JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — “My Driver and I” was supposed to be made in 2016, but was scuttled amid Saudi Arabia's decades-long cinema ban. Eight years later, the landscape for film in the kingdom looks much different — and the star of “My Driver and I” now has an award. Roula Dakheelallah was named the winner of the Chopard Emerging Saudi Talent award at the Red Sea International Film Festival on Thursday. The award — and the glitzy festival itself — is a sign of Saudi Arabia's commitment to shaping a new film industry. “My heart is attached to cinema and art; I have always dreamed of a moment like this,” Dakheelallah, who still works a 9-5 job, told The Associated Press before the awards ceremony. “I used to work in voluntary films and help my friends in the field, but this is my first big role in a film.” The reopening of cinemas in 2018 marked a cultural turning point for Saudi Arabia, an absolute monarchy that had instituted the ban 35 years before, under the influence of ultraconservative religious authorities. It has since invested heavily in a native film industry by building theaters and launching programs to support local filmmakers through grants and training. The Red Sea International Film Festival was launched just a year later, part of an attempt to expand Saudi influence into films, gaming, sports and other cultural fields. Activists have decried the investments as whitewashing the kingdom’s human rights record as it tightly controls speech and remains one of the world’s top executioners. With FIFA awarding the 2034 World Cup to Saudi Arabia this week, Lina al-Hathloul, a Saudi activist with the London-based rights group ALQST, said Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman “has really managed to create this bubble where people only see entertainment and they don’t see the reality on the ground.” These efforts are part of Vision 2030, an ambitious reform plan unveiled in 2016 to ease the economy's dependence on oil. As part of it, Saudi Arabia plans to construct 350 cinemas with over 2,500 movie screens — by this past April, across 22 cities, it already had 66 cinemas showing movies from the local film industry, as well as Hollywood and Bollywood. (The Red Sea International Film Festival attracts a host of talent from the latter industries, with Viola Davis and Priyanka Chopra Jonas also picking up awards Thursday.) The country's General Entertainment Authority last month opened Al Hisn Studios on the outskirts of Riyadh. As one of the largest such production hubs in the Middle East, it not only includes several film studios but also a production village with workshops for carpentry, blacksmithing and fashion tailoring. “These facilities, when they exist, will stimulate filmmakers,” said Saudi actor Mohammed Elshehri. “Today, no writer or director has an excuse to imagine and say, ‘I cannot implement my imagination.’” The facilities are one part of the equation — the content itself is another. One of the major players in transforming Saudi filmmaking has been Telfaz11, a media company founded in 2011 that began as a YouTube channel and quickly became a trailblazer. Producing high-quality digital content such as short films, comedy sketches and series, Telfaz11 offered fresh perspectives on Saudi and regional issues. In 2020, Telfaz11 signed a partnership with Netflix to produce original content for the streaming giant. The result has been movies that demonstrate an evolution on the storytelling level, tackling topics that were once off-limits and sensitive to the public like secret nightlife in “Mandoob” (“Night Courier”) and changing social norms in “Naga.” “I think we tell our stories in a very simple way, and that’s what reaches the world,” Elshehri says of the changing shift. “When you tell your story in a natural way without any affectation, it will reach every person.” But the films were not without their critics, drawing mixed reaction. Social media discoursed ranged from pleasure that Saudi film were tackling such topics to anger over how the films reflected conservative society. As Hana Al-Omair, a Saudi writer and director, points out, there are still many stories left untold. “We certainly have a long time ahead of us before we can tell the Saudi narrative as it should be,” she said, acknowledging that there are still barriers and rampant censorship. “The Goat Life,” a Malayalam-language movie about an Indian man forced to work without pay in Saudi Arabia, is not available on Netflix's platform in the country. Movies that explore political topics or LGBTQ+ stories are essentially out of the question. Even “My Driver and I,” featured at the Red Sea festival alongside 11 other Saudi feature-length films, was initially too controversial. It centers on a Sudanese man in Jeddah, living away from his own daughter, who feels responsible for the girl he drives as her parents are absent. It was initially blocked from being made because of the relationship between the girl and the driver, filmmaker Ahd Kamel has said, even though it's not a romantic relationship. Now in 2024, the film is a success story — a symbol of the Saudi film industry's evolution as well as the growing role of women like Kamel behind the camera and Dakheelallah in front of it. “I see the change in Saudi cinema, a very beautiful change and it is moving at a wonderful speed. In my opinion, we do not need to rush,” Dakheelallah said. “We need to guide the truth of the artistic movement that is happening in Saudi Arabia.”
