Global Pulse

分类： entertainment

  • ‘Aura farming’: The video game-inspired youth trend sweeping Latin America

    ‘Aura farming’: The video game-inspired youth trend sweeping Latin America

    On a sunlit beach in Peru’s capital Lima, dozens of young people recently converged to dance, strike playful poses, and showcase wildly creative choreography — all with one shared goal: growing their aura. The gathering was one of the first official “aura battles” held in the country, a tangible offshoot of the viral internet phenomenon “aura farming” that is rapidly capturing the attention of Gen Z creators across Latin America.

    Participants lean into elaborate, playful cosplay, drawing inspiration from comic book heroes, animated movie characters, public figures and even internet memes, competing in informal dance-style showdowns decided entirely by audience applause. The competitor who draws the loudest cheers and brings the most original energy to the floor moves on to the next round. One recent attendee dressed as Spider-Man wowed the crowd with acrobatic forward rolls and push-ups set to thumping techno beats, while another pulled off a sharp, one-legged kicking routine straight out of a popular action video game.

    Originating in video game culture and amplified by viral social media content, aura farming first popped up in community gatherings across Brazil before spreading rapidly across borders. Unlike traditional competitions that focus on technical skill or fame, the trend centers on unfiltered self-expression and positive energy.

    “”Aura farming is about letting your essence flow in a space where you’re in front of other people, but there’s no room for shame,” explained 20-year-old film student Liam González, who attended the Lima event in full costume as the beloved animated character Shrek. Another attendee, 19-year-old Gonzalo Cornelio, drew attention for his costume inspired by former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, replicating the grey tracksuit the leader wore the night he was detained by U.S. military forces.

    The name “aura farming” draws direct inspiration from video game mechanics, where players “farm” or repeatedly collect points and resources to level up their characters. In this trend, the resource being cultivated is positive energy, or “good vibes,” that boost a person’s aura — a term borrowed from spiritual traditions referring to the unseen energy field said to surround every individual. Peruvian digital content creator Fernando Lícito, who brought the aura battle trend to Peru after seeing a viral Brazilian contest clip in June, has organized three sold-out events in the country so far. He emphasized that unlike many competitive youth events, aura battles have no place for conflict: participants never physically touch one another or trade insults, with victory going solely to whoever can get the biggest reaction from the crowd.

    Many participants weave in other popular internet trends into their routines: some copy soccer superstar Cristiano Ronaldo’s iconic “siuu” goal celebration, while others repeat the phrase “six, seven” while moving their hands in a nod to a widely shared viral meme. From its origins in Brazil, the trend has spread to major Latin American capitals including Mexico City, Quito and Buenos Aires, where dozens of participants held a public battle in front of the city’s famous Obelisk monument. It has even jumped across the Atlantic, with public events popping up in Madrid, Burgos and Zaragoza in Spain.

    María Paula Martínez, an arts professor at Colombia’s Los Andes University, notes that the trend’s biggest impact has been moving online community connection into real physical spaces. “It’s not about becoming popular,” she explained. “It’s about putting out good vibes, and having other people recognize that energy.” For many young participants, it provides a low-stakes, joyful outlet to socialize and embrace creativity after years of isolated digital connection during the COVID-19 pandemic.

    Like many viral youth trends, aura farming has drawn a mixed reaction from public officials and institutions across the region. Some local authorities have pushed back against public events: in Lima’s upscale Miraflores district, officials recently scrapped a planned aura battle after organizers failed to secure the required public space permits. In July, the mayor of Cuiabá, a city in southwest Brazil, rejected permit applications for an aura tournament, arguing the event did not serve the public interest, forcing organizers to relocate the gathering to a local university campus. In Costa Rica, the ministry of education has banned aura battles from all public schools, claiming the events could fuel student conflict and disrupt academic activities.

    The trend has found official support in other corners of the region, however. In Mexico, the federal education minister publicly embraced the trend, posting a lighthearted viral video where he joked he was “farming good education” ahead of the new school year. For young participants like González, the pushback from older generations comes as no surprise — and it doesn’t dampen their enthusiasm for the new hobby.

    “My grandmother doesn’t understand what I’m doing, she thinks it’s all silly,” González said. “But we were born in a different era. This is just how we have fun and show who we are.”

  • Cup noodles made with cold water? BBC tries Japan’s viral snack

    Cup noodles made with cold water? BBC tries Japan’s viral snack

    Japan’s food innovation space never fails to surprise global food lovers, and the newest viral sensation turning heads across social media and international media circles is surprisingly simple: instant cup noodles prepared entirely with cold water. The BBC has stepped in to put this unconventional snack to the test, sending Tokyo-based correspondent Kurumi Mori to experience the trend first-hand for curious audiences worldwide.

    What began as a clever hack for situations where boiling water is unavailable has quickly grown into a full-blown viral trend among young Japanese consumers. Originally conceived as a convenient solution for outdoor activities, emergency situations, or sweltering summer days when heating water feels like too much effort, cold-water cup noodles have exploded in popularity across Japanese social media platforms, with thousands of users sharing their own preparations and reviews of the quick snack.

