The COVID-19 pandemic has taken a toll on South Korea’s film industry – one of the world’s most vibrant. And with growing concern over continuing outbreaks, it’s uncertain when audiences will feel safe enough to return to movie theaters.     Most South Korean cinemas never shut their doors during the pandemic even though box office sales have plummeted.  In May, over 1.5 million movie tickets were sold nationwide, down from nearly 17 million in January, according to the Korea Film Council. It was an improvement over April’s numbers, which dropped to a record low of 970,000 tickets.   Jason Bechervaise, who lectures on Korean cinema at Soongsil Cyber University in Seoul says the country’s film industry is “facing its biggest crisis” because of the coronavirus.   It’s a setback for an industry that gained global recognition when the dark comedy “Parasite” prevailed at the Academy Awards ceremony in February, becoming the first non-English language movie to take home the Oscar for Best Picture.  But, compared to film industries in Hollywood, China or Europe, South Korea’s is in a better position to bounce back, Bechervaise says.    “The industry has slowed down but hasn’t ground to a halt like it has in other countries,” Bechervaise says. “It’s resilient and cinemas are still open and as (COVID-19) cases decline, hopefully people will feel more confident about going to see films again.” South Korea was one of the …

Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput, 34, was found dead in his Mumbai home Sunday.Citing police sources, local media reported that the actor was found hanging in his apartment in an apparent suicide, but that no note was found.“It pains us to share that Sushant Singh Rajput is no longer with us,” Rajput’s publicist wrote in a statement, asking for privacy.Rajput, originally from Patna, Bihar, made his Bollywood debut in the film “Kai Po Che” (I have cut) in 2013. He notably portrayed former Indian cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni in the film “M.S. Dhoni” in 2016.Rajput attended New Delhi University to study engineering before dropping out to pursue acting.Indian social media was flooded with messages from politicians, athletes, and fellow Bollywood stars in remembrance of Rajput.“I can’t believe this at all… it’s shocking… a beautiful actor and a good friend,” Nawazuddin Saddiqui wrote on Twitter.   …

Professional soccer has resumed in Italy after a three-month stoppage caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Juventus played against AC Milan in Turin in the second leg of the Italian cup semi-final. To the happiness of football fans all over Italy, matches in the country’s top league will resume June 20. However, stadiums remain empty of fans for the time being.When the Italian government took the difficult decision to suspend the football season on March 9 due to COVID-19, it was a sad moment for fans across the country. The indefinite suspension of the national sport was tough for many to digest. The resumption of matches Friday night was a moment of joy, despite the fact the game was nothing to write home about. Playing at the Allianz Stadium in Turin were host Juventus and AC Milan – in a game that would qualify one of the teams for the final of the Italian Cup to be played in Rome Wednesday. The atmosphere was surreal with no one in the stands and quality on both sides after such a long break from the field clearly lacking.Juventus defender Leonardo Bonucci spoke after the game.Bonucci said his emotions are strange, playing in an empty …

Greece has vowed to ratchet up legal pressure against a leading U.S. auction house in a bid to win back a 2,700-year-old bronze statuette allegedly looted by a controversial antiquities dealer and then sold to a family of collectors in New York.   The move is part of a new, high-powered drive by Athens to track auction houses around the globe and repatriate looted ancient artifacts — a campaign that could have far-reaching repercussions on the antiquities market.     Greece’s legal offensive follows a U.S court decision this week to reject a bid by Sotheby’s auction house to proceed with the sale of the eighth century bronze horse, ruling that the rights of a country to reclaim an integral part of its cultural heritage trump those deriving from commercial interest and gain.     Culture Minister Lina Mendoni said the court ruling was of “enormous legal importance” and a major victory in the fight against the illegal antiquities trade that robs countries of cultural and historical treasures.     “The ministry will proceed with every legal process to repatriate the statuette, stressing that when stolen and illegally exported monuments are returned… [the country of origin] regains a segment of …

