXSW festival with “Yeast,” which featured a pre-fame Greta Gerwig and was hailed by by New Yorker critic Richard Brody as a “mumblecore classic.” Read more: The Brutalist honours my family's hardships and loss, says actor Adrien Brody “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You” is only her second feature. “This is the first time that anybody else has paid for me to make art,” Bronstein said. “I’m proud to say that this is the film that came directly from my head to the screen.”

Centuries-old stone Buddha statues and precious jewelries repatriated by the Dutch government to its former colony are on display at Indonesia's National Museum, providing a glimpse into the country's rich heritage that the government had struggled to retrieve. The collection is part of more than 800 artifacts that were returned under a Repatriation Agreement signed in 2022 between Indonesia and the Netherlands, said Gunawan, the museum's head of cultural heritage. The objects are not just those looted in conflict, but also seized by scientists and missionaries or smuggled by mercenaries during the four centuries of colonial rule. “I was so amazed that we have all of these artifacts,” said Shaloom Azura, a visitor to the museum in Jakarta. She hoped other historical objects can be repatriated too, "so we don’t have to go to the Netherlands just to see our own cultural heritage.” The agreement to return cultural objects was inspired by the new era of global restitution and repatriation efforts. In 2021, France said it was returning statues, royal thrones and sacred altars taken from the West African nation of Benin. Belgium returned a gold-capped tooth belonging to the slain Congolese independence hero Patrice Lumumba. Cambodia in 2023 welcomed the return of priceless stolen artifacts that had been seized during periods of war and instability. Many of the items returned so far have come from the United States. And the Berlin museum authority said it would return h undreds of human skulls from the former German colony of East Africa. The Dutch government announced the same year the return of the Indonesian treasures and looted artifacts from Sri Lanka. Only a few objects made it back before a deal was struck The repatriation “is not something out of the blue” but followed a lengthy process, said I Gusti Agung Wesaka Puja, former Indonesian ambassador to the Netherlands who also headed the government's team tasked to recover the objects. He said negotiations with the Dutch government have been ongoing since Indonesia’s independence in August 1945, but it was only in July 2022 that Indonesia formally requested the return of its cultural objects with a list of specific items. “This repatriation is important for us to reconstruct history that may be lost or obscured or manipulated,” Puja said. “And we can fill the gap of the historical vacuum that has existed so far.” The Dutch government in 1978 returned the famous 13th-century statue of princess Pradnya Paramita from the Javanese Singhasari Kingdom. During the same visit to Indonesia, then-Queen Juliana also returned a saddle and spear seized from Prince Diponegoro, a Javanese nobleman considered a national hero for his struggle against colonial rule in the 19th century. The prince's scepter was returned in 2015. In 2020, Dutch King Willem-Alexander handed over Diponegoro's gold-plated kris dagger in his first state visit to Indonesia. Also pending is the return of the “Java Man” — the first known example of homo erectus that was collected by Dutch paleoanthropologist Eugene Dubois in the 19th century. Read: Emilia Pérez leads Oscar nominations with 13 “The importance of the most recent repatriation is knowledge creation, that will give society a more complete knowledge of our past history,” said Puja. He said the recent repatriation efforts seem to also be motivated by practical considerations, such as when the Delf city administration sent back 1,500 objects in 2019. They were part of the bankrupted Nusantara Museum collection. Focus on protection of repatriated artifacts However, Marc Gerritsen, the Dutch ambassador to Indonesia, said the repatriation would only focus on cultural objects that are requested, rather than emptying out European museums. “There is a huge interest from the Dutch public in Indonesian history and Indonesian culture, so we do know that if Dutch museums put these objects on display, there will be an interest,” Gerritsen said, “But again, the heart of the matter is that the colonial collections artifacts that were stolen during the colonial period are returned on the basis of this