    Unlike traditional instant noodles that require hot water to soften the dried noodle blocks and activate the flavoring powders, manufacturers behind this trend have reformulated their noodle products to soften gradually in cold water in just a few minutes. Depending on the brand and variety, most cold-water compatible cup noodles are ready to eat between three and five minutes after adding cold tap water, delivering a chewy, textured noodle that many fans describe as surprisingly satisfying, especially on hot days when a cold meal is more appealing than a steaming bowl.

    Mori’s test for the BBC followed the standard preparation method: adding cold water to the cup, sealing it, waiting the required time, then stirring in the flavoring to serve. Early reactions from the correspondent note that while the flavor profile differs slightly from the classic hot preparation, the snack delivers on convenience and novelty, two key factors that have helped it spread rapidly across Japan’s food culture.

    Food industry analysts note that this viral trend reflects two growing shifts in Japanese consumer behavior: rising demand for quick, no-fuss meal solutions for busy lifestyles, and growing appetite for novel, shareable food experiences that perform well on social media. As the trend continues to gain traction internationally via online content, many wonder if cold-water instant noodles could soon become a popular snack in markets outside of Japan.

  • Could Tupac verdict inspire new efforts to also find killer of his rap rival?

    Could Tupac verdict inspire new efforts to also find killer of his rap rival?

    After three decades of unresolved speculation surrounding one of hip-hop’s most shocking tragedies, a Las Vegas court has finally handed down a guilty verdict in the murder trial of iconic rapper Tupac Shakur, closing a chapter that has haunted global music culture for generations. The defendant, Duane “Keffe D” Davis, was convicted of orchestrating the 1996 drive-by shooting that killed the West Coast rap legend, a outcome that drew raw emotional reactions from Shakur’s family inside the courtroom and reignited calls to solve the parallel unsolved killing of East Coast rap star The Notorious B.I.G.

    For legal experts, the conviction marks a historic end to one of America’s highest-profile cold cases. “We’re talking about the greatest rapper of all time, an icon, and not a single arrest or prosecution for 30 years,” former prosecutor Neama Rahmani told the BBC, describing the case as an uphill battle that few believed prosecutors could win. “This is huge. It was a tough case. It’s a cold case. It gives closure to 30 years of mystery, the end of an era.”

    Inside the courtroom, the moment the guilty verdict was read brought immediate tears and embraces from Shakur’s loved ones, with one family member even hugging the lead prosecutor on the case. For his part, Davis has already announced he plans to appeal the ruling, while legal observers and hip-hop fans alike have turned their attention to the long-dead case of Christopher Wallace, better known by his stage names Biggie Smalls and The Notorious B.I.G., Shakur’s iconic East Coast rival who was killed in a nearly identical drive-by shooting in Los Angeles just six months after Shakur’s death.

    What makes the Davis conviction particularly notable is that the entire case rested almost entirely on Davis’ own repeated public admissions of his role in the killing. Over decades, Davis openly discussed his involvement in multiple media documentaries, a published memoir, podcast interviews, and even a secret police interrogation. He claimed that on the night of September 7, 1996, he placed a firearm in the backseat of a vehicle, and his nephew Orlando Anderson fired the fatal shots at Shakur as their car pulled alongside Shakur’s near the Las Vegas Strip. Anderson, who always denied killing Shakur, was shot and killed in a separate gang confrontation in 1998.

    Notably, prosecutors presented no physical evidence to corroborate Davis’ admissions: there were no eyewitnesses who could place Davis in the vehicle during the shooting, no murder weapon was ever recovered, and no video or photographic evidence placed Davis at the scene that night. Davis’ defense team argued aggressively that his repeated confessions were nothing more than fabricated tall tales designed to sell books and boost his public profile, telling the jury that there was no concrete proof of his guilt. Trial attorney Shaun Kent summed up the prosecution’s position ahead of the verdict, noting that “the strongest witness against him – is him.” The case only moved forward because Davis repeatedly chose to discuss his role publicly, with Kent explaining “the case really evolved with each interview and moment that Davis decided to open his mouth and talk about the case more.”

    Rahmani argued that Davis’ repeated willingness to confess on the record makes him one of the most unassuming criminals in recent history. “He would have never have faced charges if he had stayed silent,” Rahmani said. “He really couldn’t stop himself. Even when he was arrested and in custody, he was giving interviews.”

    The trial also pulled the jury back into the context of 1990s hip-hop culture, when a brutal high-profile feud between East Coast and West Coast rap scenes dominated the genre, and deep-seated gang influence and a street code of silence kept witnesses from cooperating with police. Even after being fatally wounded, Shakur refused to name his attackers to responding officers, telling an ambulance crew that he would handle the situation on his own. That same code of silence allowed Biggie’s killing to remain unsolved for 29 years.

    Davis has long been tied to Biggie’s killing as well: he was acquainted with the rapper and was present at the same Los Angeles party the night Biggie was killed, and the investigator who interviewed Davis after Biggie’s death even testified during the Tupac trial. The Los Angeles Police Department has confirmed that Biggie’s murder remains an active, open investigation, and legal experts are hopeful that the Tupac conviction will encourage investigators to re-examine the 29-year-old cold case.

