Nigerian Photographer Adolphus Opara Competes in Spain for Photoafrica Award
May 20th, Tarifa, Spain – Award-winning Nigerian photographer Adolphus Opara competes with his work “Urban Insomnia” in finale of 4th Photoafrica contest, which takes place within the 8th African Film Festival of Tarifa (FCAT) in Spain, from June 6th to 19th. Adolphus Opara thematizes in his work, among other themes, also modern African cities and their dwellers. Opara won or was nominated for several domestic and international awards for his work including World Press Photo Joop Swart Masterclass 2010. He regularly exhibits his work in Nigeria as well as in Europe. The 4th Photoafrica contest offers €3,000 in prize money through 3 awards.
The topic of this year Photoafrica is “Urban Space” of African cities seen through the photographers eyes. The exhibiton of altogether 27 large format photographs will be inaugurated and installed outdoors in Tarifa before and through the festival and after its closure will be travelling the whole year through Spanish and African cities. The Photoafrica is co-organized by Andalusian Centre Of Photography.
“This year we registered record number of 75 photographers from all over the Africa, who sent more than 400 photographs to the competition and from which we chose 27 final photographs to be inaugurated in Tarifa and on the following tour.” says Gaetano Gualdo, Photoafrica coordinator and continues: “The jury will select three absolute winners, which will get 3 awards endowed with 1 500, 1 000 and 500 euros respectively.”
While topics of previous editions were “Borders” in 2009 and “Independence” in 2010, this year topic is “Urban Space”. “We decided for this topic, because more and more Africans resettle from villages to cities and this predicts a lot of radical changes of the continent in the future. We want to capture this process.” adds Gualdo.
4th Photoafrica participants represent newcomers as well as experienced photographers, in some cases participants or even winners (Mimi Cherono or Adolphus Opara) from previous editions. The winning photograph from last year “Portrait of the artist as a young woman” of Mimi Cherone was selected as the official visual of this year African Film Festival of Tarifa.
The most entries (23) came this year from South Africa and 16 of them made into the finale. Surprisingly the average age of South African finalists is between 20-30 years and some of them have started to make photographs already in their teen years.
From Tarifa 4th Photoafrica exhibition will be travelling through Spanish and African cities till the end of the year.
There have been 215 photographs from 120 photographers exhibited within Photoafrica since it has started in 2008.
25 photographers competing at 4th Photoafrica: ● Abdelmohcine Nakari, Morroco ● Aboubacar Traore, Mali ● Adolphus Opara, Nigeria ● Djibril Drame, Senegal ● Georges Senga, RDC ● James Muriuki, Kenya ● Hlompho Letsielo, Lesotho ● Resta Nyamwanza, Zimbabwe ● Mário Macilau, Mozambique ● Marwen Trabelsi, Tunis ● Mimi Cherono Ng'ok, Kenya ● Noncedo Charmaine Mathibela, South Africa ● Roanne Sutcliffe, South Africa ● Anthony Purnell, South Africa ● Bianca Kerstein Vinay, South Africa ● Cendyl Charlton, South Africa ● Chandre Busschau, South Africa ● Costas Christodoulou, South Africa ● David Kutlwano Moagi, South Africa ● Davina Gokool, South Africa ● Hayden Brawn, South Africa ● Ihsaan Haffejee, South Africa ● Jessica MacLeod, South Africa ● Kristi Bailey, South Africa ● Mack Magagane, South Africa
About FCAT African film festival of Tarifa (FCAT – Festival de Cine Africano de Tarifa) is an independent and competitive film festival and one of the biggest African film festivals in Europe. The FCAT celebrates its eighth edition from 11th to 19th June in Andalusian town Tarifa - the closest town of continental Europe to the African continent - the two continents are in fact only 14 km apart from one another in this geographical area. This year FCAT will screen up over hundred African films and it will bring together some of the most distinguished African filmmakers. Its aim is to spread knowledge about African film production by exhibiting a representative wide variety of audiovisual African works every year: from the classics to more innovative and recent films, from documentaries to feature length fiction films, from South Africa to Morocco and from Senegal to Ethiopia. More on www.fcat.es
Contact: Filip Hruby International Press Officer African Film Festival of Tarifa (FCAT) Mobile: +420/775 011 550 Skype: filip.hruby2409 gabineteprensa2@fcat.es www.fcat.es
If your sweetheart is naturally black and beautiful, Black and beautiful like Yonta Yonta the naive Yonta the suave Yonta the brave Please give thanks to the Almighty God who made her so.