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. -- Wake Forest figured it wouldn't keep Miami's offense quiet forever. To their chagrin, the Demon Deacons were right. Cam Ward passed for 280 yards and threw two touchdowns to Jacolby George on another record-breaking day, Mishael Powell ran an interception back 76 yards for a touchdown and No. 11 Miami pulled away with 22 fourth-quarter points to beat Wake Forest 42-14 on Saturday. The Hurricanes (10-1, 6-1 Atlantic Coast Conference, No. 8 College Football Playoff) can clinch a berth in the ACC title game with a win at Syracuse next weekend. No. 13 SMU clinched the other spot by routing Virginia 33-7 on Saturday. “We still have nothing to lose,” Ward said. “At the end of the day, Miami was a mid team last year. We're better than they were last year. We have nothing to lose. It's good to control your destiny another week, but it doesn't mean anything if we don't win.” Ward completed 27 of 38 passes, plus ran for a score. He broke two more single-season Miami records, both of which had been held for 40 years by Bernie Kosar — most passing yards in a season and most completions in a season. Ward now has 3,774 yards on 268 completions this season. Kosar threw for 3,642 yards on 262 completions in 1984. Demond Claiborne had a 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown for Wake Forest (4-7, 2-5). Claiborne also rushed for 62 yards for the Demon Deacons, and starting quarterback Hank Bachmeier was 8 of 14 passing for 86 yards and a touchdown. Wake was within 20-14 going into the fourth quarter. And then, it was all Miami. “With Miami and their offense, it’s a matter of time," Wake Forest coach Dave Clawson said. "I thought our defense played really, really well — but in the fourth quarter, when the dam broke, it broke. And that’s what good teams do.” The game was offensively deceiving, given how it started. Miami went 84 yards for a touchdown on the game's first possession, Ward going 6 for 6 on the drive and capping it with a 13-yard scoring throw to George. Wake Forest answered with a 75-yard drive, Bachmeier finding Micah Mays Jr. from 36 yards out to tie the game. And neither offense found the end zone again until the fourth quarter. Wake Forest got 118 yards on 50 plays — 2.4 yards per play — after that seven-play, nearly 11-yard-per-play opening march. “Story of the game was the defense, without a doubt," Miami coach Mario Cristobal said. “After that first series, the busted coverage, that's what Miami Hurricane defense should look like.” Powell's interception return TD put Miami up 17-7 in the second quarter; the 10-point lead lasted 15 seconds, the time Claiborne needed to run the ensuing kickoff the length of the field for a touchdown and get Wake Forest within 17-14. Ward rushed in from a yard out with 7:58 left and, after Wake Forest fumbled the ensuing kickoff, Jordan Lyle scored on an 18-yard run to make it 35-14. Lyle finished with a game-high 115 yards rushing and George scored again with 1:53 left. Wake Forest: The Demon Deacons were roundly booed — and even called out by Ward on the field — when safety Evan Slocum went down and indicated he had a cramp on a Miami drive late in the first half. Ploy or not, the Hurricanes stalled from there and settled for a field goal. Slocum was on the field to start the second half. Miami: The Hurricanes reached 10 wins for the 16th time in school history, all since 1983. It's the first 10-win season for Miami since 2017 and makes Cristobal the seventh coach to have such a season for the Hurricanes. He did it twice with Oregon. The Hurricanes wore “DB 40” decals on their helmets Saturday to honor All-American fullback and College Football Hall of Famer Don Bosseler, who died earlier this month. Bosseler, a star at Miami in the mid-1950s, was 88. Miami has been in the AP Top 25 every week this season and that won't change. The CFP rankings likely will still list the Hurricanes as the ACC title favorite. Wake Forest: Hosts Duke on Saturday. Miami: Visits Syracuse on Saturday. ___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here . AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-footballKansas City Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones has been hit with a big fine on Saturday following their first loss of the 2024 NFL season. In Week 11, the Chiefs traveled north for a battle against the AFC's second-placed team, the Buffalo Bills. However, they left New York with a 30-21 loss, ending their nine-game winning streak to start the season. At one point in the game, Jones was attempting to bring down Buffalo running back Ty Johnson near the 50-yard line. However, the former Mississippi State Bulldogs star grabbed ahold of Johnson's facemask, turning his head hard to the left. The officials wound up missing the call, and the facemask went unpunished at first. But on Saturday, the NFL fined Jones $11,255 for the play. here is the sick part about this no call the refs BLATANTLY MISS this face mask but next Saturday the NFL will go and FINE Chris Jones I’ll guess either $11,255 or $16,883 disgusting the NFL will not call it right but still get a money grab joke pic.twitter.com/tAvGWdUcqa Fines from Bills-Chiefs game A.J. Epenesa $15,400 for hip drop tackle Chris Jones $11,255 for face mask Patrick Mahomes $14,069 for “violent gesture” Jones wasn't the only player from the Chiefs vs. Bills game that was hit with a punishment. Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes was fined $14,069 for a violent gesture, and Buffalo defensive end A.J. Epenesa was fined $15,400 for a hip-drop tackle. In the loss, Jones finished with five tackles and a tackle for loss. However, along with the rest of his team, he failed to bring down Bills quarterback Josh Allen for a sack. © Denny Medley-Imagn Images So far this season, Jones isn't necessarily having the same impact he has had in previous years. The five-time All-Pro has tallied 24 tackles, three sacks and one forced fumble. He is on pace to have his worst statistical season since his rookie year back in 2016. Still, Kansas City sits in first place in the AFC going into Week 12, where they will face the Carolina Panthers. Related: NFL Slaps Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes With Punishment After First Loss of Season
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Nintendo Switch 2 Leak: Hall-Effect Sticks, Docked Power Boost, and More!What will 2025 have in store for the employee experience and the application of artificial intelligence within the world of work? Answering this, the company Rightpoint , which has partnerships with Adobe and Microsoft, focuses on human-centric digital transformation . Digital Journal heard from Tom Keuten and Jesse Murray, who have extensive experience with the technology shaping customer and employee experiences. Keuten and Murray note that as the AI landscape continues to evolve in 2025, we should expect an evolving AI landscape where technology enhances experiences and productivity while driving human-centric engagements. Starting with Jesse Murray, SVP of Employee Experience at Rightpoint. According to Murray, AI needs to be put into service to support workers within the firm. Murray makes three essential points for businesses to take note of. Companies will need to customize AI tools to enhance employee experiences Murray says: “Recent AI-driven expansion of collaboration tool options and capabilities is creating user confusion, lost productivity, and lower engagement. To address this trend of limitless options, companies will have to understand employees and personalize technologies accordingly, rather than employ something generic that will not stick. This includes integrating platforms with existing tools and systems.” AI-Enhanced Workflows will Redefine Employee Productivity Murray observes: “The next big shift in employee experience will come from AI’s ability to enhance workflows, allowing employees to focus on higher-value tasks and take on new capabilities. While we’re already seeing AI supporting tasks like note taking or generating summaries, the long-term potential lies in AI helping employees achieve tasks that were previously out of reach: designers generating code or executives extracting insights with Python, all with AI as the enabler. Over time, AI will evolve into role-specific applications that learn about employees’ individual contexts, transforming productivity across all sectors.” AI and Data Driven Insights will Drive Hyper-Personalized Employee Experiences On the subject of big data, Murray indicates: “As companies gain unprecedented insights into how employees work, the future of employee experience (EX) lies in hyper-personalization.” As to how companies can harness this, Murray proposes: “Tools like Microsoft Viva Insights are already analyzing digital interactions—email, meetings, and chats—to reveal key patterns in collaboration, leadership, and productivity. By combining these insights with employee engagement data from platforms like Qualtrics, employers can create tailored roles and workflows that match employees’ preferences, whether it’s flexible hours, remote work, or group collaboration.” In terms of the consequences, Murray opines: “This shift will unlock new levels of employee engagement and efficiency, driving business success through truly personalized work experiences.” In a follow-up article, Tom Keuten looks at how AI can automate decisions and improve the employee perspective . Dr. Tim Sandle is Digital Journal's Editor-at-Large for science news.Tim specializes in science, technology, environmental, business, and health journalism. He is additionally a practising microbiologist; and an author. He is also interested in history, politics and current affairs.
