- Centre-left set to win as pro-Ukraine Lithuania votes
- Colombia guerilla group urges delegations not to attend COP16 in Cali
- Pakistan frets over security ahead of SCO summit
- Ronaldo scores 133rd Portugal goal in Nations League win over Poland
- 40 nations contributing to UN Lebanon peacekeeping force condemn 'attacks'
- Eight dead as heavy rain thrashes Brazil after long drought
- Jewish school in Canada hit by gunfire for second time
- Morocco crush Central African Republic, Guirassy scores hat-trick
- Dupont scores quickfire hat-trick on Toulouse Top 14 return
- Ronaldo scores in Portugal's Nations League win as Spain sink Denmark
- Interim boss Carsley has not applied for England job
- Mets hurler Senga ready to take on Dodgers in game one of NL Championship Series
- Ronaldo on target again as Portugal defeat Poland in Nations League
- Guardians rip Tigers 7-3 to advance in MLB playoffs
- AFP, BBC win top French war reporting awards
- Carsley goes back to basics as humbled England face Finland
- Alex Salmond: the man who took Scotland to the brink of independence
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- UN warns of catastrophe as Israel fights a two-front war
- Croatia extend Scotland's losing streak
- South Africa, New Zealand boost T20 World Cup semi-final hopes
- 'Very challenging': Israel faces Hezbollah in tricky terrain
- Farrell begins to feel at home as Racing 92 beat Toulon
- South Africa boost T20 World Cup semi-final hopes with Bangladesh win
- Samson ton powers India to T20 series sweep after record total
- Djokovic to face Sinner in Shanghai final with 100th title in sight
- UN peacekeepers to remain in Lebanon: spokesman
- Pro-Conquest film fuels debate in Mexico over colonial legacy
- Samson ton powers India to record 297-6 in Bangladesh T20
- New Zealand enjoy perfect start to America's Cup defence over Britain
- Pogacar emulates icon Coppi with fourth straight Il Lombardia triumph
- UN warns against 'catastrophic' regional conflict
- New Zealand crush Ineos Britannia in America's Cup opener
- Djokovic to face Sinner in blockbuster Shanghai Masters final
- With medical report Harris seeks to play health card against Trump
- Sri Lanka seeks to match success in W.Indies T20s
- Sinner reaches Shanghai final, will end year number one
- China-EU EV tariff talks in Brussels end with 'major differences': Beijing
- Sabalenka downs Gauff in three sets to reach Wuhan final
- Israel warns south Lebanon residents to 'not return'
- Sinner tames Machac to reach Shanghai Masters final
- Buried Nazi past haunts Athens on liberation anniversary
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- Hezbollah fires at Israel as wars rage on Yom Kippur
- Analysts warn more detail needed on new China economic measures
- China tees up fresh spending to boost ailing economy
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- China offers $325 bn in fiscal stimulus for ailing economy
- Dodgers drop Padres 2-0 to advance in MLB playoffs
China back at Cannes with women's rights blockbuster
One of China's biggest-ever productions, "She's Got No Name", premieres in Cannes on Friday, bringing megastars like Ziyi Zhang to the red carpet as well as the thorny issue of women's rights.
The film from acclaimed Hong Kong director Peter Chan has been generating a lot of buzz on Chinese social media, such as Weibo, thanks largely to its cast.
Zhang starred in the Oscar-winning "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" and "Rush Hour" alongside Jackie Chan, and earned a Golden Globe nomination for "Memoirs of a Geisha".
Alongside her are Lei Jiayin, Yang Mi and Jackson Yee, of hugely successful boyband TFBoys and Oscar-nominated 2019 film "Better Days".
Also bound to draw attention is the subject matter, which is based on a notorious murder case during the 1940s Japanese occupation of Shanghai.
Zhang plays Zhan-Shou, a resilient woman in an unhappy marriage who is charged with the dismemberment of her husband.
Women's rights are sensitive territory in today's China.
Under President Xi Jinping, authorities have cracked down on almost every kind of feminist activism, restricting NGOs, arresting high-profile figures, and suspending social media accounts.
Anything seen as feminist is increasingly considered a challenge to authority, and celebrities often feel the need to publicly disavow feminism.
- Lockdown drama -
Cannes has seen a return of Chinese cinema this year after a notable absence caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and the country's stringent lockdown.
The heavy-handed response of authorities to the pandemic was the subject of "An Unfinished Film", which premiered out-of-competition at the festival last week.
The highly "meta" drama shows a film crew meeting near Wuhan in early 2020. When one falls ill, others are forcibly locked in their hotel rooms for months.
Featuring amateur footage of anti-lockdown protests, the film was produced in Singapore and Germany, and is unlikely to see the light of day in China, due to strict censorship.
Other Chinese films at Cannes this year have included auteur Jia Zhang-ke's latest Palme d'Or entry, "Caught By The Tides", and "Twilight Of The Warriors: Walled In", a well-received martial arts thriller.
Guan Hu, the director of some of the biggest blockbusters of recent years such as wartime epic "The Eight Hundred", returned to his indie roots with "Black Dog", showing in the Un Certain Regard section.
"When we make films that are a little more intimate, there is less pressure, they become more sincere films," he told AFP.
His story about a man who returns to his home town after a spell in prison is far from the flag-waving patriotism of his commercial films.
He claimed there was markedly less censorship in the film industry these days.
"A few years ago, it could have hindered my work... but I find in recent years, there has been a clear improvement (in regard to censorship)," he said.
"Today, it is the market that decides everything."
He also said international festivals were vital to diplomacy.
"It's very important to exchange with different cultures. But if we really want to understand each other, we need to go and shoot films abroad and also have others come and shoot in China. I have this desire," he said.
D.Sawyer--AMWN