She is hot chocolate and good for the heart.
Tell her not to bleach, tone or skin wash her natural endowment given to her by our maker and owner of our life.
I love my own black and beautiful woman.
I thank God for the black woman after my heart.
Photo Credit: From the film THE BLUE EYES OF YONTA /UDJU AZUL DI YONTA by Flora Gomes, Guinea-Bissau, 1992; 90m
Yonta is a beautiful young woman growing up in the city of Bissau a generation after her nation has gained independence. She develops a secret crush on Vicente, a good friend of her parents and a hero of their country's struggle. Meanwhile, Yonta herself has a secret admirer, a shy young man name Zé who sends her love letters copied from a Scandinavian book (hence, her "beautiful blue eyes"). Gomes' film is a lovely, delicate work about youthful illusions--both personal and national--that powerfully demonstrates the director's talent for eliciting wonderfully nuanced performances from his actors.
As mark of commitment and responsibility to our statutory duties, I find it very expedient to address the Press for the purpose of acquainting you and the nation at large with the recent happenings in Bauchi and Borno States
The Inspector-General of Police Hafiz Abubakar Ringim, NPM, mni wishes to inform the general public that the Police are fully aware of the current threat to security in some parts of the country.
The Police in collaboration with other security agencies are working tirelessly to restore peace and order in the affected areas and the IGP has vowed to bring to book the Islamic sect called Boko Haram and any other group of persons who are behind the current spate of bomb blasts in the country. Considering the previous activities of Boko Haram sect in the country, the sect is responsible for almost daily killings in remote northeastern Nigeria and is thought to be behind a bombing on Thursday 19/05/2011 that injured policemen and soldiers. The explosion followed an attack on a police station late on Wednesday by suspected members of Boko Haram, a group behind frequent attacks in the northeastern states of Borno and Bauchi.
On the 7th of September, 2010 at about 1845hrs during the Magrib prayer, (evening prayer) a group of about 200 suspected Boko Haram fanatics armed themselves with General Purpose Machine Guns and Locally made Bombs attacked Bauchi Federal Prisons and consequently set free 721 inmates. Among the forcefully released inmates were 105 members of Boko Haram sect who were previously remanded in the prison custody. 4 persons were reportedly killed during the incident, among them were, 1 Soldier, 1 Policeman and 2 civilians, while 4 persons were reportedly injured.
During this attack, the administrative Block, the Armoury and a van were set ablaze; the fire was later put-off by combined efforts of Fire Service and the Police. 171 empty shells and live ammunition of General Purpose Machine Gun were recovered at the scene. Also recovered are two provocative handbills where names of some clerics are written such as: Bishop A.T Moses, Mallam Abubakar and Pastor Sunday Peters among many others. Our investigation has revealed that most of the names and addresses are the people considered as critics and enemies.
Consequent upon this incident, Police has risen to the occasion and re-arrested 35 inmates. Also information has it that, some inmates have started returning to the prison on their own volition. We understand that lack of cooperation from the residents has hindered thorough operation in that area. According to the force spokesman in Borno, Boko Haram had killed 50 officers since its uprising.
Our investigation revealed that Boko Haram is linked with al-Qaeda and on 2 October 2010, an ‘Eid Address’ – also dated 2 October 2010 – from Sheikh Muhammed Abu Bakr bin Muhammed ash-Shakwa, named as the ‘Emir of the Sunni Group for the Islamic Call and Jihad in Some African Lands Known as Nigeria’ [aka the BokuHaram] was released onto jihadist forums. In it, ash-Shakwa makes a lengthy and very robust appeal for Muslims in Nigeria to wage jihad to defend Islam from its ‘enemies’. He says that the group is fully committed to carrying out the ‘programme of the Prophet’ and establishing Sharia law.