process that was established.” He said the Netherlands, the largest investor from the European Union in Indonesia, has a unique relationship with Southeast Asia’s biggest economy. “Of course, we have elements of which we are not proud, but we are really grateful for the fact that Indonesia is so much attached to preserving that history,” Gerritsen said. To support its former colony in safeguarding its repatriated cultural heritage, the Dutch government has offered to assist in improving museum storage conditions and staff expertise. Some researchers have criticized Indonesia, the world’s largest archipelago nation of 17,000 islands, for a lack of legal framework to protect its rich cultural heritage and natural conservation. At least 11 cases of museum thefts were reported between 2010 and 2020, according to a 2023 report by Rucitarahma Ristiawan, a lecturer of cultural science at Gajah Mada University, and two other researchers. Read more: Meagan Good says goodbye to 'Harlem,' hello to her future with Jonathan Majors In 2023, dozens of ships dredged the bottom of the Batanghari River in Jambi province, and the crews looted archaeological objects including porcelain, coins, metal and gold artifacts, which are believed to have been sold abroad, the report said. “I think there is a lot to be reviewed from our historical works that are still kept in other countries,” said Frengky Simanjuntak, who marveled at the Repatriation Exhibition at the National Museum, on display since October. “So it’s not just about bringing them back home, but how to protect them."

Meagan Good is in a season of harvest, reaping rewards from the hard work she’s sowed throughout her three-decade career. For the “Harlem” star, gratitude is her mantra. “As crazy as, not even just this last year, the last few years have been for me, this is the happiest I’ve been in a long time. And it’s pretty wonderful,” said Good last week with tears welling in her eyes, emotions heightened as she thought of her relationship with Jonathan Majors, her time on “Harlem” and the Los Angeles wildfires.“I’m just thankful for the journey and I’m thankful to be loved.” Much of that love has been provided by embattled actor Jonathan Majors, and the fluctuating journey includes their scrutinized relationship, leading Tyler Perry’s “Divorce in the Black” film and starring in the third and final season of “Harlem,” premiering Thursday on Prime Video. “It’s incredible that the people who have supported us and have watched the show have waited on us like ‘Game of Thrones,’” said Good, who plays Camille, a Columbia University professor of sex and love. “It’s really cool to be a part of something so amazing that people love.” The resilience of ‘Harlem’ “Harlem” has been a survivor, emerging from the coronavirus pandemic and the Hollywood actors and writers strikes. The Tracy Oliver dramedy follows four women in their 30s (Good, Grace Byers, Jerrie Johnson and Shoniqua Shandai) living in Manhattan’s historic Black neighborhood as they navigate love, friendships and careers. While the series didn’t reach the acclaim of Issa Rae’s “Insecure,” it earned a staunch fan base. “If you really think about shows about New York, it’s almost like purposefully excluding Black people ... so when we reflect on shows like ‘Friends’ or even ‘Sex and The City,’ I probably can count on one hand how many Black people I’ve seen in those shows. But in New York, it’s unavoidable because Black people have created the culture here, specifically in Harlem,” said Johnson, who plays Tye, a queer dating app designer for LBGTQ+ people of color. “We loved our ‘Living Single,’ and that’s why we loved it because we love seeing these women meeting in this small little apartment to commune with each other ... that’s why we have such a cult following because there was a hole in the market that Tracy brilliantly filled.” Good, 43, said the relationship she shares with her cast, crew and streaming platform is one she hadn’t experienced. “This definitely has been the best professional experience I’ve had in my entire career in terms of emotionally, mentally, professionally, spiritually.” It’s an emphatic declaration by the former child star whose first major film appearance came in Ice Cube’s 1995 classic “Friday,” shined in “Eve’s Bayou” and became a household name to kids on Nickelodeon’s “Cousin Skeeter” series. Good on her relationship with Jonathan Majors and the cost of fame Adored for beauty throughout her relatively drama-free career, many fans questioned her relationship with Majors, the rapidly rising star of “Creed III” and “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.” It began toward the end of 2023 following the 35-year-old’s arrest for allegations of escalating incidents of physical and verbal abuse toward ex-girlfriend Grace Jabbari. But the “Think Like a Man” and “Shazam! Fury of the Gods” actor said her Christian faith and life lessons prepared her for the backlash. “I think about being in my 20s and you see the Media Take Outs and it’s a hundred nice things and there’s like one or two bad things. And I would just internalize it and I would cry and it would hurt my feelings so much,” said Good, who also cited criticism from fellow Christians about her attire and film choices, false skin-bleaching allegations, and the end of her near decade-long marriage with pastor and Hollywood executive DeVon Franklin as perseverance-builders. “I had been praying for maybe like five or six years, ’Lord, please deliver me from what people think about me. … But I will say the part of it that is still hard for me is to see them drag people I love.” Read: Your complete guide to the 2025 Sundance Film Festival Majors was convicted of one misdemeanor assault charge and a harassment violation. He avoided jail time but was ordered to complete a yearlong counseling program. He also settled a civil suit with Jabbari, but the ordeal nearly extinguished his career. Good, who was by Majors’ side at court dates and became in engaged to him in November, is optimistic his career will regenerate. (Ironically, Good starred in 50 Cent’s “21 Questions” hit music video in which he proposes scenarios to a potential girlfriend to see if she’d stand by him, including incarceration.) “The idea that people are like, ’Well, she got paid,” said Good, rolling her eyes at suggestions it’s a publicity stunt — “it could be hurtful, but I just don’t care anymore. And that’s a good feeling.” What’s next for Good Good, who aspires to star in an action film, has been open about her desire to have children and is focusing on her future with Majors, including launching a health and wellness brand together. Admirers and industry colleagues believe Good deserves much more recognition. “People have tried to pigeonhole her in a certain area that now she’s breaking free. I always tell her that this is her phoenix moment ... the ashes actually being a metaphor for people’s expectations of her,” said Johnson. “About 75% of my favorite movies that shaped my upbringing have Meagan Good in them ... I’ve learned so much about transitioning into womanhood and adulthood through the characters that she’s played.” Good, however, stresses her focus is not on recognition or major awards, but reaching the hearts of people. She circles back to gratitude for a career that has defied Hollywood odds. “To have any appreciation is a gift,” said Good. “I feel like my best is yet to come. And I feel like even now, I’m kind of just getting started.”

As the entertainment industry grapples with the devastating impact of the California wildfires, many are heading to cleaner mountain air. The annual Sundance Film Festival kicks off Thursday in Park City, Utah. The 41st edition of Robert Redford’s brainchild will, as always, be a year of discovery and discussion. There are timely films: — “Free Leonard Peltier,” which will premiere just days after former President Joe Biden commuted the sentence of the Indigenous activist nearly half a century after he was imprisoned for the 1975 killings of two FBI agents. — Oscar-winner Mstyslav Chernov’s“2000 Meters to Andriivka,” a joint production between The Associated Press and Frontline about an attempt to liberate an occupied territory in Ukraine — Several films about trans rights including “Heightened Scrutiny,” about civil rights lawyer Chase Strangio. It's a topic even more pressing after President Donald Trump signed executive orders Monday rolling back protections for transgender people. There are even some controversies brewing: “The Stringer,” from documentary filmmaker Bao Nguyen, calls into question who took the Pulitzer Prize-winning “Napalm Girl” photograph. Retired AP photographer Nick Ut and the AP, which conducted a six-month investigation into the allegation, are contesting it and Ut's lawyers have asked for it to be pulled from the program. “The film is an investigation,” said Eugene Hernandez, the director of the festival, who is moving forward with plans to screen it. “I think it will be a really important conversation that will come out over the next few days after the film is seen by more people.” Don’t worry, it’s not all heavy. There’s drama of course, even a film