The Guardian Culture

‘Streaming gave me a space to be myself’: Twitch creators on what it’s like to grow up on the platform

The world’s most successful gamer content creators, many of whom have spent their entire adult life on the platform, have met up at TwitchCon in RotterdamAimee Davies, better known as Aimsey to their fans, is 24 but looks much younger. Sitting in a bland meeting room above the annual TwitchCon event in Rotterdam, they’re a barely contained whirl of energy in a beanie hat and T-shirt, all smiles and lightning-fast chatter. Aimsey (who uses they/them pronouns) is also a Twitch veteran, having star

entertainment  Jun 16, 2026

Hollywood Reporter

Jimmy Fallon, Jon Stewart, Seth Meyers and Jimmy Kimmel Revel in Knicks Win: “It All Feels Bigger Than Just Sports”

The late-night shows were in celebratory mood and paid tribute to the NBA champs winning their first title in 53 long years.

entertainment  Jun 16, 2026

The Guardian Culture

The Uses of Utopia by Joad Raymond Wren review – can the ideal society ever exist?

This fascinating intellectual history of imagined paradises takes us from Thomas More to Ursula K Le GuinBy definition, utopia cannot exist. In 1516, educated readers of Thomas More’s Utopia would have appreciated a tension between two possible derivations of this novel word: the Greek “eu-topos”, meaning good place, and “ou-topos”, meaning not a place at all. It might have been a compact warning that one should never attempt to turn utopias into reality. Those who have tried usually witnessed t

entertainment  Jun 16, 2026

The Guardian Culture

Girlfriends review – love and growing pains in queer coming-of-age tale that goes from Hong Kong to Taiwan

A trio of actors play one woman from high school to her mid-30s in Tracy Choi’s thoughtful romantic drama It can stretch credibility a little when an actor plays the same character over a long time span in one film. Richard Linklater solved the problem in Boyhood by shooting scenes over succeeding years; AI and de-ageing effects are now an option. With this intimate queer coming-of-age drama, film-maker Tracy Choi instead casts a trio of actors to play one woman from high school to her mid-30s.

entertainment  Jun 16, 2026

Variety

‘Vikram Betal’ AI-Enabled Film Set at India’s Collective Studios Historyverse (EXCLUSIVE)

Historyverse, the culturally focused content label within India’s Collective Studios, has announced “Vikram Betal,” an AI-enabled film adaptation drawing on the ancient Indian folk tradition of King Vikramaditya and the spirit Betal. Birla Open Minds will serve as knowledge partner on the project. The source material – rooted in the “Baital Pachisi,” a collection of […]

entertainment  Jun 16, 2026

Variety

‘Vikram Betal’ AI-Enabled Show Set at India’s Collective Studios Historyverse (EXCLUSIVE)

Historyverse, the culturally focused content label within India’s Collective Studios, has announced “Vikram Betal,” an AI-enabled adaptation drawing on the ancient Indian folk tradition of King Vikramaditya and the spirit Betal. Birla Open Minds will serve as knowledge partner on the project. The source material – rooted in the “Baital Pachisi,” a collection of tales […]

entertainment  Jun 16, 2026

Variety

‘Kiki’s Delivery Service’ Live-Action Series Set at BBC Studios, Kadokawa and Wheel in Motion

BBC Studios Kids & Family has unveiled a three-way partnership with U.K. production company Wheel in Motion and Japan’s Kadokawa Corporation to develop a live-action television series based on Eiko Kadono’s novel “Kiki’s Delivery Service,” marking the property’s first live-action television treatment. Currently in development, the project is planned as 10 half-hour episodes drawn primarily […]

entertainment  Jun 16, 2026

Hollywood Reporter

In ‘Black Money for White Nights,’ Russia’s Ukraine Invasion Messes With an Aging Couple’s Dreams (Exclusive Clips)

The film from Bulgarian directors Kristina Grozeva and Petar Valchanov about post-Soviet society debuts in the main competition of the Karlovy Vary festival, which the duo won in 2019 with 'The Father.'

entertainment  Jun 16, 2026

Variety

‘Sicko’ Director on Why Gory Kazakh ‘Parasite’ ‘Not as Violent as Life Itself’: ‘Life Has Much More to Be Afraid Of’

There will be blood — and lots of it — in Kazakh director Aitore Zholdaskali’s solo debut, “Sicko,” a hard-boiled crime thriller about an internet scam gone wrong that plays this week at the Transilvania Intl. Film Festival.  Written by Zholdaskali, Kazybek Orazbek and Aldiyar Zhaparkhanov, “Sicko” follows a cash-strapped couple who hatch a get-rich-quick scheme […]

entertainment  Jun 16, 2026

Variety

France TV Distribution Lands ‘Building Paris,’ a Documentary Offering an Immersive View of the City of Light’s Iconic Monuments (EXCLUSIVE)

