Mary Njoku’s cover shoot: Telling the African story through film

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.

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.

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".

One year later, Eti-Inyene Godwin Akpan, a photojournalist who went out to document the #ENDSARS protest of 20 October 2020, shares his story and encounter with Nigeria's secret police, the Department of State Services.⁣⁣

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.

In the space of just a few years, the small Central American nation of Costa Rica has become a global laboratory for decarbonisation. Costa Rica is the world's only tropical country that has managed to reverse the process of deforestation: forests now cover more than half its surface. It’s also one of the few countries to get almost all its electricity (99 percent) from renewable sources. Costa Rica's inspiring and bold example reflects badly on major world powers, which have considerably more resources available to achieve their climate goals. Our regional correspondents Laurence Cuvillier and Matthieu Comin report.

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.

Stories of courage, specifically about women, are the theme of a special festival organised this weekend by Amnesty International in Paris. For three days, the curtain will go up on the 12th Cinema and Human Rights Festival. The event invites moviegoers and activists to watch a series of short and longer films and then debate their content. In Perspective, we spoke to coordinator Ievgeniia Sokova.