Mining giant BHP has suspended plans to expand a mine in Western Australia because of fears it could destroy dozens of indigenous sacred sites.  The decision follows anger over the destruction of 46,000-year-old aboriginal caves by another resources company, Rio Tinto, last month. The ancient Juukan Gorge caves in Western Australia’s Pilbara region were destroyed by Rio Tinto as it expanded a multi-billion-dollar iron ore mine.  There were protests outside its offices in Perth.  The company has apologized for the distress it caused, but indigenous leader Robert Eggington says it was vandalism on a massive scale.“Something you could equate to as if they blew up the Pyramids in Egypt because they have either had uranium or found gold under the Pyramids,” Eggingtonsaid. “It is about time that the politicians and the social structures of this country start to put some proper laws in place to stop this on lands that once destroyed can never come back.”Several prehistoric artefacts have been found at the remote site about 1,000 kilometers north of Perth.The mining giant did have government approval to destroy the ancient rock shelters, but officials now concede the destruction of the caves was a “genuine mistake.” Campaigners want the right to appeal …

Sunday is Flag Day in the United States, an unofficial holiday commemorating the adoption of the American flag 243 years ago by the Second Continental Congress on June 14, 1777.While the day passes without many Americans realizing its significance, some residents proudly display the stars-and-stripes outside their homes. The U.S. flag has gone through many iterations over the years, with Congress ordering changes in its design up until 1960, including the addition of stars whenever a new state joined the union. Today’s flag has 13 horizontal stripes, representing the original 13 colonies and 50 stars representing the 50 states. First U.S. President George Washington described the flag: “We take the stars from heaven, the red from our mother country, separating it by white stripes, thus showing that we have separated from her. And the white stripes shall go down to posterity representing liberty.” The Betsy Ross flag is an early design of the U.S. flag, named for Pennsylvania flag maker Betsy Ross. The pattern is 13 alternating red-and-white stripes with stars in a field of blue in the upper left corner canton. (Photo: Diaa Bekheet)American tradition has it that Pennsylvania seamstress Betsy Ross sewed the first official U.S. flag. Ross often mended the clothes …

Amid weeks of protests over systemic racism triggered by the death of a black man in the custody of a white police officer in Minneapolis, the U.S is facing a renewed culture war over symbols of the Confederacy – 11 states in the American South that wanted to preserve slavery in a Civil War that almost tore the country apart more than 150 years ago.  A statue of Jefferson Davis, president of the Confederacy, in Richmond, Virginia, and a statue of the Confederacy’s most honored general, Robert E. Lee, in Montgomery, Alabama, have been removed along with dozens of other Confederate monuments. Others have been vandalized.NASCAR,  the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, an organization that has celebrated its Southern roots since its inception 72 years ago, announced Wednesday it is banning the Confederate flag at its events and properties, declaring it “runs contrary to our commitment to providing a welcoming and inclusive environment.” FILE – The car for driver Bubba Wallace has a Black Lives Matter logo as it is prepared for a NASCAR Cup Series auto race in Martinsville, Va., June 10, 2020.In another area of American culture, citing “ethnic and racial prejudices,” streaming service HBO Max has removed …

Vogue’s Anna Wintour has apologized in an internal email for “mistakes” made in her 32-year tenure in not doing enough to elevate black voices on her staff and publishing images and stories that have been racially and culturally “hurtful or intolerant.” The fashion doyenne wrote in the June 4 email: “I take full responsibility for those mistakes.” The magazine’s editor in chief, who is also Conde Nast’s artistic director and global content adviser, had no further comment Wednesday on the email obtained by The Associated Press. It was first revealed Tuesday in the New York Post.   Wintour’s mea culpa surfaced soon after Adam Rapoport, the editor in chief of another Conde Nast title, Bon Appetit, resigned after a photo surfaced of him in brownface, amplifying outrage over how the food magazine treats employees of color. On Monday, the top editor and a co-founder of the lifestyle site Refinery29, Christene Barberich, resigned after former employees complained on social media of a toxic culture and unfair treatment of staff members of color over the years.   Meanwhile, Samira Nasr on Wednesday was named the first editor in chief of color in the 153-year history of U.S. Harper’s Bazaar. In her email, …

