Kaf by Kaf SS24 collection inspired by oldest farmer’s market in Riyadh 

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The brand lit up the runway with its creative, playful, colorful and happy looks. (AN/ Huda Bashatah)
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Updated 24 October 2023
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Kaf by Kaf SS24 collection inspired by oldest farmer’s market in Riyadh 

RIYADH: One might not expect to find fruits and vegetables incorporated into cutting-edge fashion looks, but that’s exactly what KAF by KAF’s Spring/ Summer 24 collection presented at Riyadh Fashion Week.  

Drawing its inspiration from the oldest farmer’s market in Riyadh, Alrabwah famer’s market, the brand, the work of Saudi designer Kawthar Alhoraish, lit up the runway with its creative, playful, colorful and happy looks.




The collection draws inspiration from the oldest farmer’s market in Riyadh. (AN/ Huda Bashatah)

 Models walking down the runway injected a world of color into Riyadh Fashion Week’s futuristic setup under the modern skyrises of the King Abdullah Financial District. 

“All my life I have grown in a colorless environment, so I created mine,” Alhoraish said in a statement.  




Models walking down the runway injected a world of color into Riyadh Fashion Week’s futuristic setup. (AN/ Huda Bashatah)

The first look, a long fitted sleeveless mesh dress, lined at the bottom with life-size yellow bananas sculpted in fabric, beckoned an uplifting and quirky series of looks to come.  

A mix of avant-garde abayas made in the brand’s sustainable and recycled materials came in powerful hues of yellow, black and white coupled with form-fitting mesh dresses.  




Saudi designer Kawthar Alhoraish. (AN/ Huda Bashatah)

Elsewhere, in an innovative nod, several looks encompassed a material that appeared to be made from woven straw. One look saw a series of curved straw rings stacked on top of each other to make a long sleeveless gown.  


French actor Gérard Depardieu found guilty of sexual assault and given 18-month suspended sentence

Updated 55 min 58 sec ago
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French actor Gérard Depardieu found guilty of sexual assault and given 18-month suspended sentence

PARIS: French movie star Gérard Depardieu ’s fall from grace is now complete.
Depardieu further moved down from the pinnacle of French cinema Tuesday as he was found guilty of sexually assaulting two women on the set of a movie in which he starred in 2021 and given an 18-month suspended prison sentence. He was also fined a total of 29,040 euros (around $32,350), and the court requested that he be registered in the national sex offender database.
The actor, 76, has been convicted of having groped a 54-year-old set dresser and a 34-year-old assistant during the filming of “Les Volets Verts” (“The Green Shutters”). The case was widely seen as a key post-#MeToo test of how French society and its film industry address allegations of sexual misconduct involving prominent figures.
Depardieu, who has denied the accusations, didn't attend the hearing in Paris. Depardieu’s lawyer, Jérémie Assous, said that his client would appeal the decision.
“It is the victory of two women, but it is the victory of all the women beyond this trial,” said Carine Durrieu Diebolt, the set dresser's lawyer. “Today we hope to see the end of impunity for an artist in the world of cinema. I think that with this decision we can no longer say that he is not a sexual abuser. And today, as the Cannes Film Festival opens, I’d like the film world to spare a thought for Gérard Depardieu’s victims."
Accused by more than 20 women
Depardieu’s long and storied career — he told the court that he’s made more than 250 films — has turned him into a French movie giant. He was Oscar-nominated in 1991 for his performance as the swordsman and poet Cyrano de Bergerac.
In recent years, the actor has been accused publicly or in formal complaints of misconduct by more than 20 women, but so far only the sexual assault case has proceeded to court. Some other cases were dropped because of a lack of evidence or the statute of limitations.
During the four-day trial in March, Depardieu rejected the accusations, saying he’s “not like that.” He acknowledged that he had used vulgar and sexualized language on the film set and that he grabbed the set dresser's hips during an argument, but denied that his behavior was sexual.
The court, composed of a panel of three judges, concluded that Depardieu’s explanations in court were “unpersuasive” and “not credible" and stressed both accusers' “constant, reiterated and substantiated declarations.”
The court also said that both plaintiffs have been faced with an “aggressive” defense strategy “based on comments meant to offend them.” The judges therefore considered that Depardieu’s lawyer comments in court aggravated the harm to the accusers and justified higher fines.
The two accusers testified in court
The set dresser described the alleged assault, saying the actor pincered her between his legs as she squeezed past him in a narrow corridor.
She said he grabbed her hips then started “palpating” her behind and “in front, around.” She ran her hands near her buttocks, hips and pubic area to show what she allegedly experienced. She said he then grabbed her chest.
The woman also testified that Depardieu used an obscene expression to ask her to touch his penis and suggested he wanted to rape her. She told the court that the actor’s calm and cooperative attitude during the trial bore no resemblance to his behavior at work.
The other plaintiff, an assistant, said that Depardieu groped her buttocks and her breasts during three separate incidents on the film set.
The Associated Press doesn’t identify by name people who say they were sexually assaulted unless they consent to be named. Neither women has done so in this case.
“I’m very moved," one of the plaintiffs, the set dresser, told reporters after the verdict. “I’m very very much satisfied with the decision, that’s a victory for me, really, and a big progress, a step forward. I feel justice was made.”
Some expressed support for Depardieu
Some figures in the French cinema world have expressed their support for Depardieu. Actors Vincent Perez and Fanny Ardant were among those who took seats on his side of the courtroom.
French media reported last week that Depardieu was shooting a film directed by Ardant in the Azores archipelago, in Portugal.
The actor may have to face other legal proceedings soon.
In 2018, actor Charlotte Arnould accused him of raping her at his home. That case is still active, and in August 2024 prosecutors requested that it go to trial.
For more than a half-century, Depardieu stood as a towering figure in French cinema, a titan known for his commanding physical presence, instinct, sensibility and remarkable versatility.
A bon vivant who overcame a speech impediment and a turbulent youth, Depardieu rose to prominence in the 1970s and became one of France’s most prolific and acclaimed actors, portraying a vast array of characters, from volatile outsiders to deeply introspective figures.
In recent years, his behavior toward women has come under renewed scrutiny, including after a documentary showed him repeatedly making obscene remarks and gestures during a 2018 trip to North Korea.
 