He also pays tribute to al-Qaeda, its regional affiliates and respective leaders in Iraq, Yemen and North Africa, as well as the Mujahidin Youth Movement [aka the Shabab] in Somalia, and ‘the mujahidin in Pakistan, Chechnya and Kashmir’. Ash-Shakwa’s address was released in a PDF format by al-Fajr Media and is sourced to al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb’s (AQIM) media division, al-Andalus. It appears to be genuine. This is significant as in February 2010, an address from the head of AQIM, Abu Mus’ab Abdal-Wadoud, entitled ‘The Genocide of Muslims in Nigeria – A New Episode in the Ongoing Crusader War’ was released onto jihadist forums in which he offered to train and arm Nigerian Muslims to conduct attacks against Christians in Nigeria. Following the release of ash-Shakwa’s Eid address, several members on jihadist forums referred to the group as ‘al-Qaeda in Nigeria’.
On 24 April, 2011 the radical sect, Boko Haram, vowed to continue fighting until the Nigerian Constitution is set aside and Islamic government is established across the country.
However, the security agencies are in the process of identifying and arresting the perpetrators behind this mindless threats and mischief across the country and all persons are advised to be law abiding. The Boko Haram sect and its members are under surveillance and they will all be arrested and prosecuted in due course. Nigerians should discountenance their threats and go about their lawful duties”.
Signed DCP OLUSOLA E. AMORE FORCE PUBLIC RELATIONS OFFICER, FORCE HEADQUARTERS, ABUJA
Human Rights Groups Condemn Recent Attacks and Humanitarian Aid Restrictions in Darfur
Washington, D.C. – Sudan Now, a group of human rights and anti-genocide organizations, today called on the Obama Administration to condemn the Government of Sudan for conducting air strikes against civilians in Darfur and preventing humanitarian assistance from accessing the affected sites. The administration should demand that access for humanitarian groups and peacekeepers be restored immediately, the Sudan coalition said.
The air attacks were the second in three days conducted by the Government of Sudan and were followed by the denial of access for humanitarian groups and peacekeepers for nearly all of South Darfur, including two of the largest displacement camps in the world.
“The U.S. government has offered a roadmap to normalization of relations with Khartoum, with the hope that these incentives could lead to a peaceful transition to independence of South Sudan as well as progress toward peace in Darfur. The latest egregious acts of bombing civilians and denying UN access should give immediate pause to offers of normalization. President Obama should make it clear to the Sudanese government that while the United States is willing to offer a way forward, there are certain acts that are unacceptable under any circumstances.” stated Mark Hanis, President and Co-Founder of Genocide Intervention Network / Save Darfur Coalition.
“Restrictions on humanitarian access are immoral and totally unacceptable,” said Ruth Messinger, President of American Jewish World Service. “The path towards peace is undermined when violence continues to be perpetrated and vital supplies and service are not permitted to reach those who rely on them for survival. I expect the United States Government and the international community to stand firm and send a strong message that these behaviors must end.”
“Although we repeatedly hear about how the Sudanese government is increasing access for peacekeepers and humanitarians in Darfur, invariably they revert to bombing civilians and cutting off access to aid,” said Enough Executive Director John Bradshaw. “Unless the international community imposes a clear cost for this egregious behavior, it will keep recurring.”
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Sudan Now is a campaign led by a group of anti-genocide and human rights advocacy organizations committed to bringing meaningful and lasting peace to Sudan and encouraging strong American leadership and action to achieve this goal. The campaign challenges President Obama and top U.S. administration officials to live up to their promises to take strong and immediate action to help end the international crisis in Sudan and bring a lasting peace to Sudan’s people. Organizations participating in the campaign include Humanity United, the Enough Project at the Center for American Progress, Genocide Intervention Network, American Jewish World Service, Stop Genocide Now, and Investors Against Genocide.
Millions of people are still perishing in ignorance of the Truth of Jesus Christ, because of their unbelief and being misled by false doctrine and false religion. That is why I have to remind them of the awesome testimony of Gulshan Esther, a Muslim girl, imprisoned by her religion and severe disability, but was healed and set free by Jesus Christ HIMSELF!
A true story of freedom and miraculous healing as a Muslim girl finds faith in Christ
When Gulshan Esther, a devout Muslim girl, was six months old, typhoid left her a cripple. Her loving father took her from Pakistan to England to find a cure, but the only hope the British specialist could offer was prayer. Gulshan and her father made pilgrimage to Mecca and begged Allah for healing, but it was not until her father’s untimely death that Gulshan began to receive an answer. In her grief she wanted to die, but as she called out to God, for the first time in her life she sensed she was being heard. She heard a low, gentle voice say, "I won’t let you die. I will keep you aliveÖI am Jesus, son of Mary."