FX’s fictionalized hit show “Pose” introduced many to the underground world of ballroom culture, in which historically black and Latino LGBT youths compete in elaborate performances on a runway.   Now “Legendary” on HBO Max is serving up real ballroom battles to the mainstream, with competitors in eight “houses” vying to be declared the best and take home $100,000. Judging the competition are recording artist Megan Thee Stallion, actress and activist Jameela Jamil, stylist and TV personality Law Roach, and ballroom legend Leiomy Maldonado. During battles, competitors wear elaborate costumes, makeup and wigs. They vogue, dance like acrobats and spin like ice-skaters. “It’s like if ballet and break-dancing had a baby,” said Jamil, best known for her role on “The Good Place.”   But “Legendary” is not just about being fierce. It’s about overcoming. In the first episode, one of the competitors opens up about being ostracized from his family when he came out, a sad truth for many who turned to the ballroom community for acceptance. “Growing up I already knew my mother wasn’t accepting of my sexuality,” Xa’Pariis Ebony says. “When I did decide to finally come out to her, I was put out. Like, I had to …

Italian authorities on Thursday unveiled a stolen artwork by British artist Banksy that was painted as a tribute to the victims of the 2015 terror attacks at the Bataclan music hall in Paris.L’Aquila prosecutors said the work was recovered on Wednesday during a search of a home in the countryside of Tortoreto, near the Adriatic coast in the Abruzzo region’s Teramo province. It had been “hidden well” in the attic, prosecutors said.  No arrests have been made.  French officials last year announced the theft of the piece, a black image appearing to depict a person mourning that was painted on one of the Bataclan’s emergency exit doors.Ninety people were killed at the Bataclan on Nov. 13, 2015, when Islamic extremists invaded the music hall, one of several targets that night in which a total of 130 people died.Authorities said they were still investigating how the artwork arrived in Italy, and the role of any Italians potentially involved. They said the discovery was the fruit of a joint Italian-French police investigation.At a news conference Thursday in L’Aquila, a French embassy liaison officer, Maj. Christophe Cengig, said the Bataclan owners were informed that the work had been recovered.  “It belongs to the …

The organization behind the Oscar awards elected “Selma” director Ava DuVernay on Wednesday as it slightly increased its number of female and black governors.The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has repeatedly been hit with criticism in recent years for a lack of diversity both among its members, and among the Oscar nominees and winners they select.”As a result of this election, the number of female Academy governors increases from 25 to 26, and people of color increases from 11 to 12, including the three Governors-at-Large,” the Academy said in a statement.DuVernay’s election comes well after the #OscarsSoWhite movement was launched in January 2015 in response to the Academy picking an all-white slate of nominees — the same year “Selma” was in contention.The movie about Martin Luther King Jr’s civil rights march did earn a best picture nomination, and won best original song, but was seen to have been snubbed in other categories.Its star David Oyelowo, who failed to pick up a nomination, last week claimed Academy members had threatened to sink “Selma” after cast and crew protested the death of Eric Garner with “I Can’t Breathe” T-shirts at the film’s 2014 premiere.The Academy responded on Thursday, tweeting: “Ava …

A toppled statue of an Englishman involved in the slave trade in the British city of Bristol will be retrieved from the harbor and placed in a local museum to educate residents about the history of racism, the City Council announced Wednesday.A statue of Edward Colston, a local philanthropist who worked for the Royal African Company in the 17th century, was toppled by anti-racism protesters and thrown into the harbor on Sunday.In statement on the Council’s website, Mayor Marvin Rees announced the creation of a new commission that will explore more fully the southern city’s ties to racism and inequality.”As a city, we all have very different understandings of our past,” he wrote.Rees noted that “Education of our history has often been flawed,” and called for an increased “accuracy of our city’s history which is accessible to all (and) will help us understand each other, our differences, our contradictions and our complexities.”FILE – A banner is taped over the inscription on the pedestal of the toppled statue of Edward Colston in Bristol, England, June 8, 2020.As part of the new exploration of the city’s history, Colston’s statue will be placed in a museum alongside signs from Sunday’s Black Lives Matter …