Hollywood stars condemn Gaza ‘genocide’ as Cannes Festival opens

Updated 13 May 2025
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Hollywood stars condemn Gaza ‘genocide’ as Cannes Festival opens

CANNES: More than 380 figures from the cinema world including "Schindler's List" actor Ralph Fiennes condemned "genocide" in Gaza in an open letter published on Tuesday ahead of the Cannes Festival opening.
"We cannot remain silent while genocide is taking place in Gaza," read the letter initiated by several pro-Palestinian activist groups and published in French newspaper Liberation and US magazine Variety.
The signatories -- which include Hollywood stars Richard Gere and Susan Sarandon, as well as acclaimed Spanish director Pedro Almodovar and former Cannes winner Ruben Ostlund -- decried the death of Gazan photojournalist Fatima Hassouna.
Hassouna, 25, is the subject of a documentary which will premiere in Cannes on Thursday by Iranian director Sepideh Farsi, titled "Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk".
Hassouna was killed along with 10 relatives in an Israeli air strike on her family home in northern Gaza last month, the day after the documentary was announced as part of the ACID Cannes selection.
Farsi welcomed the impact of her film but called on Cannes Festival organisers to denounce Israel's ongoing bombardment of the devastated Palestinian territory.
"There needs to be a real statement," she told AFP. "Saying 'the festival isn't political' makes no sense."
This year's Cannes jury president Juliette Binoche was initially said by organisers to have signed the petition, but her spokeswoman told AFP that she had not endorsed it and her name was not published by Liberation.
Other signatories include Jonathan Glazer, the British director of Jewish origin who won an Oscar for his 2023 Auschwitz drama "The Zone of Interest", as well as US star Mark Ruffalo and Spanish actor Javier Bardem.


