Oscar-winning film No Other Land to release in the Middle East on April 1
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Broadcast Pro
10 hours ago
- Broadcast Pro
Front Row and Empire Entertainment to release Lebanese film ‘Disorder' on July 10
Front Row will be announcing the exact dates for the film's regional and global roll-out in early July. MENA-based distributor Front Row Filmed Entertainment, in collaboration with Sony distributor Empire Entertainment, has announced the theatrical release of Disorder, a Lebanese anthology feature executive produced by filmmaker Nadine Labaki. The film will open in cinemas across Lebanon on July 10, with plans for a wider release throughout the Levant, the Gulf, select European countries and Australia over the summer. Originally planned as a limited local release, Disorder has generated strong interest following an acclaimed festival run, prompting Front Row to expand its distribution strategy to meet growing regional and international demand. Set against Lebanon's turbulent backdrop—from the 2019 protests to the devastation of the 2020 Beirut port explosion—the film weaves together four darkly comedic and deeply human stories that explore survival and resilience amid chaos. While firmly rooted in Lebanon's recent history, the anthology's themes speak to broader experiences across the region, where humour often becomes both a coping mechanism and an act of defiance. Disorder brings together four acclaimed Lebanese directors—Lucien Bourjeily, Wissam Charaf, Bane Fakih and Areej Mahmoud—to tell these stories with sharp wit and emotional resonance. The cast features celebrated Lebanese actors, including Manal Issa, Rodrigue Sleiman, Farah Shaer and Hanane Hajj Ali. The project was produced by Bechara Mouzannar with executive producers Nadine Labaki and Khaled Mouzannar, and co-producers Abla Khoury and Lara Karam Chekerdjian. The film premiered at Egypt's El Gouna Film Festival, where it received the Cinema for Humanity Audience Award and sold out three screenings. It later played to enthusiastic crowds at the Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris and was featured at festivals in Zurich and Washington, DC, among others. Front Row plans to announce detailed dates for the film's regional and international rollout in early July.
Campaign ME
a day ago
- Campaign ME
Cannes Lions 2025: On creativity, heaviness and the power of joy
As a half-Palestinian, attending Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity last year was heavy. Putting on a happy face to talk to customers, partners, and prospects while keeping my family in Palestine in my heart was hard. Not much has improved this year, but as many in my community remind me, finding joy and appreciating the everyday is something we must keep doing. As a shortlisting juror for the Creative Strategy category at Cannes this year, that perspective stayed with me as I reviewed nearly 290 entries. I've been coming to Cannes for over a decade, and since Dove launched the Real Beauty Movement, we've seen a wave of purpose-led campaigns tackling the world's biggest problems. When done right, this work is transformative. AXA's Three Words, which went on to win this year's Grand Prix Titanium, is a brilliant example. It came from a sector not typically known for creative risk-taking and showed how strategy, insight, and bravery can come together to drive real cultural and business impact. But what stood out this year was how refreshing it felt when brands didn't try to carry the weight of the world. Because let's face it, the world is heavy. Escapism isn't just welcome, it's meaningful. Some of the most resonant work embraced wit, lightness, and joy. It reminded me why I love this industry: creativity has the power to emotionally captivate, to move people, and yes, to move product. The brands that sparked delight were the ones that stood out. Heinz continues to surprise and entertain (ketchup in hagelslag , anyone?) a brilliant piece of work by GUT. It's a masterclass in cultural specificity that's still globally accessible. , anyone?) a brilliant piece of work by GUT. It's a masterclass in cultural specificity that's still globally accessible. 