    “It’s really a stain on the LAPD. The fact that this could happen and not a single arrest was made and no one was prosecuted,” Rahmani said of Biggie’s unsolved death, which occurred on a public street in the middle of America’s second most populous city. “Prosecutors don’t like to lose and tend to be a little gun shy, but maybe this [Tupac’s conviction] will embolden folks in Los Angeles to maybe take another look at it, a cold case that’s coming up on 30 years.”

    In a statement to the BBC, LAPD Lieutenant Elpidio Orozco confirmed the department remains committed to solving the case, saying “The murder of Christopher Wallace remains an open, unsolved case within LAPD’s Robbery-Homicide Division,” and urging any member of the public with new information to contact authorities.

    For fans and family of Tupac Shakur, however, the verdict brings a long-awaited end to three decades of uncertainty, closing one of the most infamous chapters in modern music history.

  • Ex-Crips leader found guilty in 1996 murder of rapper Tupac Shakur

    Ex-Crips leader found guilty in 1996 murder of rapper Tupac Shakur

    After nearly three decades of speculation, unanswered questions, and rampant conspiracy theories, one of the most high-profile cold cases in American music history has finally resulted in a conviction. On Monday, a Las Vegas jury found former South Side Compton Crips gang leader Duane “Keffe D” Davis guilty of murder with a deadly weapon for his role in orchestrating the 1996 drive-by shooting death of legendary hip-hop icon Tupac Shakur.

    Court observers described a tense, emotional scene inside the downtown Las Vegas courtroom as the verdict was read. The 63-year-old defendant, dressed in a crisp black suit, remained completely impassive as the jury foreman announced the guilty finding. Moments later, he formally informed Clark County District Court Judge Carli Kierny of his intent to appeal the conviction, a process that will move forward after his sentencing scheduled for October 13. Across the courtroom, members of Shakur’s family reacted with quiet emotion, locking hands, embracing one another, and shedding tears after the verdict was delivered. Shakur’s sister hugged lead prosecutor Binu Palal in a show of gratitude, while devoted fans gathered outside the courthouse cried and cheered at the news of the guilty outcome.

    Shakur, one of the most influential and commercially successful rappers of all time, was just 25 years old when he was gunned down on September 7, 1996, at the height of his career. To date, he has sold more than 75 million records worldwide, and his cultural legacy has only grown in the decades since his killing. The shooting occurred amid a bitter, well-documented rivalry between East Coast and West Coast hip-hop scenes, intertwined with long-standing gang feuds between the Crips and Bloods that shaped much of 1990s rap culture.

    Prosecutors argued during the trial that while Davis did not pull the trigger himself, he was the mastermind behind the killing. According to the state’s case, Davis supplied the 9mm handgun used by his nephew Orlando Anderson, who fired the fatal shots from the passenger seat of a white Cadillac that pulled alongside the BMW Shakur was riding in after a boxing match in Las Vegas. The attack was planned as retaliation for a physical altercation between Anderson and Shakur’s entourage that occurred just hours before the shooting, prosecutors confirmed.

    The case against Davis rested largely on his own repeated public statements about his involvement in the killing. In a 2008 secret police interview conducted as part of the investigation into the murder of fellow rapper The Notorious B.I.G. (born Christopher Wallace), Davis first admitted his presence in the Cadillac and his role in organizing the attack. He expanded on these claims in great detail in his 2019 tell-all memoir *Compton Street Legend*, as well as in multiple documentaries and podcast interviews. These public disclosures voided a prior immunity agreement Davis had struck with authorities, allowing prosecutors to use his 2008 interview as evidence in the trial.

    In closing arguments, Palal urged jurors to accept Davis’ own accounts of his role, noting that the former gang leader had openly claimed responsibility for Shakur’s death across dozens of media appearances over more than a decade. “He’s the shot caller — in every instance in every iteration he’s the leader of the South Side Crips,” Palal told the jury. “When you have the shot caller sitting shotgun when shots are fired, there’s no doubt he’s responsible.”

    Davis’ defense team pushed back hard against the prosecution’s narrative, arguing that the defendant’s public comments were nothing more than exaggerated bravado designed to boost book sales and bolster his reputation within gang circles. Defense attorney Michael Sanft told jurors that the state had no physical evidence linking Davis to the shooting, and that the case relied entirely on unsubstantiated statements from a proven liar. Despite this argument, the jury reached a guilty verdict within just hours of beginning deliberations.

    Following the verdict, Judge Kierny set Davis’ sentencing for October 13, and confirmed that any formal appeal process would move forward after sentencing. The conviction closes one of the most enduring mysteries in modern hip-hop, bringing a long-awaited resolution to a case that has captivated music fans around the world for nearly 30 years.