HBO Max has temporarily removed the film Gone with the Wind from its streaming library in order to add context and denounce the acclaimed movie’s depictions of slavery and implicit racism.     In a statement, the AT&T-owned WarnerMedia, which owns HBO Max — an American subscription video-on-demand streaming service — called Gone With the Wind “a product of its time” that depicts the corresponding racial prejudices.   Gone with the Wind is a 1939 film based on a 1936 book of the same title by Margaret Mitchell that chronicles the epic romance between Scarlett O’Hara (portrayed by Vivien Leigh), the daughter of a plantation owner, and Rhett Butler (played by Clark Gable), a gambler, who joins the Confederacy during the American Civil War.     It remains the highest-grossing film of all time and won eight Academy Awards, including best picture and best supporting actress for Hattie McDaniel, the first black actress to be nominated or to win an Oscar.    “These racist depictions were wrong then and are wrong today, and we felt that to keep this title up without an explanation and a denouncement of those depictions would be irresponsible,” a WarnerMedia spokesman said.    The film will be shown it its …

NASCAR has banned the Confederate flag from all events and properties. NASCAR says the Confederate flag “runs contrary to our commitment to providing a welcoming and inclusive environment for all fans, our competitors and our industry.” Former chairman Brian France in 2015 tried to ban the flying of Confederate flags at race tracks, a proposal too broad to enforce and one that angered NASCAR’s core Southern-based fan base.   NASCAR banned the Confederate flag from its races and properties on Wednesday, formally distancing itself from what for many is a symbol of slavery and racism that had been a familiar sight at stock car events for more than 70 years.  The move comes amid social unrest around the globe following the death in police custody of George Floyd, an unarmed black man in Minneapolis. Protests have roiled the nation for days and Confederate monuments are being taken down across the South — the traditional fan base for NASCAR. FILE – Bubba Wallace greets fans during a NASCAR Cup Series race at Martinsville Speedway in Martinsville, Va., Oct. 27, 2019.Bubba Wallace, NASCAR’s lone black driver, called this week for the banishment of the Confederate flag and said there was “no place” for it …

The art director of Cairo’s international film festival has resigned amid calls for his removal because of past inflammatory posts on social media, the festival said.  The resignation of Egyptian film critic Ahmed Shawky was announced Tuesday in a statement by the festival’s advisory board. Shawky, who was acting artistic director of the 2019 festival, had been appointed artistic director of this year’s festival earlier this month.  His recent appointment brought criticism from activists and others who pointed to past comments Shawky made that apparently espoused violence. Those include referring to the death of dozens of Egyptian soccer fans in a notorious riot as their being “culled.”The statement said the festival would continue preparing for its 2020 edition and “uphold our principles of championing diversity, bridging cultures, encouraging dialogue, celebrating new voices.” The festival is scheduled for November 19-28.The festival statement did not provide reasons for Shawky’s resignation. The film critic did not answer phone calls and messages seeking comment Wednesday.But Shawky’s resignation came after activists threatened to write to foreign filmmakers invited to the festival to inform them of Shawky’s history.  Among the most controversial statements of Shawky’s were posts about a 2012 soccer riot that left more than …

HBO Max has temporarily removed “Gone With the Wind” from its streaming library in order to add historical context to the 1939 film long criticized for romanticizing slavery and the Civil War-era South.   Protests in the wake of George Floyd’s death have forced entertainment companies to grapple with the appropriateness of both current and past productions. On Tuesday, the Paramount Network dropped the long-running reality series “Cops” after 33 seasons. The BBC also removed episodes of “Little Britain,” a comedy series that featured a character in blackface, from its streaming service.   In an op-ed Monday in the Los Angeles Times, the filmmaker John Ridley urged WarnerMedia to take down “Gone With the Wind,” arguing that it “romanticizes the Confederacy in a way that continues to give legitimacy to the notion that the secessionist movement was something more, or better, or more noble than what it was — a bloody insurrection to maintain the ‘right’ to own, sell and buy human beings.” In a statement, the AT&T-owned WarnerMedia, which owns HBO Max, called “Gone With the Wind” “a product of its time” that depicts racial prejudices.   “These racist depictions were wrong then and are wrong today, and we …