about starting over after a fire (“Rebuilding,” with Josh O’Connor), horror, satire, literary adaptations, comedy, documentaries about famous faces, and some that simply defy categorization. “There’s some really funny stuff in the program,” Hernandez said. One of those Hernandez cited is “Bubble & Squeak,” about a married couple accused of smuggling cabbages into a nation where they’re banned. For first time filmmakers, Sundance can be their chance to break through in a big way. That happened last year for “Dìdi” filmmaker Sean Wang. Some films that debuted last January are still in the awards conversation, like “A Real Pain” and “A Different Man.” For actors, the festival is both a casual respite to awards season glitz (snow boots are more likely on red carpets than high heels) and can be a chance to show audiences a new dimension of their talent. “It’s a strong year of renewal for our artist community,” Hernandez said. “And we have a lot of really great voices and stories that we get to unveil in the coming days.” Here’s everything you need to know: When is Sundance? Sundance runs from Jan. 23 through Feb. 2. There are about 90 features premiering across the 11 days, with screenings starting early in the morning through midnight. Award-winners will be announced on Jan. 31. What celebrities are expected? Stars with films premiering include Jennifer Lopez, Benedict Cumberbatch, Diego Luna, Conan O’Brien, Alison Brie, Dave Franco, Ayo Edebiri, Olivia Colman, André Holland, Steven Yeun, Mark Ruffalo, Bowen Yang, Carey Mulligan, Joel Edgerton, Lily Gladstone, Dev Patel, Emily Watson, John Lithgow, Marlee Matlin, John Malkovich, Rose Byrne, Chloë Sevigny, Josh O’Connor, Ben Whishaw, Dylan O’Brien, Lili Reinhart and Willem Dafoe. What are some of the big movies? One of the greatest things about Sundance is that it’s often the under-the-radar movies that become the breakouts. But some of the higher-profile premieres going into the festival include: Bill Condon’s “Kiss of the Spider-Woman,” starring Lopez; Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson’s documentary “SLY LIVES! (aka The Burden of Black Genius)”; “Opus,” a horror about the cult of celebrity with Edebiri and John Malkovich; Andrew Ahn’s “The Wedding Banquet,” with Bowen Yang and Kelly Marie Tran; the war satire “Atropia,” with Alia Shawkat; “Pee-wee as Himself,” about the late Paul Reubens; “Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore”; and Andrew Jarecki and Charlotte Kaufman’s doc “The Alabama Solution,” about a cover-up in one of America’s most notorious prison systems. How is the festival addressing the California wildfires? Festival organizers have been in dialogue with filmmakers, staff, audiences and donors about the effects of the fires, supporting and accommodating where possible including pushing back deadlines to allow filmmakers more time to finish. The festival will also have a QR code displayed before screenings for information on sharing resources or contributing to relief efforts. “As hard as the last week has been, this will be a moment to come together,” Hernandez said. “The community’s really responding to support those who need it most right now. I think that’s going to be a profound aspect of this year’s festival.” Is Sundance really leaving Park City? For the most part, yes. Starting in 2027 the festival will no longer be primarily based in Park City. It may stay in Utah but would operate mainly out of Salt Lake City. Other finalists are Boulder, Colorado, and Cincinnati, Ohio. The Sundance Institute is expected to announce its final decision in the first quarter of 2025. “Park City as the home of Sundance is such a special place,” Hernandez said. “I look at it optimistically because we have two more exciting years in this current configuration. I think we’re going to make the most of those two years and make them as memorable and meaningful as we can.” When can I watch Sundance movies? Access to the movies premiering at Sundance doesn’t necessary require an expensive trip to Park City anymore. The festival has fully embraced an online component for many of their films. What started as a necessary COVID-19 adjustment has become a vital part of the program. From Jan. 30 through Feb. 2, audiences can stream much of the program online. Prices start at $35 for a single film ticket and go up to $800 for unlimited access. Otherwise, films that secure distribution can take anywhere from a few weeks to over a year to hit theaters or streaming services. Steven Soderbergh's “Presence,” which premiered last January, is just hitting theaters this week.  