The Cannes Festival kicks off on Tuesday on the French Riviera, with an opening ceremony headlined by Robert De Niro and three films showing the devastation of Russia's war on Ukraine.
Two documentaries featuring Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and a third film shot on the brutal frontlines of Europe's biggest war in 80 years are to be screened on a "Ukraine Day" of programming.
It is "a reminder of the commitment of artists, authors and journalists to tell the story of this conflict in the heart of Europe", the festival said.
Nothing similar has been planned for the war in Gaza, but the film on Hassouna is set to "honour" her memory, organisers said previously.
Gazan filmmakers Arab and Tarzan Nasser are also set to showcase their fiction feature set in 2007 in the Palestinian territory in one of the secondary sections of the festival.
The opening film on Tuesday evening is "Leave One Day" by French director Amelie Bonnin, a newcomer, before Hollywood heavyweight De Niro receives an honorary Palme d'Or.


De Niro is one of the most outspoken critics of US President Donald Trump in the American cinema world, with the "Taxi Driver" star often struggling to find words harsh enough for the US president.
Trump has made himself one of the main talking points in Cannes after announcing on May 5 that he wanted 100-percent tariffs on movies "produced in foreign lands".
The idea sent shockwaves through the film world, although few insiders or experts understand how such a policy could be implemented.
Cannes director Thierry Fremaux talked up the festival's "rich" American film programme on Monday, with movies from Wes Anderson, Richard Linklater, Ari Aster and Kelly Reichardt in the main competition.
"American cinema remains great cinema. The United States remains a great country of cinema," he said.
Off-screen news in France is also likely to overshadow the red-carpet action in Cannes on Tuesday, with French film icon Gerard Depardieu facing a verdict in a sexual harassment case in Paris.
Depardieu, who has acted in more than 200 films and television series, is the highest-profile figure caught up in France's response to the #MeToo movement against sexual violence.


While independent cinema forms the core of the Cannes festival, organisers also hand over part of the programme to major Hollywood studios to promote their blockbusters.
Tom Cruise is set to return to the Riviera for the premiere of the latest instalment of his "Mission: Impossible" franchise on Thursday, three years after he lit up the festival while promoting "Top Gun: Maverick".
The festival will also see a series of high-profile debut films from actors-turned-directors, including "Eleanor the Great" from Scarlett Johansson and "The Chronology of Water" by Kristen Stewart.
Organisers on Monday denied reports that they had banned provocative near-nude dresses from the red carpet.
However, "full nudity on the red carpet" has been formally outlawed, "in keeping with French law".
 


Saudi producer Faisal Baltyuor appointed new CEO of Red Sea Film Foundation

Updated 13 May 2025
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Saudi producer Faisal Baltyuor appointed new CEO of Red Sea Film Foundation

  • New CEO has helmed several top local and Arab productions
  • ‘Visionary’ leader, says Red Sea foundation’s Jomana Al-Rashid

DUBAI: Saudi Arabian film producer Faisal Baltyuor has been appointed CEO of the Red Sea Film Foundation, it was announced on Tuesday.

The foundation oversees the Jeddah-based Red Sea Film Festival, the Red Sea Fund and Red Sea Labs. Baltyuor will replace acting CEO Mohammed Asseri from June 1.

Baltyuor was previously the first head of Ithra Cinema, and founded the Saudi Arabia distributor CineWaves Films, which has the biggest library of Saudi films.

He was previously CEO at Muvi Studios, the production arm of the Kingdom’s biggest cinema chain. Last year, Baltyuor opened Cinehouse in Riyadh, the first arthouse cinema in the Kingdom.

“We wanted to create a place that feels like home, while showcasing the best of Saudi talent in both cinema and dining,” Baltyuor said in an earlier interview with Arab News.

A producer for almost 20 years, Baltyuor executive-produced Saudi Arabia director Haifaa Al-Mansour’s groundbreaking “The Perfect Candidate,” which was launched in Venice in 2019, and comedy “Sattar,” a local megahit.

He is also a producer on the Saudi Netflix Original “From the Ashes” which ranked among the top-10 most-watched films on the streamer across 40 countries.

Baltyuor also co-produced Sudanese director Mohamed Kordofani’s “Goodbye Julia” which won the Prix de la Liberte at Cannes in 2023.

The Red Sea Film Foundation’s chairwoman Jomana Al-Rashid has praised Baltyuor.

“His visionary leadership and unwavering commitment to unlocking the boundless potential of emerging talent will fuel not only artistic excellence but also the sustainable growth of our industry.”

Baltyuor said he was “committed to building on the success” of the foundation.