The Recording Academy is making changes to several Grammy Awards categories, including the often-debated best new artist title, and having nomination review committee members sign disclosure forms to prevent conflicts of interest. The new rules announced Wednesday will affect the 63rd annual Grammy Awards, which will air live on Jan. 31, 2021.   The best new artist award has been criticized for decades, and the academy has tried to evolve with the ever-changing music industry by continually updating the category’s rules. In recent years, the award has been scrutinized because the academy placed a song and album limit, disqualifying certain performers. But the new rules say, “there is no longer a specified maximum number of releases prohibiting artists from entering” the category. The change will benefit younger artists, specifically rappers, who tend to release many singles and therefore did not qualify in recent years because they surpassed the 30-song limit. Whitney Houston and Lady Gaga missed out on being best new artist nominees because of the category’s rules in the years they marked their breakthroughs. The academy also said musicians invited to participate in a nomination review committee — in place to safeguard a specific genre’s integrity and to serve …

The editor-in-chief of Bon Appetit, Adam Rapoport, resigned after a photo of him dressed in a stereotypical Puerto Rican costume surfaced on social media.Staffers at the magazine had criticized him after the photo, of him and his wife, circulated on Twitter. That tweet featured a screenshot of a 2013 Instagram photo by Rapoport’s wife that depicted the two dressed up in costume. In the screenshot, his wife tagged the photo “boricua,” a reference to Puerto Ricans, and called Rapoport “papi.” He was wearing a large, heavy chain, a do-rag and a baseball cap. His wife’s account is private.  In an Instagram post, Rapoport said he was stepping down as editor “to reflect on the work that I need to do as a human being.” He said the photo was of an “extremely ill-conceived” Halloween costume 16 years ago. He acknowledged “blind spots” as an editor and said the magazine’s staff and readers deserved better leadership.Furor over the photo unleashed other employee complaints. One staffer, Sohla El-Waylly, claimed on Instagram that she hasn’t been paid for appearing in videos for Bon Appetit’s popular YouTube channel, in contrast to white editors who did likewise. She called for Rapoport’s resignation and for people …

Former World Athletics’ Chief Lamine Diack was in a Paris courtroom Monday as a corruption trial opened against him. The case involves a Russian doping scandal. Eighty-seven-year-old Lamine Diack seemed relaxed as he made his court appearance Monday, sporting a dark grey suit. Arguments in the case were originally due to start in January, but postponed when new documents containing testimony from his son and co-defendant were submitted to the court. Lamine Diack is the former head of World Athletics – which was once known as the IAAF. As head of the IAAF from 1999 to 2015, Diack was once one of the most powerful figures in world athletics. Today, he lives under house arrest in Paris, charged with corruption and money laundering.  Prosecutors allege Diack solicited millions of dollars to cover up Russian doping tests.  Some of the money allegedly went to finance Macky Sall’s 2012 presidential campaign in Senegal. Sall won the election.  If found guilty, Diack faces up to 10 years in prison.  Diack denies wrongdoing. The trial is being held in Paris as the alleged money-laundering happened on French soil.  One of Diack’s lawyers, Simon Ndiaye, told reporters that people were unfairly lashing out against his client without any precise elements to back up their accusations. Ndiaye said Diack’s accusers have forgotten others surrounding the ex-chief. His client’s only concern, Ndiaye said, was to defend the IAAF and preserve its financial resources.  One of Diack’s sons, Papa Massata Diack, also faces corruption among other charges. He remains in …