7-Eleven's Loser Pizza made people laugh while connecting with a niche sports audience. A fresh, clever take on feeling down. It proved that small insights, when deeply human, can scale. made people laugh while connecting with a niche sports audience. A fresh, clever take on feeling down. It proved that small insights, when deeply human, can scale. Grey Thailand's Sad Khamachan used melancholy to spark national conversation, becoming the most awarded campaign in Thai history. used melancholy to spark national conversation, becoming the most awarded campaign in Thai history. Nutter Butter's You Good? embraced absurdity with purpose, winning two Golds and proving nonsense can be strategic. embraced absurdity with purpose, winning two Golds and proving nonsense can be strategic. FP7 McCann's Read Better for Waterstones delivered a deeply insightful message. With a wink, not a lecture. It hit that rare balance of meaning and memorability. For many, humour isn't a cop-out, it's a connector. These campaigns were emotional and commercial wins. Our vision is to help every brand feel personal to their customers. Yet despite advances in digital tools, Braze's 2025 Global Customer Engagement Review found that 85 per cent of marketing execs are concerned their messages aren't hitting home and over half feel very or extremely concerned. The takeaway? Brands must balance technology and content to create work that resonates. It starts with treating customers less like users, and more like people. Unsurprisingly, artificial intelligence was a major theme at Cannes this year, appearing in everything from mainstage talks to whispered hallway debates. But the most compelling conversations weren't just about automation. They were about amplification. The most forward-thinking marketers are using agentic AI not just to increase efficiency, but to fuel more expressive, adaptive creativity. AI has the potential to give creative teams more space to experiment, tailor campaigns with precision, and unlock emotional relevance at scale. Done right, it's not a replacement for creative strategy, it's a multiplier. Ultimately, our goal is simple: help brands tap into creativity that doesn't just reach people, but moves them. That's why the work that stayed with me this year wasn't always the boldest or the loudest. It was the work that made people feel something, sometimes deeply, sometimes lightly, but always meaningfully. By Mariam Asmar, VP, Brand and Strategic Consulting at Braze
Middle East Eye
a day ago
- Middle East Eye
'Death to the IDF' is not antisemitic. Reserve your outrage for Israeli crimes in Gaza
Punk bands have always been known for crossing the red lines of polite society, for shocking the mainstream. If they didn't, they wouldn't be punks. They are not there to give people a warm, fuzzy feeling about the world. For that, there is always James Blunt or Coldplay. Punks are there to channel the anger and alienation that many feel against the hypocrisy and bigotry of society. And at Glastonbury, both Kneecap and Bob Vylan held a mirror up to the UK over its support for Israel's genocide in Gaza. Cue hysteria and confected outrage. Rapper Bobby Vylan's chant on a sunny afternoon at the Glastonbury music festival began with the familiar 'free, free Palestine'. The crowd chanted along with him, highlighting the widespread support for the Palestinian cause among festival-goers, and among wider British society. He then said: 'But have you heard this one?' As he launched into a chant of 'death, death to the IDF', referencing the Israeli army, the crowd roared the same line back in response. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters 'We're not pacifist punks … Sometimes you've gotta get your message across with violence,' the rapper said on stage, 'because that is the only language that some people speak.' Bobby Vylan, however, did not call for the deaths of Israelis, as the Mail on Sunday's front-page headline falsely claimed - one of the more appalling printed lies for which the Mail has become known over the decades. Now the band are paying the price for this burst of rage at mass murder and western complicity: US tour cancelled, agent contract axed, police investigation launched. Genocidal violence After almost two years of a genocidal campaign in Gaza, the desire to dismantle Israel's military apparatus might be a natural reaction for the millions of Palestinians whose lives have been destroyed, their homes turned to rubble, and their children starved and killed by that army. Most of all, they want an end to war - not just this war, but any future onslaught waged against them by the Israeli state. After nearly eight decades of recurrent wars, occupation, dispossession and massacres, they simply want to live in their homeland without fear of being terrorised by the Israeli army. Follow Middle East Eye's live coverage of the Israel-Palestine war Millions of people around the world are disgusted and outraged at the vast number of Israeli crimes recorded by Palestinian journalists, doctors and aid workers in Gaza for more than 20 months. But that outrage does not seem to be shared by our political rulers, who put the protection of Israel above international law, or even basic humanity. Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy was all over the media condemning the BBC for broadcasting Bob Vylan and Kneecap, describing what she called "appalling and unacceptable scenes" at Glastonbury. On the actual massacres taking place at the hands of the Israeli army, she remains silent after nearly two years of slaughter. Last year, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defence minister, Yoav Gallant, were accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court. The Israeli army does not need protection from a punk poet at Glastonbury. It needs to be held to account for its crimes Israeli soldiers frequently engage in genocidal racism through chants such as 'death to Arabs' and 'may their villages burn'. The very fact that the Mail falsely rewrote Bobby Vylan's chant suggests that the words 'death to the IDF' were not seen as sufficiently inflammatory, even among the newspaper's readers. It also implies that Israel and its military are indistinguishable; that Israeli society is the army. According to figures from Israel, about half of all Israelis serve in the army. It is a conscription society, and the army is the most powerful and revered institution in a militarised settler-colonial nation. Most of its rulers were veterans of Israel's many wars. Bobby Vylan did not call for the death of Netanyahu or any other Israeli leader. He called for an end to the most violent force on the world stage today. No other military force brazenly and routinely carries out such extreme atrocities against men, women and children, and boasts about them openly. On Monday, the IDF bombed a cafe on Gaza City Beach, killing photojournalist Ismail Abu Hatab, visual artist Frans al-Salmi and 31 others. It did not make the Mail front page, like countless other Israeli atrocities. No words of condemnation from UK political leaders. Israeli soldiers recently told Haaretz that their commanders ordered them to shoot starving aid seekers as they approached aid hubs in southern and central Gaza. One soldier said that Palestinian aid seekers were 'treated like a hostile force - no crowd-control measures, no tear gas - just live fire with everything imaginable: heavy machine guns, grenade launchers, mortars'. The soldier added: 'I'm not aware of a single instance of return fire. There's no enemy, no weapons.' Manufactured outrage But now, rather than focusing on these crimes, the British media and politicians are up in arms over the words of a punk poet and the BBC's broadcasting of this event as part of its live coverage of Glastonbury. Glastonbury organiser Emily Eavis put out a statement distancing the festival from Bobby Vylan's words, condemning antisemitism, calls to violence, and hate speech. Lisa Nandy claimed in the House of Commons that "Chanting 'death to the IDF' is the same as calling for the death of every single Israeli Jew." Lord Ian Austin, the government's trade envoy to Israel, called on police to 'investigate as a matter of urgency and, if necessary, arrest the band members'. On Monday, police launched a criminal investigation into the Glastonbury performances by Bob Vylan and Kneecap. As various commentators have noted, calling for the death of an army accused by major human rights groups of carrying out a genocide is not antisemitic. Claims to the contrary in right-wing media and by British politicians are disingenuous at best. At worst, such claims are themselves antisemitic, suggesting that Jewish people in general are indistinguishable from the Israeli army, amid all the crimes it is carrying out to this day. Sharren Haskel, Israel's deputy foreign minister, conflated the band's chant with anti-Jewish hate, telling the Mail on Sunday: 'Because the target is Israel - let's be honest, because it's Jews - it's tolerated, even broadcast. This is clearly incitement.' The attempt to manufacture outrage over a punk band's chant, even putting words in their mouth to whip up fear among Jewish people, is itself a dangerous, incendiary act. As anti-Zionist Jewish activist Naomi Wimborne-Idrissi told me: 'He didn't say death to Israelis [civilians], he said death to the IDF, a murderous armed force. His slogan is already being taken up on demos in Australia and elsewhere. It's not calculated to win people of a delicate disposition to the cause, but if you try to repress legitimate outrage against a televised genocide, this is what you will get.' Bobby Vylan - real name Pascal Robinson-Foster - said in a statement on Instagram: 'Teaching our children to speak up for the change they want and need is the only way that we make this world a better place. As we grow older and our fire possibly starts to dim under the suffocation of adult life and all its responsibilities, it is incredibly important that we encourage and inspire future generations to pick up the torch that was passed to us.' The Israeli army does not need protection from a punk poet at Glastonbury. It needs to be held to account for its crimes. The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Eye.