As Gulshan began reading the Quran, her interest in Jesus grew, until one amazing night he appeared to her in her bedroom in a blaze of light. He restored her crippled arm and leg and taught her The Lord’s Prayer. He told her to go to his people—now her people—and tell them what he had done. Since that time, and to this day, she has been a joyous, obedient disciple of Christ. The Torn Veil is an amazing story of faith and determination.
This moving autobiography was first published in 1984 and has sold over 200,000 copies worldwide.
Click on the Amazon image of the book cover below to order for this book of the extraordinary testimony of this Muslim woman who saw Jesus our Lord!
Shell Decides to Move Forward With Groundbreaking Floating LNG Shell Announces Final Investment Decision on Prelude Floating LNG Project in Australia
The Hague, May 20 /PRNewswire/ — The Board of Royal Dutch Shell plc (Shell) has taken the final investment decision on the Prelude Floating Liquefied Natural Gas (FLNG) Project in Australia (100% Shell), building the world's first FLNG facility. Moored far out to sea, some 200 kilometres from the nearest land in Australia, the FLNG facility will produce gas from offshore fields, and liquefy it onboard by cooling.
The decision means that Shell is now ready to start detailed design and construction of what will be the world's largest floating offshore facility, in a ship yard in South Korea.
From bow to stern, Shell's FLNG facility will be 488 metres long, and will be the largest floating offshore facility in the world - longer than four soccer fields laid end to end. When fully equipped and with its storage tanks full, it will weigh around 600,000 tonnes - roughly six times as much as the largest aircraft carrier. Some 260,000 tonnes of that weight will consist of steel, around five times more than was used to build the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
"Our innovative FLNG technology will allow us to develop offshore gas fields that otherwise would be too costly to develop," said Malcolm Brinded, Shell's Executive Director, Upstream International. "Our decision to go ahead with this project is a true breakthrough for the LNG industry, giving it a significant boost to help meet the world's growing demand for the cleanest-burning fossil fuel."
Brinded continued "FLNG technology is an exciting innovation, complementary to onshore LNG, which can help accelerate the development of gas resources".
The facility has been designed to withstand the severest cyclones - those of Category 5. Ocean-going LNG carriers will offload liquefied gas, chilled to minus162 Celsius and shrunk in volume by 600 times, and other products, directly from the facility out at sea for delivery to markets worldwide. Until now, the liquefaction of offshore gas has always involved piping the gas to a land-based plant.
Shell has progressed the Prelude FLNG project at a rapid pace, with first production of LNG expected some ten years after the gas was discovered.
The FLNG facility will tap around 3 trillion cubic feet equivalent of resources contained in the Prelude gas field. Shell discovered the Prelude gas field in 2007.
Some 110,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day of expected production from Prelude should underpin at least 5.3 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) of liquids, comprising 3.6 mtpa of LNG, 1.3 mtpa of condensate and 0.4 mtpa of liquefied petroleum gas. The FLNG facility will stay permanently moored at the Prelude gas field for 25 years, and in later development phases should produce from other fields in the area where Shell has an interest.
Ann Pickard, Country Chair of Shell in Australia said "this will be a game changer for the energy industry. We will be deploying this revolutionary technology first in Australian waters, where it will add another dimension to Australia's already vibrant gas industry."
Brinded added "beyond this, our ambition is to develop more FLNG projects globally. Our design can accommodate a range of gas fields, and our strategic partnership with Technip and Samsung should enable us to apply it progressively faster for future projects. We see opportunities around the world to work on other FLNG projects with governments, energy companies and customers."
Shell's decision to make FLNG a reality culminates more than a decade of research and development. It builds on the company's extensive know-how in offshore production, gas liquefaction, LNG shipping, and delivering major projects that integrate the gas value chain-from wellhead to burner.
The Prelude FLNG project will be the first Australian upstream project in which Shell is the operator. Australia is one of Shell's key growth provinces, and Shell's upstream investment in Australia should reach some $30 billion over the next five years, including the Prelude and Gorgon projects, and on-going exploration and feasibility studies in the country.
