Kenya lifts ban on lesbian film, making it eligible for oscars

Once renowned for world-class cinema, Hong Kong's film industry was already struggling before the latest hurdle -- Chinese mainland-style censorship as authorities take their purge of dissent into the cultural sphere.

With its Terminator, Wizard of Oz and E.T. props on show, The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures is set to receive its first visitors on September 30. Upon opening, the museum -- run by the Oscar-awarding Academy -- will be the largest film-dedicated museum in North America.

From Tom Hanks at Los Angeles' new film museum, via Bali, where we meet a young climate change activist, and Paris for the blockbuster exhibition of the year, Eve Jackson brings you the week's culture news.

Kenya's constitution eased access to abortions in 2010 but the overwhelming stigma surrounding the procedure means that many women resort to traditional practices or backstreet clinics that put their life in jeopardy. Every week, 23 women die from botched abortions, according to a 2012 study by Kenya's health ministry. Campaigners say the real number is even higher.

Film critic Lisa Nesselson tells us about the impressive special effects that recreate the construction of the Eiffel Tower on the big screen, and why she was charmed by central performances from Romain Duris and Emma Mackey in French film "Eiffel".

Taking aim at the press and those who peddle it, “Lost Illusions” sees Honoré de Balzac settling scores within his sprawling multi-volume epic Comédie Humaine.Director Xavier Giannoli has brought 19th century Paris to life for his film adaptation of the novels, with celebrity, advertising and journalism in the crosshairs. Critic Lisa Nesselson tells us why the movie is as topical as it is entertaining.

As the COVID-19 outbreak begins to ease, Africa's premier film festival has returned for the 27th year in Burkina Faso. It's theater halls are crowded with masked attendees keen to see their countries represented on the silver screen. Burkinabe director Boubakar Diallo hopes to take home the festival's top prize.

A woman has died after being shot when US actor and producer Alec Baldwin fired a prop gun on a movie set.

After the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, a petition calling for a ban on live firearms on Hollywood film sets has gathered more than 15,000 signatures.

Kenyan runner Agnes Tirop, a rising star in Kenya's athletics scene, was buried on Saturday (October 23) at a funeral attended by more than 1,000 people. Tirop was found stabbed to death in her home in the Rift Valley town of Iten on October 13, in an incident that has shone the spotlight on violence against women in Kenya. Her funeral was held on the day she would have turned 26, the Vicar presiding over her funeral service noted.

Alec Baldwin has addressed the fatal shooting of Halyna Hutchins. With his wife Hilaria at his side, he took questions from paparazzi in a tense but courteous exchange.

Dwayne Johnson, the action star whose films pull in big bucks at global box offices, is aiming to entertain viewers in their living rooms with his next movie spectacle, the globe-trotting Netflix heist caper "Red Notice." Johnson stars in the movie with Gal Gadot and Ryan Reynolds about a race to locate and steal three valuable artifacts. The movie will stream on Netflix starting Friday after playing for a week in a limited number of movie theaters. The film ranks among the most expensive ever made by Netflix with a pricetag of roughly $200 million.