“Through our diverse programs, we will continue to support a thriving film industry both locally and internationally, in line with the ambitions of Vision 2030, which places the creative sector at the heart of national development.”

The next edition of the Red Sea International Film Festival runs from Dec. 4 to 13 in Jeddah.


Jessica Kahawaty launches jewelry label with her father 

Updated 13 May 2025
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Jessica Kahawaty launches jewelry label with her father 

DUBAI: Lebanese Australian model and entrepreneur Jessica Kahawaty this week launched her own fine jewelry brand, Kahawaty Jewels, alongside her father, master jeweler Ghassan Kahawaty. 

Based in Dubai, the brand is a continuation of their family’s long-standing tradition in jewelry craftsmanship.

Kahawaty Jewels debuted with the Octagon collection, a design inspired by the number eight, which holds deep family significance, Jessica said. (Supplied)

“I grew up watching my father in his jewelry trade. I saw how happy he made people when he created these beautiful pieces,” Jessica told Arab News. “I’ve always wanted to continue my father’s legacy and my grandfather’s trade. I felt like this is the perfect time to launch Kahawaty Jewels in Dubai, which is a city I’ve been in for over 13 years.”

For Jessica, building the brand with her father has been a meaningful journey. “He’s the only man I trust when it comes to diamonds and jewelry. He has an impeccable eye for detail and quality,” she added. “He has the most incredible craftsmanship. So, I learned so much from him, and launching this with my father feels like a true partnership.”

Kahawaty Jewels debuted with the Octagon collection, a design inspired by the number eight, which holds deep family significance, Jessica said. Jessica was born and her father took over the family business in 1988. The eight-sided motif also symbolizes infinity, Jessica added. 

Jessica describes the brand’s aesthetic as “incredibly timeless, yet modern and wearable.” She added: “It is for the woman who loves craftsmanship and loves to feel like she’s wearing jewelry that stands out yet, you know, she can kind of keep it for many years to come.”

Based in Dubai, the brand is a continuation of their family’s long-standing tradition in jewelry craftsmanship. (Supplied)

Beyond the Octagon collection, Kahawaty Jewels features additional lines such as Art Deco, Floral and Classic collections, offering a variety of engagement rings, glitzy necklaces and tennis bracelets. Each piece is crafted with GIA-certified natural diamonds sourced globally and produced in ateliers across Sydney, Hong Kong and Dubai.

 The approach focuses on offering detailed consultations and explaining the craftsmanship behind each piece, reflecting the brand’s family-run nature, Jessica said. 


In ‘Star Wars: Tales of the Underworld,’ Asajj Ventress finds new depth

Updated 12 May 2025
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In ‘Star Wars: Tales of the Underworld,’ Asajj Ventress finds new depth

DUBAI: In the ever-expanding Star Wars universe, few characters capture the imagination quite like Asajj Ventress. Voice actress Nika Futterman returns to breathe life into this complex anti-hero in “Star Wars: Tales of the Underworld,” offering fans a deeper look into a character who has evolved from a ruthless villain to a nuanced, world-weary survivor.

“After all these years of traveling alone, of killing so many people, her voice has changed,” Futterman explains.

Gone is the regal, sharp-edged character of the past. Instead, audiences will meet a Ventress who is “more about just existing and finding her peace.”

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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An all-new anthology series of animated shorts, “Star Wars: Tales of the Underworld” premiered May 4 on Disney+. The popular series this time focuses on the criminal underbelly of the Star Wars galaxy through the experiences of two iconic villains. Former assassin and bounty hunter Ventress is given a new chance at life and must go on the run with an unexpected new ally, while outlaw Cad Bane faces his past when he confronts an old friend.

What makes Ventress so compelling? Futterman believes it’s her incredible depth. “She’s like an onion that you keep peeling,” she said.

From her unique origins as a witch raised by pirates, trained by a Jedi, and later mastering the dark side, Ventress defies simple categorization. The new series promises to reveal a softer side of the character. “We started to see that she has this capability of taking care of others,” Futterman said. “She’s not just angry; she actually has a heart.”

Fans of morally complex characters will find much to love in this exploration of Ventress’ journey. As Futterman puts it, Ventress is ultimately “someone who can put good things into the universe, instead of taking them away.”