Prelude FLNG is part of Shell's industry-leading portfolio of medium term growth options, where the company has around 30 new upstream projects under study world-wide, to support long term profitable growth. Notes to Editors
Shell is a global, integrated energy company with operations in more than 90 countries and territories, with businesses including: oil and gas exploration and production; refineries and chemical plants; processing and marketing of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and gas-to-liquid (GTL) products; marketing and shipping of oil products and chemicals; and renewable energy sources, such as biofuels.
Gas resources are found all over the world in remote offshore accumulations. In Australian waters alone there is an estimated 140 trillion cubic feet of such "stranded" gas, according to a 2008 report by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (http://www.solve.csiro.au/0608/article5.htm). Shell FLNG technology will make it feasible to develop such resources, since it reduces both the cost and environmental footprint of their development. Having the gas-processing and gas-liquefaction facility located at the site of an offshore field removes the need for: gas-compression platforms; long subsea pipelines to shore; near-shore works, such as dredging and jetty construction; and onshore construction, including roads, storage yards and accommodation facilities. Another plus is that FLNG can accelerate LNG developments. This is because an FLNG vessel can be ordered at an earlier stage of appraisal of a new gas field, with less guarantee of production longevity than needed to underpin an onshore greenfield investment; if and when the gas resources in the first field are exhausted, the FLNG can be redeployed to another field.
Shell is the operator and 100% equity holder of the WA-371-P permit in the Browse Basin, where the Prelude field is located. The field is approximately 475 kilometres north-northeast of Broome, Western Australia, and over 200 kilometres from the nearest point on the mainland. Shell plans to have initially seven subsea wells at the Prelude field. From these wells, gas will travel through flexible pipes to the FLNG facility.
Shell has been doing business in Australia for 110 years, including participation in major LNG projects such as the North West Shelf and Gorgon. For more information, interview requests or photography, please contact:
The companies in which Royal Dutch Shell plc directly and indirectly owns investments are separate entities. In this press release "Shell", "Shell group" and "Royal Dutch Shell" are sometimes used for convenience where references are made to Royal Dutch Shell plc and its subsidiaries in general. Likewise, the words "we", "us" and "our" are also used to refer to subsidiaries in general or to those who work for them. These expressions are also used where no useful purpose is served by identifying the particular company or companies. ''Subsidiaries'', "Shell subsidiaries" and "Shell companies" as used in this press release refer to companies in which Royal Dutch Shell either directly or indirectly has control, by having either a majority of the voting rights or the right to exercise a controlling influence. The companies in which Shell has significant influence but not control are referred to as "associated companies" or "associates" and companies in which Shell has joint control are referred to as "jointly controlled entities". In this press release, associates and jointly controlled entities are also referred to as "equity-accounted investments". The term "Shell interest" is used for convenience to indicate the direct and/or indirect (for example, through our 24% shareholding in Woodside Petroleum Ltd.) ownership interest held by Shell in a venture, partnership or company, after exclusion of all third-party interest.
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He will be one of eight hundred thousand Americans expected to travel to Ireland this year, but his is perhaps the most historic one, because he is actually going back to his ancestral roots. Yes, Barack Obama is also Irish. Most people know him as a native of Honolulu, Hawaii, whose mother Ann Dunham Stanley came from Wichita, Kansas of mostly English descent with the roots of her family tree going as far back as Germany, Wales and of course Ireland where Obama will be welcomed with open arms in Moneygall, County Offaly the birthpace of his great-great-great grandfather Falmouth Kearney (who emigrated to the US in 1850, because of the potato famine). Obama's mother, Ann Dunham, was a descendant of one of Kearney's daughters, Mary Ann Kearney, and Jacob William Dunham. So, the Irish can also claim him and how amusing that would be to his kith and kin from his black African father Barack Obama, Sr., a Luo from Nyang'oma Kogelo, Nyanza Province, Kenya.
Obama's 24-hour visit to Ireland begins on Monday and will receive the warmest of Irish hospitality when he visits the Emerald Isle where hundreds of thousands of well wishers will line the streets to his ancestral village of Monegall in Co, Offaly where preparations to host him are already in full swing.
