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The Gymnastics Academy changed my prepaid booking but said ‘no’ to a refund
A Guardian Money reader booked and paid for three summer holiday gymnastics sessions for her daughter in November, but The Gymnastics Academy later switched the venue to a harder-to-reach site and changed one of the dates without warning her in advance. When she requested a refund because the new arrangements were unsuitable, the company refused,…
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In the Shadows of Nuremberg review – trial-adjacent thriller aims to be Russian answer to Saving Private Ryan
The Guardian’s review of In the Shadows of Nuremberg criticises director Nikolay Lebedev’s attempt to dramatise the Soviet perspective on the Nuremberg trials, arguing that a clumsy personal subplot and an undercurrent of sentimental patriotism undermine what could have been a compelling companion piece to films such as last year’s Russell Crowe-led Nuremberg. The reviewer…
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Female-Driven, Premium Period Dramas Spearhead Latest French Fiction Revolution
French television producers are showcasing a wave of premium, female-led period dramas at this year’s Unifrance Rendez-vous in Le Havre, signalling a renewed international appetite for high-production-value historical fiction. Three flagship series lead the slate: “Alice,” about pioneering filmmaker Alice Guy; “Swapped,” a thriller set among Parisian wet nurses in the 1890s; and a new…
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Remembering When Billy Joel Jazzed up the Follow-up to His Breakthrough Album in 1978
Billy Joel’s 1978 album 52nd Street was his attempt to follow up The Stranger, the 1977 breakthrough that finally cemented his commercial success after years of scattered single hits without a fully successful album. Rather than simply repeating that formula, Joel — a longtime jazz enthusiast influenced by the sophisticated arrangements then being popularised by…
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Police seize Australian family’s passports after fire destroys Bali birthday restaurant
An Australian family have had their passports confiscated by Indonesian police after a fire believed to have been sparked by birthday balloons destroyed the well-known Chez Gado-Gado restaurant in Seminyak, Bali. Caitlin Speedy, 35, had bought balloons to celebrate her mother’s 70th birthday at the venue, but they ignited when staff attempted to light sparklers,…
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Officials investigating cause of deadly cargo plane crash at Miami airport
An Amazon-contracted cargo plane crashed while attempting to land at Miami International Airport on Sunday, killing five people and seriously injuring five others, in one of the deadliest US aviation incidents of the year. The Boeing 767-300, operated on Amazon’s behalf by North Carolina-based charter firm 21 Air, overshot the runway, crossed a road and…
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The Pink Floyd period David Gilmour thought was falling apart: “Incredibly undisciplined”
David Gilmour has looked back frankly on the early days of his tenure in Pink Floyd, admitting he found the band in a poor state when he joined to support the ailing Syd Barrett. He recalled the group’s live performances under Barrett as chaotic, reflecting the frontman’s own deteriorating mental health, and said his priority…
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Screen Industries Adopt Five Thematic Declarations at Lumiere Summit, Setting Terms on AI, Piracy, Gender, Education and the Environment
Screen industry bodies, national governments and rights organisations adopted five thematic declarations at the Lumière Summit, held on Monday at the Fondation Maeght in Saint-Paul-de-Vence, France. The declarations establish shared frameworks covering artificial intelligence, piracy, gender equality, image education and environmental sustainability, aiming to shape future legislation and cross-border industry cooperation. Signatories include France, the…
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Loznitsa constructs portrait of Soviet life from Italian television archives
Sergei Loznitsa, director of The Two Prosecutors, has premiered Imperium at the Venice film festival, an archive-compilation documentary built entirely from footage shot by an Italian TV crew in the Soviet Union between 1970 and 1973. Without any interviews or voiceover, the film assembles ambient scenes of everyday life across the USSR to create what…