France TV Distribution has added the documentary “Building Paris” (“Construire Paris”) to its lineup and will premiere it at Sunny Side of the Doc, running June 22-24 which brings the international documentary community together in France. The doc focuses on 19th century Paris and the radical changes it went through after Emperor Napoleon III and […]

entertainment  Jun 16, 2026

Variety

‘Gone,’ ‘Tip Toe’ Star David Morrissey on Relying on Gut Instinct: ‘Analysis Can Be Paralysis Sometimes’

British actor David Morrissey tries not to think of the audience when making TV shows “but once you push the boat out of the harbor you’re just praying and hoping that people like it,” he tells Variety at the Monte-Carlo Television Festival. As the star of ITV’s hit thriller “Gone,” which is in competition at […]

entertainment  Jun 16, 2026

The Guardian Culture

Unsure about Disclosure Day? You are not alone

Audiences have propelled Spielberg’s alien thriller to the top of the box office. Yet some exiting the cinema appear to believe this sappy extravaganza is not the director’s finest hourA sage person once told me every noted director’s career is an ongoing conversation with the audience. Some film-makers – Michael Haneke, say – sit on high, like a headteacher at an assembly, and loftily number the ways in which we’ve let ourselves and the school down. There are others – Lars von Trier and Ari Ast

entertainment  Jun 16, 2026

The Guardian Culture

Free as a bird: the Mexicans redefining gender – in pictures

From gymnasts in kitten heels to lovers stalked by a devil, Pieter Henket’s dazzling portrait series, Birds of Mexico City, can feel like being in ‘a museum where the art comes alive’ Continue reading...

entertainment  Jun 16, 2026

The Guardian Culture

Nightwatchers review – desperate struggle of migrant crisis under surface of picture-postcard ski resort

Juliette de Marcillac’s documentary follows the volunteers helping those crossing the French Italian border and shines a light on the the hypocrisies underpinning the treatment of asylum seekersWith its rustic wooden chalets and spectacular alpine peaks, the French ski town of Montgenèvre has long been a popular holiday destination. Looking past these postcard-perfect vistas, Juliette de Marcillac’s absorbing documentary paints a very different picture, focusing instead on a humanitarian crisis

entertainment  Jun 16, 2026

The Guardian Culture

From cool Marseille to a photo-feast in Arles – an art trail through Provence

The French cities of Marseille, Aix, Avignon and Arles boast a wealth of museums and festivals showing work by contemporary artists. Here’s how to make the most of a dazzling cultural summerMy wife and I moved from London to Marseille a little over five years ago when our British passports still conferred “right to reside” in France. That first winter on the beach, in short sleeves, as our daughters played in the topaz-coloured Mediterranean and the sun set across an ever-clear blue sky, I under

entertainment  Jun 16, 2026

The Guardian Culture

Natural Disaster by Lisa Owens review – the last day of maternity leave is a comic rollercoaster

Parenting is represented in all its hilarious, moving and truthfully plodding detail, in the story of a mother and her two little boysThe last day of maternity leave, and an unnamed mother of two decides to stage a “yes day”, full of treats and good feelings. Of course it does not go according to plan: the treats are deficient, misjudged and underappreciated; the good feelings are fleeting, quickly upstaged by anxiety, guilt or humiliation. This familiar-sounding scenario is the simple yet braci

entertainment  Jun 16, 2026

Hollywood Reporter

Masha Gets a New Family: How Animaccord Is Expanding Its 235 Billion-View Franchise

With 'Masha and the Three Bears' set to debut at Annecy, the studio behind the world's most watched cartoon is betting that a fresh take on parenting and folklore can win over a whole new generation.

entertainment  Jun 16, 2026

Hollywood Reporter

APOS: Brazilian Soccer Star Neymar Licenses His AI Likeness to Microdrama Platform FlareFlow

The Chinese-owned vertical entertainment platform is launching a 16-title AI-powered microdrama franchise featuring Neymar during the ongoing World Cup. 

entertainment  Jun 16, 2026

Hollywood Reporter

APOS: Brazilian Soccer Star Neymar Licenses His AI Likeness to Microdrama Platform FlareFlow

The Chinese-owned vertical entertainment platform is launching a 16-title AI-powered microdrama franchise featuring Neymar during the ongoing World Cup. 

entertainment  Jun 16, 2026

Hollywood Reporter

APOS: Korean Studio Showbox Signs Microdrama Co-Production Deal With ReelShort

The deal makes the studio behind 'Exhuma,' 'A Taxi Driver' and 'Itaewon Class' the latest major player in Korea's film industry to chase the booming — and crowded — vertical drama market.

entertainment  Jun 16, 2026