“We have huge connections with America and we look forward to deepening those in years to come and giving a warm Irish welcome to all the Americans that come here. There are 40 million people of Irish decent in America and we think they are going to be thrilled that President Obama is coming here and the genealogical connection is an indelible one and we are delighted that president Obama is coming here to discover his roots with us in Ireland,” said Niall Gibbons, CEO Tourism Ireland.
“Well, we traced back nine generations from the president, so we took Megan Smolenyak’s work and we took it back another four generations again, tracing it back to the late 1600s and that’s a real achievement in Irish Genealogy because so many of the records have been destroyed over the previous 300 years. The thing to remember as well, is that the president’s family, they weren’t rich, they weren’t anglo Irish, they were simply a regular family and to be able to trace them back was really quite something,” enthused Fiona Fitzsimons, Genealogist, Eneclann.
“We hope he will come and visit the school house behind me where his ancestors were educated. The ancestral home still stands in the village, that’s another important site, also Templeharry church. So there are three important sites within the area for anyone to come and visit, and of course it wouldn’t be a presidential visit to Ireland without a traditional stop off in the local pub for a pint of Guinness,” said Henry Healy, one of the 28 living Irish relatives of President Obama. 'The place is buzzing,' Majella Hayes, co-owner of Ollie Hayes bar in Moneygall, told the German Press Agency dpa. 'The atmosphere is electric. The bar is full of visitors and locals alike. There's nowhere to park your car in the village. There are hundreds of extra people around,' said Hayes, in whose bar President Obama is expected to sample a pint of Guinness on Monday afternoon. But a source at the White House doubts whether the president will drink it.
'There is a lot of work going on too with telephone lines and the likes being put in. This is not a tourist town, so we're not used to anything like this,' she added.
During his stay President Obama will also visit the capital city of Dublin where a huge celebration rally is planned according to Tourism Ireland.
Photo: The residents of Moneygall is in the grip of Obamania, because later this month Obama will be making a presidential pilgrimage here to discover his Irish roots. Photo: KIM HAUGHTON.
Photo: Dorma Lee Reese poses for a picture at her home in Tucson, Ariz., Wednesday, March 16, 2011. Reese, 83, a retired EEG technologist, learned about a year ago that she is a third cousin to President Barack Obama. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson.)
According to Monsters & Critics, souvenir shops are springing up along with an Obama café, residents painting their houses, with one even painting the front of his house in the colours of the US flag. US flags are on display and tourists can buy t-shirts proclaiming 'Is feidir linn,' which means 'Yes, we can,' in Irish and 'What's the crack, Barack?'. There's also high-fibre, low-fat Obama bread on sale in the grocery shop.
Villagers have also been treated to repeated visits from men in dark glasses, making preparations for the stringent security arrangements and a man was quizzed for making death threats.
US president is also scheduled to address a crowd of villagers and visitors and meet the Prime Minister Enda Kenny on Monday morning and later attend a concert in the evening before making a speech at central Dublin's College Green, where former US President Bill Clinton addressed a crowd of tens of thousands in 1995.
About 12 per cent of Americans claim Irish ancestry, and Ireland has welcomed several US presidents to their ancestral homes since the visit of John F Kennedy in 1963.
Monsters & Critics reported that some cynics pointed out that Obama is only 1/32 Irish. But in Moneygall at least, in the words of a song in his honour, 'There's no one as Irish as Barack O'Bama.'
Barack Obama Is í an Ghaeilge agus an Ghaeilge grá dó sin.
LOS ANGELES, May 19, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Global Entertainment Holdings, Inc. (OTCQB/BB: GBHL) announced today that its US Production subsidiary, Global Universal Entertainment, Inc. has optioned the motion picture and television rights to the recently published book, "Mr. Pink".
"Mr. Pink is one hot property,"stated Daniel Sherkow, COO of Global Universal Entertainment. "Mr. Pink" is the true story of four well off college students who pulled off one of the largest heists in the art world. The valuable art books are worth over twelve million dollars!"
Former Paramount Executive Sherkow continued, "The 'Mr. Pink' project is an exciting and compelling true story, which is featured on Google under The Transy Book Heist , and more info is at: http://www.whoismrpink.com/. It is timely, teen driven, yet bears a strong moral lesson."