  • Across Latin America, ‘aura battles’ burst onto the scene

    Across Latin America, ‘aura battles’ burst onto the scene

    A vibrant new social trend has rapidly captured the attention of young people across Latin America, with informal ‘aura battles’ emerging as one of the most talked-about youth activities in the region. Unlike traditional competitions that measure physical skill, academic performance or artistic talent, these novel contests center entirely on one intangible quality that many believe shapes personal and professional success: charisma.

    Participants in aura battles go head-to-head in friendly showdowns, where they work to convince judges and audiences that their personal ‘aura’ — the unique magnetic energy and presence they project — outshines that of their competitors. What began as a niche inside joke shared on social media platforms has quickly snowballed into a widespread cultural phenomenon, with gatherings popping up in major cities from Mexico City to Buenos Aires, and viral challenge clips racking up millions of views across TikTok, Instagram and YouTube.

    The sudden popularity of aura battles among Latin American youth reflects a broader cultural shift toward celebrating soft skills and personal authenticity in a post-pandemic world. After years of social distancing and remote interaction that left many young people feeling disconnected, these low-stakes, high-energy competitions offer a playful space for self-expression and connection. Unlike high-pressure competitive activities that focus on formal achievement, aura battles invite participants to embrace their unique personalities, turning the simple act of being oneself into a friendly game.

    Cultural observers note that the trend also taps into growing public fascination with the concept of aura and personal magnetism across global social media. What makes the Latin American iteration unique, they add, is how it blends regional cultural values of warm interpersonal connection and expressive communication with the viral mechanics of internet culture, creating a trend that feels both deeply rooted in local culture and perfectly suited for the digital age. As participation continues to grow, many organizers are now planning larger, public aura battle events that draw crowds of hundreds of spectators, cementing the trend’s place in contemporary Latin American youth culture.

  • Festival honouring Dolly Parton set for Nashville and London

    Festival honouring Dolly Parton set for Nashville and London

    Country music legend Dolly Parton, who passed away at 80 on August 25 following a short battle with cancer, will be celebrated through a unique, star-studded two-day festival planned for London and Nashville, according to an official announcement from her estate released this Monday.

    Named DollyFest, the event will roll out across two consecutive weekends in 2027, with exact dates to be revealed at a later stage. What many fans do not know is that the celebration traces its origins back to Parton herself, who originally conceptualized an earlier iteration of the festival where she would host and take the stage alongside fellow artists. That first planned event, scheduled for January 2026, was quietly canceled before any public announcement after Parton faced unexpected health complications.

    Instead of a conventional public memorial service, which Parton explicitly did not want, DollyFest will stand as the official public tribute to her decades-long legacy. Parton was laid to rest this past Friday at a private family funeral held in Nashville, where she was interred beside her late husband Carl Dean at the city’s Woodlawn Memorial Park and Mausoleum, confirmed by her great-niece.

    Danny Nozell, founder and CEO of CTK Enterprises and the lead organizer of DollyFest, explained that the festival aligns perfectly with Parton’s personal wishes. “It feels more appropriate for us to take a beat, let all the tributes that immediately make sense occur naturally, and then, see through this festival-style concept that was truly dreamed up by Dolly,” Nozell said in the press release. He added that the event stays true to who Parton was, giving artists and fans across the globe space to participate, while also allowing everyone time to grieve and make preparations to join the celebration. The estate has also noted it does not discourage fans from holding their own personal tributes to Parton in whatever ways feel meaningful to them. “A lot of people always say, WWDD (What Would Dolly Do?), and, well, at this moment, DOLLYFEST is WDWD (What Dolly Would Do!),” Nozell added.

    Born in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee, Parton built a seven-decade career as one of the most influential figures in modern music, alongside work as a celebrated philanthropist and businesswoman. Her discography includes some of the most recognizable songs in country music history, such as *Coat of Many Colors*, *Jolene*, and *I Will Always Love You*. Over her career, she earned 10 Grammy Awards, sold more than 100 million records worldwide, and penned thousands of original tracks. Parton often prioritized her identity as a songwriter over any other title, once saying: “It’s my way of expressing myself. It’s my therapy.”

    Since news of her death broke earlier last week, heartfelt tributes from celebrities, political figures, and millions of adoring fans have flooded social media platforms around the world, a testament to the far-reaching impact of her life and work. Now, DollyFest is set to deliver the large-scale celebration the icon always wanted, turning her original vision into a once-in-a-lifetime gathering for all who loved her music and legacy.

  • John Galliano exhibition at New York Met cancelled after backlash

    John Galliano exhibition at New York Met cancelled after backlash

    In a decision that has sent ripples through the global fashion industry, iconic British designer John Galliano has called off a major retrospective of his decades-long career at New York’s The Metropolitan Museum of Art, following widespread public backlash sparked by his 2011 criminal conviction for hateful antisemitic and racist remarks.

    The Met had originally unveiled plans for the exhibition *John Galliano: Horizons*, scheduled to open to the public in May 2027. The show was also set to serve as the official thematic centerpiece for the 2026 Met Gala, the annual high-profile fundraising gala for the museum’s Costume Institute, scheduled to kick off on May 3 — a date that directly coincides with Yom HaShoah, the global day of remembrance for victims of the Holocaust.