Netflix added nearly 19 million subscribers during the holiday-season quarter to help propel its earnings beyond analysts’ projections, capping the video streaming service's best year yet in a sign that its expansion into live programming is paying off. The numbers released Tuesday covered a October-December period highlighted by Netflix’s streaming of a widely watched fight between YouTube sensation Jake Paul and former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson in addition to two National Football League games on Christmas Day. Those marquee events helped Netflix to easily surpass the 13 million subscribers that picked up in the same quarter during 2023. Although Netflix’s interest in live programming is primarily tied to its efforts to sell more commercials, it also appears to be giving current subscribers another reason to stick with the service while also reeling in more viewers to pay for the service. Netflix ended last year with more than 300 million worldwide subscribers, an increase of 41 million from 2023. That eclipsed its previous best year of growth during 2020 when its service added more 36.6 million subscribers amid pandemic lockdowns that kept people corralled at home and desperate for entertainment. Forrester Research analyst Mike Proulx thinks live programming is quickly becoming Netflix's “secret ingredient” that is helping to widen its lead over its streaming rivals. “With more choice in programming than ever before, streaming services need to differentiate,” Proulx said. “FOMO (fear of missing out) is a powerful tool in piquing interest and creating stickiness.” The October-December breakdown marked the last time Netflix plans to provide a quarterly count on its total subscribers as management tries to get investors to intensify their focus on the Los Gatos, California company’s financial performance. And those figures were robust in the most recent quarter, with Netflix earning $1.9 billion, or $4.27 per share, nearly doubling from the same time in 2023. Revenue climbed 16% from the same 2023 period to $10.2 billion. Read: Top 10 Netflix English Originals to Watch in February 2025: Movies, Series, and Shows To juice its finances even more this year, Netflix announced in its shareholder letter that it will be raising its prices in the U.S., Canada, Portugal and Argentina in the upcoming weeks. Netflix didn't spell out its new prices in those markets, but the company increases the costs of its plans in increments of a $1 to $2 per month. Signaling that Netflix is confident the price increases won't trigger a backlash resulting in mass cancellations, Netflix slightly raised its revenue outlook for this year to a mid-range of $44 billion, which would translate into a roughly 13% increase from last year. “When you’re going to ask for a price increase, you better make sure you have the goods and the engagement to back it up,” Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos said during a conference call with analysts. Netflix’s shares surged by 14% in extended trading after the report came out. If the shares behave similarly in Wednesday's regular trading session, it will mark a new high for the stock. The shares soared by 83% last year to create nearly $200 billion in additional shareholder wealth as Netflix continued to extend its lead over the rest of the video streaming pack. Besides asking subscribers to pay more, Netflix is trying to sell more advertising as part of an initiative that began in late 2022 with the introduction of a low-priced version of its service that included periodic commercial interruptions for the first time. The commercials are shown to all subscribers during live programming, one of the reasons Netflix is focusing more on the segment, leading to high-priced deals with the NFL, World Wrestling Entertainment and the Women’s World Cup. Netflix co-CEO Greg Peters told investors during the conference call that the ad-supported service accounted for more than half of Netflix's new subscribers during the last quarter, Netflix's advertising evolution has "transitioned from crawl to walk” Peters said. Read more: January 2025 Netflix English Originals Lineup Netflix still isn’t revealing how much advertising revenue that it’s bringing in, with management saying the amount will remain relatively small for at least another year or two. But Netflix’s main drawing card remains scripted TV series and movies – an entertainment pipeline that this year will include new seasons of popular shows such as “Stranger Things,” “Squid Games,” and “You.” Netflix plans to increase its programming budget to $18 billion this year, an increase of about $1 billion, to keep its video pantry well stocked.