To entice a European TV executive shopping for programs a few years ago, ABC offered up glossy fare including “Scandal” starring Kerry Washington and “How to Get Away with Murder” with Oscar-winner Viola Davis.   “‘This is great, but when are you going to start bringing us shows that don’t have black leads?’” the buyer asked in the 2015 meeting, as then-ABC executive Channing Dungey recounts. “I was sitting in a room in the 21st century, and I thought I was being slapped across the face.”   The remark was unusually blunt but the attitude is a familiar one within Hollywood’s own ranks: African American actors and stories make for poor exports, an assertion that’s burdened black artists and limited their opportunity and influence.   Until now. Box-office hits like “Black Panther” and the ethnically diverse “Fast & Furious” franchise increasingly undercut what filmmaker Ava DuVernay calls a “longstanding myth,” joined by a new generation of successful small-screen fare.   It’s an issue with resonance, as American torment over to the videotaped death of a black man in police custody is reflected in demonstrations held far outside this nation’s borders. Protesters carrying “We Are All George Floyd” and “Black Lives …

Until last week, if you clicked the hashtag #whitelivesmatter on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram, you’d find a smattering of right-wing posts by those opposed to the wave of global protests against racism and police brutality.  But follow that hashtag now, and you’re likely to find something much different: random, fan-created videos of South Korean pop music stars.  Over the past week, K-Pop fans around the world have commandeered the #whitelivesmatter hashtag, as well as #alllivesmatter and #bluelivesmatter, as a way to drown out racist posts that have also used those labels. It’s not just hashtags. When the Dallas, Texas police department set up a mobile app for users to submit videos of “illegal activity” from the protests, K-Pop fans quickly overwhelmed the site with tributes to their favorite stars, forcing the police department to take it down because of “technical difficulties.”  The online disruption, combined with the millions of dollars donated by K-Pop celebrities and their followers to Black Lives Matter causes, underscores how international fans of Korean music have emerged as a formidable organizing force for social causes around the world. “Their ability to massively coordinate action is just unparalleled. I’m serious when I say they are the most potent online …

Bubba Wallace donned a black T-shirt with the words “I Can’t Breathe” and NASCAR paused before Sunday’s Cup race at Atlanta Motor Speedway to acknowledge the country’s social unrest. The governing body vowed to to do a better job of addressing racial injustice in the wake of George Floyd’s death. During their warm-up laps, the 40 cars pulled to a stop in front of the empty grandstands and shut off their engines so NASCAR President Steve Phelps could deliver a message over their radio sets. “Thank you for your time,” Phelps said. “Our country is in pain and people are justifiably angry, demanding to be heard. The black community and all people of color have suffered in our country, and it has taken far too long for us to hear their demands for change. Our sport must do better. Our country must do better.” A black NASCAR official took a knee along pit road, mimicking a gesture used by protesters in tribute to former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick. All 40 crews stood on the wall in front of their pit boxes. “The time is now to listen, to understand and to stand against racism and racial injustice,” Phelps said. “We ask our drivers … and all our fans to …

Social distancing in the age of COVID-19 bars crowds from dense gatherings like movies or rock concerts.  This ‘new normal’ changes the business model of venues relying on turnout for profit.  VOA’s Arash Arabasadi cues up this story of a nightclub selling tickets and embracing the new normal. …

Netflix is removing an episode of the History 101 program that says AIDS originated in Haiti.“We have seen the concerns raised and, together with the series creators, have decided to remove the episode while we review the issues involved,” a spokesperson for the online streaming service told VOA via email Saturday. Netflix offers users television shows, movies and documentaries.History 101 is a British TV show produced by ITN productions. It is described on Netflix as “infographics and archival footage [that] deliver bite-size history lessons on scientific breakthroughs, social movements and world-changing discoveries.”The episode sparked outrage among Haitian Americans, who posted their criticism and started a petition on Instagram and Twitter.“The framing of the whole doc lacks in world view,” renowned Haitian American DJ Michael Brun posted on Instagram. “For a disease that has affected Africa the hardest, they had 0 scientists or representation from the continent (or Haiti).”    View this post on Instagram         As the @Netflix History 101 doc has been removed and is currently being revised by their team, I wanted to share what my issues were with their HIV / AIDS episode. The biggest issue is irresponsible framing in regards to black communities worldwide and the inclusion of misinformation. I …