    In a public statement released Monday, Galliano confirmed the cancellation, saying: “After much reflection and discussion with the Met and all those involved, I have decided, with great sadness, that it is best for the exhibition not to take place at this time.” The designer acknowledged the enduring harm of his past actions, taking full accountability for the pain his words inflicted on Jewish and South Asian communities more than a decade prior. “I remain deeply sorry for it,” he wrote. “I understand that meaningful atonement is not achieved through an exhibition, institutional recognition or a single public gesture. It is a continuing responsibility, demonstrated through listening, learning and one’s conduct over time.” He added that he recognized a career retrospective honoring his work would remain triggering for many, and had no desire to draw attention away from the transformative work carried out by the Met’s Costume Institute. He also noted his 15 years of continuous sobriety and recovery from alcohol and drug addiction, which he says has shaped his personal journey of growth over the past decade and a half.

    The controversy dates back to 2011, when Galliano was arrested and convicted in a Paris court for verbally abusing a Jewish curator at a local restaurant, hurling racist insults at her South Asian companion, and declaring admiration for Adolf Hitler in a separate incident. The outburst led to his immediate dismissal from his role as creative director of luxury fashion house Dior, a position that had cemented his status as one of the most influential designers of his generation. In the years following his conviction, Galliano gradually returned to the industry, serving 10 years as creative director of avant-garde label Margiela before stepping down in 2024.

    Vogue global editorial director Anna Wintour, a long-standing Met trustee and core organizer of the Met Gala, publicly expressed her full backing for Galliano’s decision. “John’s decision that the exhibition devoted to his work should not take place at this time is very courageous and a measure of the man he is,” Wintour said. “I believe this is the right decision, and both he and the Museum have my full support.”

    Despite Wintour’s support, opposition to the exhibition had mounted rapidly in recent weeks, particularly amid a documented nationwide surge in antisemitic incidents across the United States. New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin, who had led local pushback against the plan, praised the cancellation in a statement Monday. “From the beginning, I have told them that I strongly disagreed with this decision, and at this rising time of antisemitism, it had served as a gut punch to the Jewish community,” Menin said. “This is the correct decision, as the harm and pain this was causing was simply unacceptable.”

    Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League — a leading organization dedicated to countering antisemitism and hate speech — also welcomed the outcome, noting that the current wave of antisemitism across the country made honoring Galliano a deeply misguided choice. “Even Galliano ultimately recognised what the Met should have done from the start,” Greenblatt said. “This was the wrong move at the wrong moment. Timing matters.”

  • Dolly Parton laid to rest alongside husband in Nashville

    Dolly Parton laid to rest alongside husband in Nashville

    One week after the passing of legendary country music star Dolly Parton at the age of 80, the global music community has gathered to honor her life and enduring legacy, as the icon was laid to rest in a private ceremony in her home state of Tennessee.

    On Friday, Parton received a closed, family-only funeral service in Nashville before being interred at Woodlawn Memorial Park and Mausoleum, where she rests beside her late husband Carl Thomas Dean, who passed away in 2020 after more than 50 years of marriage to Parton. The tomb is marked by a custom brass plaque engraved with the names of Parton and Dean, alongside etchings of their childhood hometowns, local news reporter Amelia Young from Nashville’s NewsChannel 5 confirmed in a social media post featuring photos of the memorial site.

    In a heartfelt public tribute posted one day after the burial, Parton’s great-niece Lainey Parton opened up about the profound impact the star had on her family and her own life. Referring to Parton as “granny” — a nickname the extended family used for the star, who never had biological children of her own — Lainey shared that Parton treated every member of the family as her own. “Because she couldn’t have kids of her own, she always made us feel like we were hers. She loved us that way, and I’ll forever be grateful for that,” Lainey wrote. She went on to recall how Parton nurtured her ambitions from childhood, supporting her through beauty school not just with encouragement, but tangible help to reach her goals. “She didn’t just tell me to chase my dreams, she helped me get there,” Lainey said, adding that she still struggles to process the icon’s passing: “It still doesn’t feel real that she’s gone. I’m going to miss her voice, her laugh, her hugs, and just knowing she was there.”

    The official obituary published by Woodlawn Memorial Park highlighted both Parton’s unparalleled contribution to music and her famously warm character. “Dolly Parton’s legacy is one of love, kindness, and resilience. With a seven-decade career, she inspired multiple generations of artists and fans with her music and an unwavering commitment to making the world a better place,” the statement read. In line with the family’s wishes, the obituary requested that well-wishers forgo sending flowers and instead make donations to Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, the iconic literacy non-profit Parton founded that has sent more than 200 million free books to children across the globe since its launch.

    On Saturday, the country music world gathered at Nashville’s iconic Grand Ole Opry — widely recognized as the spiritual home of country music — for a public tribute concert honoring Parton’s life and work. One of Parton’s nieces, singer Jada Star, took the stage to perform *The Orchard*, a track she recorded alongside her aunt for the 2024 collaborative album *Smoky Mountain DNA: Family, Faith and Fables*. Ahead of her performance, Star shared that she was navigating deep grief alongside all of Parton’s fans: “I am walking around in a fog of sadness, like all of you have. I do not take this honor lightly.”

