News Analysis India

Tag: Documentary

  • Actor Sean Penn plans to help Ukrainian refugees through his charity

    By IANS

    LOS ANGELES: Award winning-actor Sean Penn has been filming a documentary about the Russian invasion of the country, and he’s now struck a deal with Mayor of Krakow Jacek Majchrowski to supply aid to Ukrainian refugees through his charity.After signing the agreement, Penn said during a Q and A: “We intend to stay the course. “This is one of the most heartbreaking moments in most of our lifetimes for the world at large and it is a crisis at large.” Penn previously spent time at the Ukrainian border and witnessed the scale of the refugee crisis for himself, reports femalefirst.co.uk.Following a brief return home to Los Angeles, he’s now back in Poland and determined to offer as much help and support as possible.Discussing his efforts to help the people of Ukraine, the actor said: “I’m going to do everything I can do. Whether is me being here, or coming back many times, or just coming back to shake the hands of the people who are doing the work.” “They can count on me as I count on them.”Earlier this month, Penn confessed to being startled by what he witnessed on the border between Poland and Ukraine.The Oscar-winning actor shared: “We had the luxury of being able to abandon a rented vehicle on the side of the road. This was a startling thing to me; it was mostly women and children, some in groups and some just a mother and her child, in almost all of those cars.”In some cases, the father was dropping them off and returning, because we know that from 18 to 60, men are not to leave, they’re to stay in the resistance against Russia.”

  • Director Sean Penn filming documentary on Russian invasion 

    By Express News Service

    Hollywood star and filmmaker Sean Penn, who is known for his association with anti-war and humanitarian causes, is in Ukraine filming a documentary on the Russian invasion, reports Variety.

    The Oscar winner appeared at a press briefing on Thursday (U.S. Pacific Standard Time) in Kyiv, listening to government officials of Ukraine talking about the ongoing crisis. The documentary is a Vice Studios production in association with Vice World News and Endeavor Content. The actor last visited Ukraine in November 2021 to start the preparations for his documentary by visiting the country’s military installations.

    “Penn has visited the Office of the President and spoken with [Ukrainian] Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk, as well as local journalists and members of the Ukrainian military,” Newsweek reported. The Office of the President issued a statement through the Ukrainian embassy praising the Oscar-winning actor and filmmaker. The statement’s translation accessed read: “The director specially came to Kyiv to record all the events that are currently happening in Ukraine and to tell the world the truth about Russia’s invasion of our country.”

    The statement added: “Sean Penn is among those who support Ukraine in Ukraine today. Our country is grateful to him for such a show of courage and honesty. Sean Penn is demonstrating bravery that many others have been lacking, in particular some Western politicians. The more people like that—true friends of Ukraine, who support the fight for freedom—the quicker we can stop this heinous invasion by Russia.”

  • Netflix in talks to make The Tinder Swindler documentary into a feature film

    By Express News Service

    Netflix’s recently released documentary The Tinder Swindler is likely to be made into a movie.

    The documentary is about an Israeli fraudster named Shimon Hayut, who conned Scandinavian women into parting with hundreds of thousands of dollars by pretending on the dating app Tinder to be Simon Leviev, the son of Israeli diamond tycoon Lev Leviev.

    Directed by Felicity Morris, the documentary interviews the women who were conned by Hayut. It shows how they uncover his true identity with the help of journalists from the Norwegian newspaper VG and bring him to justice.

    Hayut, who was imprisoned in Israel in December 2019 on a 15-month jail sentence, conned his victims by romancing them with expensive dates and forming long-distance relationships with them. He then asked them to take out lines of credit for him under their names in order to pay for what he claimed to be extensive security needs.

    As per reports, Netflix has initiated talks with the producers to adapt The Tinder Swindler into a feature film. Raw TV produced the documentary alongside AGC Studios and Gaspin Media.

  • Kevin Macdonald to helm documentary on John Galliano

    By Express News Service

    Scottish filmmaker Kevin Macdonald, known for directing documentaries and features such as Touching the Void (2003), The Last King of Scotland (2006), State of Play (2009), Marley (2012), and The Mauritanian (2021), has a new subject to explore. The filmmaker will be directing a documentary based on the life of Britain’s iconic fashion designer John Galliano.

    The acclaimed fashion designer was caught controversy when he was suspended by his fashion company in 2011 due to anti-Semitic remarks. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the documentary hails from France-based production and distribution company, Newen Studios.

    Macdonald’s other directorial credits include How I Live Now (2013), Black Sea (2014), and Whitney (2018). His most recent release, The Mauritanian, starred Jodie Foster, Tahar Rahim, Shailene Woodley, and Benedict Cumberbatch.