Veteran writer and film producer Jackie Giroux has adapted the screenplay from Blake Allen and Allen Brothers Publishing. Giroux will produce the picture, along with Blake Allen, Sydney Allen, and Mike Markwell, as Executive Producers. "I read the book in one sitting," exclaimed Giroux. "It is very similar to Truman Capote's In Cold Blood. If these four very different personalities had not met in college, the ingenious heist idea would have never come to fruition. They fed upon each other's talents. This will be the fascination for a great Hollywood cast, and a hit film!"
Global Universal expects to shoot a portion of the picture in Kentucky and has begun evaluating locations within that State. In addition, Global Universal is also in conversations with distributors as it explores various distribution options.
Gary Rasmussen, CEO of Global Universal, stated that "the 'Mr. Pink' project has the potential to add significant value to the company due to its potential 'box office appeal' and our ability to produce the picture at a comparatively reasonable cost." Mr. Rasmussen continued, "As an additional revenue stream, Global Universal will share in the proceeds of the book in addition to its participation in the motion picture".
About Global Entertainment Holdings, Inc. (OTC: GBHL) is a publicly-held entertainment company. The Company's goal is to build a worldwide entertainment organization with a multitude of domestic and foreign production affiliates. GBHL, operating through its wholly owned subsidiaries, Global Universal Film Group, Inc., Global Universal Entertainment, Inc., and its partially-owned Canadian subsidiary Global Universal Pictures, is in the process of developing and producing a slate of motion pictures in Canada and the U.S., employing recognizable-named talent, for worldwide release. GBHL is focused on the financing and marketing of these feature-length films. GBHL, through another wholly owned subsidiary, You've Got The Part, Inc. (www.youvegotthepart.com), will attempt to capitalize on the current popularity of Hollywood and reality based programming by casting small roles online that anyone with a digital camera can apply for.
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Cannes festival reacts to Danish director's strange remarks about Nazis by declaring him 'persona non grata.'
Copyright (c) CBC 2011
Lars von Trier
Cannes, please revoke the ban on Lars von Trier
The controversial Danish film director and screenwriter Lars von Trier is well known for his provocative art films such as the horrifying Gothic and pornographic Antichrist that also shocked audiences at the 62nd Cannes Film Festival in 2009. Therefore, when it was reported that he has rattled the organizers of the festival at the Wednesday press parley before the premiere of his apocalyptic science fiction film Melancholia at the 64th Cannes Film Festival, I was not surprised, because it is his signature for grabbing headlines. The organizers should have ignored his “I’M A NAZI” joke and claiming to understand Adolf Hitler. He has done it again and got the whole paparazzi going gaga over his unsavoury act. And then apologized after getting the attention for his his new film. Lars von Trier's shocking allusion to Adolf Hitler is another deliberate kind of deus ex machina and it has attracted the attention of the global village.
"I am not anti-Semitic or racially prejudiced in any way, nor am I a Nazi," Lars von Trier said. "I really wanted to be a Jew, and then I found out that I was really a Nazi, because, you know, my family was German," von Trier said. "Which also gave me some pleasure."
"What can I say? I understand Hitler, but I think he did some wrong things, yes, absolutely. But I can see him sitting in his bunker in the end," von Trier said. "He's not what you would call a good guy, but I understand much about him, and I sympathize with him a little bit. But come on, I'm not for the Second World War, and I'm not against Jews."
Declaring him "persona non grata" and banning him from future Cannes is UNFAIR and HYPOCRITICAL!
Hello Festival de Cannes! What happened to Freedom of Expression or Free Speech which is clearly defined and stated in Articles 18 and 19 of the United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights Charter
Article 18. Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.
Article 19. Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.
Please, the Cannes Film Festival should revoke the ban on this extraordinary radical Danish filmmaker and screenwriter, because it is reactionary and retrogressive in the further development of film-making as an art and a democratic vehicle for intellectual freedom.
The Tree of Life is a movie starring Brad Pitt and Sean Penn. It was written and Directed by a very talented Terrence Malick. This film is a favorite for the Palme d Or in Cannes this year. It certainly is destined for a number of awards and is a beautifully made motion picture. This film is rated a MUST GO SEE IT on Celebrity Wire Movie Reviews.