    The concert closed with a group performance of Parton’s iconic hit *9 to 5*, which featured a surprise appearance from contemporary country superstar Jelly Roll alongside Grammy-winning vocalist Carly Pearce. Pearce, who got her early start performing at Parton’s famous Tennessee theme park Dollywood, credited the icon with launching her own music career. Beyond the Grand Ole Opry tribute, candlelight vigils have been held in major cities across the United States, including Seattle, to honor Parton’s legacy.

    In recognition of Parton’s outsized impact on her home state, Tennessee’s governor has announced plans to rename Nashville International Airport after the country icon. Across the Atlantic, fans have driven a surge in streams of Parton’s 1980 hit *9 to 5*, putting the track on track to top the UK Official Singles Chart this week. The Official Chart Company confirmed that while streaming numbers have softened slightly in recent days, the track remains in contention for the number one spot when the final weekly rankings are released this Friday.

  • Everything you need to know about the 2026 Venice Film Festival

    Everything you need to know about the 2026 Venice Film Festival

    The world’s oldest major film celebration, the 83rd Venice Film Festival, is set to open its doors to A-list celebrities, acclaimed filmmakers, and awards hopefuls on Wednesday on the Italian island of Lido, kicking off the annual fall festival circuit in typical high-profile fashion.

    Widely ranked as the second most prestigious film festival on the global calendar, trailing only Cannes, the Venice Film Festival carries a long, storied history dating back to its 1932 founding as a non-competitive event under the umbrella of La Biennale di Venezia. Early screenings included Hollywood classics such as *Grand Hotel* and *It Happened One Night*, before organizers transitioned it to an annual competitive gathering in 1935. Concerns over fascist political influence on the 1938 edition directly spurred the creation of the Cannes Film Festival as an alternative European event. The festival’s iconic top prize, the Golden Lion, was introduced in 1949, and its roll of winners reads as a who’s who of cinema history, from Akira Kurosawa’s 1951 *Rashômon* to last year’s recipient *Father Mother Sister Brother*.

    This year’s 12-day iteration will run through September 12, when the main competition jury, led by American actor and filmmaker Maggie Gyllenhaal, will announce this year’s award winners. The festival opens with Danny Boyle’s *Ink*, a big-screen adaptation of the hit stage play tracking Rupert Murdoch’s early career and controversial acquisition of British tabloid *The Sun*, starring Guy Pearce in the lead role alongside supporting turns from Jack O’Connell and Claire Foy.

    As has become tradition, the 2025 edition draws an extraordinary lineup of global stars, many of whom are attached to buzzy projects already drawing early awards attention ahead of next year’s Oscars. A-list mainstay George Clooney will return to the Lido to accept a lifetime achievement Golden Lion, alongside fellow honoree Ellen Burstyn. Other notable guests confirmed to attend include Oasis’ feuding Gallagher brothers Noel and Liam, sisters Rooney and Kate Mara, Robert Pattinson, Penélope Cruz, Javier Bardem, Pamela Anderson, Sam Rockwell, John Malkovich, Louis Garrel and *Parasite* star Cho Yeo-jeong.

    Among the narrative competition titles, the most heavily anticipated is Martin McDonagh’s dark comedy *Wild Horse Nine*, which follows two CIA operatives in the lead-up to the 1973 Chilean coup, with Rockwell and Malkovich in the lead roles. McDonagh’s two prior works, *Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri* and *The Banshees of Inisherin*, both premiered at Venice before going on to earn Oscar best picture nominations, cementing expectations for this latest entry. The lineup also includes Florian Zeller’s psychological drama *Bunker* starring real-life couple Cruz and Bardem; Werner Herzog’s *Bucking Fastard* featuring the Mara sisters as twin siblings; and revered South Korean filmmaker Lee Chang-dong’s first feature in eight years, *Possible Love*. Robert Pattinson will draw headlines for his portrayal of former *To Catch a Predator* host Chris Hansen in *Primetime*, a project that has already drawn attention for being produced without Hansen’s participation.

    The documentary lineup is equally high-profile, anchored by Oscar-winning documentarian Alex Gibney’s nearly four-hour deep dive into billionaire Elon Musk, titled simply *Musk*. Other nonfiction entries include Julia Loktev’s continuation of her portrait of independent Russian exiled journalists in *My Undesirable Friends: Part II — Exile*, and *Oasis: Don’t Look Back in Anger*, which follows the Gallagher brothers on their highly anticipated 2025 reunion tour. A last-minute addition to the competition lineup also includes *NAZA*, a documentary focusing on the Gaza Strip.

