67 m. ago ‘Collusion does not require a dictatorship’: István Szabó on his Nazi actor masterpiece Mephisto

As his 1981 film is rereleased, the director talks about his Oscar-winning fable about an actor’s Faustian pact with the Nazi party – and its new relevanceAt the 54th Academy Awards, in 1982, Chariots of Fire was imperial, and Katharine Hepburn broke records. Less remembered today is a darkly brilliant European film about a stage actor in Nazi Germany that went home from the ceremony with the best international feature prize. Mephisto, directed by István Szabó, was the first ever Hungarian film to do so.“The moment took me by surprise,” remembers Szabó, 87, four decades later. “I didn’t expect it.” Visibly elated on the live broadcast as he took to the stage, Szabó today says that he “knew this award wasn’t just mine, but also Brandauer’s”, meaning the film’s electrifying lead actor, and the largely Hungarian crew “who contributed with their talent to the making of the film”. Continue reading...

Culture

7 d. ago Paramount’s Warner Bros bid draws Gulf investors into rare alliance

Backing from Saudi Arabia, UAE and Qatar represents latest push into prized international media assets

Events

7 d. ago The Associated Press names its Breakthrough Entertainers of 2025

Five people who became stars in 2025 have been named The Associated Press’ Breakthrough Entertainers of the Year

Politics

7 d. ago ‘Excellent’ period drama that ‘gets better with each episode’ now streaming

The 2013 historical drama was nominated for several Primetime Emmy Awards and has been hailed as 'perfectly cast'

Events

1 week ago Brandi Carlile reveals plans for Christmas song with Elton John

The US singer has received 11 Grammy Awards, two Emmy Awards and has been nominated for an Oscar

Politics

3 w. ago ‘No topic is too difficult’: children’s series on life in communist East Germany wins an Emmy

In Fritzi’s Footsteps tells story of a girl growing up in Leipzig who witnesses the fall of the Berlin WallThe creators of a children’s television series about life in communist East Germany have said they hope it will awaken interest in the region’s history, after it was awarded an International Emmy.Auf Fritzis Spuren (In Fritzi’s Footsteps) tells the story of a 12-year-old girl living in the eastern city of Leipzig and how she experiences life in the east and the events that lead to the fall of the Berlin Wall. Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago Welsh drama filmed on the streets of Cardiff takes home prestigious international prize

BBC Wales' Lost Boys & Fairies won an award for TV movie/mini series at the International Emmy Awards

Society

3 w. ago International Emmy Awards: Full list of winners as Rivals and Ludwig claim top prizes

Anna Maxwell Martin also won the best actress award for her lead role in ‘Until I Kill You’

Events

3 w. ago Rivals and Ludwig take home prizes at International Emmy Awards

Anna Maxwell Martin won best performance by an actress for her role in ITV series Until I Kill You.

Society

3 w. ago Things That Disappear by Jenny Erpenbeck review – a kaleidoscopic study of transience

A collection of columns by the German Booker winner reveals a keen eye for details that mark the passing of timeJenny Erpenbeck wrote the pieces collected in this compact yet kaleidoscopic book for a column in the newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung; published in German in 2009, they now appear in an English translation by Kurt Beals, following the immense success of Erpenbeck’s novel Kairos, which won the 2024 International Booker prize.It’s interesting and instructive to reflect on what German newspaper readers made of the column in the early years of the new millennium, nearly two decades on from the fall of the Berlin Wall. For while Erpenbeck adopted some of the features of the form – apparently throwaway observations on daily life, such as minor irritation at the difficulty of sourcing proper splitterbrötchen, an unpretentious pastry now pimped for a more elaborate and wealthy clientele – she consistently enlarged and complicated it. Into that recognisable tone of e...

Events

4 w. ago Chef Lidia Bastianich hits the road in search of community in a divided country

Lidia Bastianich is highlighting community togetherness in her 14th TV special

Events