London Film Festival opens with spotlight on diversity

The London Film Festival opened its 60th edition Wednesday with a spotlight on ethnic minority actors and filmmakers, reflecting a debate over the lack of diversity currently raging in Hollywood.
“We really wanted to shine a light on black stars,” festival director Clare Stewart told AFP as the event opened with a tale of inter-racial love in Botswana by British director Amma Asante who was born to Ghanaian parents.
“I’m incredibly excited by just how dynamic, and broad, and urgent and challenging and entertaining are a lot of the films that are coming from black storytellers in this line-up,” Stewart added.
First up was Asante’s “A United Kingdom”, an account of the real-life marriage of Botswana prince Seretse Khama, played by David Oyelowo, and a white English woman, Ruth Williams,

Nigerian actress Rahma Sadau banned after on-screen hug

A leading Nigerian actress has been banned from the Hausa-language film industry because of her “immoral” behaviour, the main industry body says.
Rahma Sadau caused offence by “hugging and cuddling” pop star Classiq in a video, it added.
The industry, commonly known as Kannywood, has been under fire from conservative Muslim clerics who accuse it of corrupting people’s values.
They regard it as taboo for men and women to hold hands or kiss in public.
Ms Sadau, who is said to be on a holiday in India, has not yet commented on the ban imposed by Motion Pictures Practitioners Association of Nigeria (Moppan).
Its chairman, Muhammadu Kabiru Maikaba, SAID that the ban was “total”.
“This is not the first time that she has been doing these wayward things. We have been warning

Kim Kardashian made herself a target for robbery on social media – Police

Kim Kardashian West was robbed at gunpoint of millions of pounds worth of jewellery after making herself a target by flaunting her lavish lifestyle on social media, police have said.
The 35-year-old reality TV star reportedly had a gun held to her head before she was tied up and locked in the bathroom of a luxury residence in the French capital where she was staying during Paris fashion week.
She was “badly shaken but physically unharmed,” a spokeswoman said.
Five masked and armed men were involved in the raid and escaped with a jewellery box containing a ring worth €4m (£3.5m), as well as other valuables worth between €5m and €6m (£4.4m – £5.2m).
Four days ago, Kardashian West posted a photograph of a huge diamond ring on her left hand captioned with three diamond emojis.
Johanna Primevert, chief spokeswoman for the Paris police department, said: “This is the result of people who obviously posed as policemen and who assaulted Ms Kardashian in a private hotel in her room by threat of a weapon.
“This kind of incident is extremely rare in Paris. This is a star who is famous worldwide.