    For all its cinematic glamour, the 2025 festival has not escaped the geopolitical tensions that have increasingly disrupted global cultural events in recent years. The most prominent controversy centers on Ilya Khrzhanovsky’s competition entry *DAU*, a project exploring the lives of Soviet atomic physicists. Ukraine’s foreign ministry, culture ministry and Italian embassy have publicly condemned the film’s inclusion, arguing it is tied to Russian state and its influence networks. Festival director Alberto Barbera has pushed back against the criticism, defending the selection in an official statement noting the film “is not a Russian film. It is not pro-Putin propaganda. It is a film that denounces totalitarian regimes and their intrusion into citizens’ lives to restrict their freedom.” Khrzhanovsky has also publicly rejected the claims, stating his opposition to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and calling for the film to be judged on its content rather than unsubstantiated associations. The controversy follows similar unrest at the 2025 Venice Biennale art exhibition earlier this year, where the entire jury resigned in protest over the participation of Russian and Israeli artists.

    A second activist campaign, organized by the group Venice4Palestine, is calling on the festival to suspend all formal agreements with Israeli government-linked institutions and fly the Palestinian flag across festival venues throughout the event. Two Palestinian independent films are included in the 2025 official selection. The festival has also faced criticism over gender representation in its main competition: out of 21 features competing for the Golden Lion, only one, *Woman Unknown* directed by May el-Toukhy, is helmed by a woman filmmaker. This marks the first time since 2018 that the competition has included just one woman-directed feature, despite a 2018 commitment from organizers to reach 50% women-directed competition entries by 2020, a goal that has yet to be met.

    Beyond the red carpets and controversies, the festival retains its unique character as a cinematic event hosted on Lido, a 11-kilometer barrier island located a 20-minute vaporetto ride from Venice’s historic central districts. Once a 12th-century military outpost, Lido transformed into a luxurious seaside resort popular with European aristocrats by the late 1800s, and served as the setting for Thomas Mann’s classic novella *Death in Venice* and its 1971 film adaptation by Luchino Visconti. Many A-list guests stay in luxury hotels across Venice’s surrounding islands, from the iconic Hotel Excelsior (the only five-star property on Lido) to the Hotel Cipriani on Giudecca, the Gritti Palace, and the Aman Venice — the venue where George and Amal Clooney married in 2014. Most celebrities arrive at premieres and press events via private water taxi, with short trips from nearby hotels sometimes made by sponsored car, a rarity in car-free central Venice.

    Beyond glamour and controversy, the Venice Film Festival has cemented itself as one of the most influential stops on the road to the Academy Awards. Festival director Barbera has traced this reputation back to the 2013 premiere of *Gravity*, which went on to win seven Oscars months later. As the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has grown more internationally diverse, Venice’s influence on the Oscar race has only expanded: since 2014, four best picture Oscar winners have premiered at the festival, and 2024’s lineup produced two best picture nominees. With this year’s packed slate of star-driven, critically acclaimed projects, that streak looks set to continue.

    The jury for the 2025 main competition includes Gyllenhaal alongside Tunisian filmmaker Kaouther Ben Hania, English composer Daniel Blumberg, French filmmaker Xavier Giannoli, Afghan filmmaker Shahrbanoo Sadat and Hong Kong auteur Johnnie To. All award winners will be revealed during the closing ceremony on September 12.

  • Movie stars, timely documentaries and awards hopefuls convene at the Venice Film Festival

    Movie stars, timely documentaries and awards hopefuls convene at the Venice Film Festival

    The lazy, slow days of August usually put Hollywood’s glitzy annual calendar on pause, but the 83rd Venice Film Festival is poised to launch the busy fall festival circuit with its signature blend of red carpet glamour, boundary-pushing cinema, and industry drama when it opens Wednesday on the historic Lido waterfront.

    A-list stars from across the globe are set to walk the iconic festival’s red carpets this year, with names including Noel Gallagher, Liam Gallagher, Robert Pattinson, Rooney Mara, George Clooney and Penélope Cruz confirmed to attend. Clooney and veteran actress Ellen Burstyn will also take center stage to accept lifetime achievement Golden Lions, capping decades of acclaimed work in film. For decades, the Venice Film Festival has served as a launching pad for awards season contenders, and industry observers already expect several of this year’s entries to earn Oscar nods in the coming months.

    But unlike past editions, much of the global conversation surrounding this year’s lineup centers not on A-list contenders or future blockbusters, but on a high-profile subject who will almost certainly not be in attendance: billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk. The core of this attention stems from Oscar-winning documentarian Alex Gibney’s nearly four-hour investigative film, which has been four years in the making. Gibney initially hesitated to take on the project, but a close friend persuaded him that a deep dive into Musk’s life and career would offer a revealing portrait of power in the 21st century — a project that gained even more cultural relevance ahead of its release amid Musk’s high-profile involvement in the 2024 U.S. presidential election and his controversial leadership of social platform X (formerly Twitter), tied to his DOGE cryptocurrency initiative.

    When the documentary was first announced, Musk took to social media to dismiss it as a biased “hit piece.” Gibney quickly pushed back, asking publicly, “How would you know?” In comments to The Associated Press, Gibney shared that he began the project as an admirer of Musk’s work — and even a Tesla owner — and extended multiple invitations for Musk to participate in the film on camera.

    “Ultimately, he didn’t want to talk to me,” Gibney said. “But then you start digging into the facts and you follow them where they lead. And where they led, for me, was to a place that upended the myth, I would say, of Elon Musk as a kind of modern Leonardo da Vinci … I think that the news in this film is that Musk isn’t an inventor. He’s a confidence man.”

    Gibney and his team conducted interviews with hundreds of people with direct knowledge of Musk’s career at Tesla and SpaceX, many of whom spoke only off the record. The director compared Musk to fallen disgraced corporate leaders such as Enron’s executives and Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes. Gibney added that he was most struck by how many sources — even self-described Musk supporters — refused to speak on the record without first seeking Musk’s permission to comment.

    “I thought, wow, for such a big and powerful person, that seems awfully weak,” Gibney noted. While the film tackles a “dark and dangerous topic,” Gibney described it as a compelling, engaging “fun ride” for audiences.

    Musk’s documentary is not the only timely, politically charged work headlining this year’s nonfiction lineup. Julia Loktev’s *My Undesirable Friends: Part II — Exile*, a nearly six-hour follow-up to her 2020s documentary, continues her sprawling portrait of independent Russian journalists who fled their home country after Vladimir Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

    “You see this group of young, very young journalists who’ve just fled their country, on a few hours’ notice. They had the choice of, you know, stop reporting the truth about the war, which didn’t seem like a choice at all, or go to prison, or leave the country so they can keep telling the truth,” Loktev explained. “It was a question of how long do you keep following? Because this takes place over four years. And over that time, exile becomes, of course, indefinite.” Despite its extended run time, Loktev says the documentary holds audience attention: “I hear it goes by easy.”

    The ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict in Gaza will also take a prominent spot in the lineup, with the new documentary *NAZA* added as a late entry to the main competition. The film comes from two of the creators behind the Oscar-winning documentary *No Other Land*. Unlike the 2024 edition of the festival, no large-scale public protests have been organized, but advocacy group Venice4Palestine has called on festival leadership to “suspend all agreements with entities and institutions linked to the Israeli government” and fly the Palestinian flag across festival grounds throughout the event.

    Beyond documentary, the festival’s narrative lineup includes a number of awards contenders vying for early Oscar momentum. The Venice Film Festival has a long track record of launching best picture nominees, and this year’s slate includes several high-profile projects from award-winning filmmakers. Martin McDonagh, whose last two features premiered at Venice before earning multiple Oscar nominations, returns with *Wild Horse Nine*, a 1970s-set CIA comedy starring John Malkovich and Sam Rockwell. Oscar-winning *The Father* director Florian Zeller brings his new psychological thriller *Bunker*, which stars Penélope Cruz and Javier Bardem. Danny Boyle examines a key turning point in tabloid journalism history with *Ink*, while Lance Oppenheim’s *Primetime* has drawn significant curiosity for Robert Pattinson’s lead performance as *To Catch a Predator* host Chris Hansen and its deep dive into early 2000s reality TV culture.

    International cinema also features heavily in this year’s main competition. Japanese master Hirokazu Kore-eda debuts *Look Back*, a coming-of-age story following two small-town teenage girls chasing their dream of becoming professional manga artists. Korean auteur Lee Chang-dong explores class, labor and romantic desire through the intersecting lives of two married couples in *Possible Love*.

    Notably, the 2025 festival comes at a moment when major Hollywood studios have increasingly pulled back on relying on international film festivals to build buzz for awards contenders. The 2025 Cannes Film Festival had no major studio blockbusters in its lineup, yet Hollywood went on to post one of the highest-grossing summer seasons in history. Last year’s best picture winner *One Battle After Another* skipped the entire festival circuit entirely. While Venice booked more Hollywood titles than Cannes this year, the overall buzz around awards contenders is far more muted than in years past, after multiple high-profile entries saw their Oscar prospects fizzle prematurely in recent seasons.

    Beneath the glamour and awards buzz, the 2025 edition also spotlights a long-unfulfilled promise the festival made to advance gender equity behind the camera. Just one of the 21 films in this year’s main competition is directed by a woman: Danish-Egyptian filmmaker May El-Toukhy. This mirrors the 2018 lineup, which also had only one female director in competition. That 2018 lack of representation prompted the festival to sign a public pledge promising that at least 50 percent of main competition films would be directed by women by 2020 — a goal it has yet to meet seven years later.

    The lack of representation stings even more given that actress-director Maggie Gyllenhaal, whose 2021 feature *The Lost Daughter* won the festival’s best screenplay award, is this year’s main competition jury president. One of her fellow jurors is Tunisian director Kaouther Ben Hania, whose film *The Voice of Hind Rajab* won the Silver Lion in 2024, a year when six competition films were directed by women. In the history of the festival, only seven women have ever won the top prize, the Golden Lion.

    Outside the main competition, representation is far better. The independent Venice Days sidebar, which opens this year with Hungarian director Lili Horvát’s English-language debut *My Notes on Mars*, has more than half of its 2025 lineup directed by women, including high-profile short films from established auteurs including Mona Fastvold and Claire Denis. Horvát called it “good to be in a progressive section.”