Lisa Simpson once said during an episode of “The Simpsons:” What could be more exciting than the savage ballet that is pro football? On Monday night, the entire Simpsons universe gets to experience it in a way not many could have imagined. The prime-time matchup between the Cincinnati Bengals and Dallas Cowboys will also take place at Springfield’s Atoms Stadium as part of “The Simpsons Funday Football” alternate broadcast. The altcast will be streamed on ESPN+, Disney+, and NFL+ (on mobile devices). ESPN and ABC have the main broadcast, while ESPN2 will carry the final “ManningCast” of the regular season. The replay will be available on Disney+ for 30 days. Globally, more than 145 countries will have access to either live or on replay. “We’re such huge football fans, and the Simpsons audience and the football audience, I feel, are like the same audience of just American families and football. And the Simpsons are so much a part of the DNA of the American family and culture that for us to, like, mush them together in this crazy video game, it’s so fun,” said Matt Selman, executive producer of “The Simpsons.” While the game is the focal point, the alternate broadcast, in some ways, will resemble a three-hour episode of “The Simpsons.” It starts with Homer eating too many hot dogs and having a dream while watching football. Homer joins the Cowboys in the dream while Bart teams up with the Bengals. Lisa and Marge will be sideline reporters. “That’s the beginning of the story, and the story continues through the entire game until Homer wakes up from his dream at the end of the game. It is like a complete story, and the NFL game will happen in between. It’s just going to be an amazing presentation with tons of surprises,” said Michael “Spike” Szykowny, ESPN’s VP of edit and animation. This is the second year ESPN has done an alternate broadcast for an NFL game. It used the characters from “Toy Story” for last year’s Sunday morning game from London between the Atlanta Falcons and Jacksonville Jaguars. “The Simpsons” has featured many sports-themed episodes during its 35 seasons. Even though “Homer at the Bat” remains the consensus favorite sports episode for many Simpsons fans, there have been football ones such as “Bart Star” and “Lisa The Greek.” There also was a Super Bowl-themed one after Fox’s broadcast of Super Bowl 33 between Denver and Atlanta in 1999. Even though “The Simpsons” remains a staple on Fox’s prime-time schedule, it is part of the Disney family after their acquisition of 20th Century Fox in 2019. All 35 seasons are on Disney+. The show’s creators have worked with ESPN and the NFL to make sure the look and sound is definitely Simpsonsesque. The theme song is a mash-up of “The Simpsons” opening and “Monday Night Football’s” iconic “Heavy Action.” There have also been pre-recorded skits and bits to use during the broadcast featuring Simpson’s legendary voices Hank Azaria, Nancy Cartwright, Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, and Yeardley Smith. The telecast will be entirely animated, with the players’ movements in sync with what is happening in real-time on the field. That is done through player-tracking data enabled by the NFL’s Next Gen Stats system and Sony’s Beyond Sports Technology. While Next Gen Stats tracks where players are on the field with a tracking chip in the shoulder pads, there is skeletal data tracking and limb tracking data — which uses 29 points per player — to get closer to the player’s movements. The other data tracking will allow Beyond Sports and Disney to add special characters to the game. For example, there might be a play where Lisa catches the ball and goes 30 yards instead of Cincinnati’s Tee Higgins. “Lisa is much smaller than the rest of the players. So, in real life, the ball would go over her head, but now, with data processing, we can take the ball and make it go exactly into her hands. So for the viewer, it still looks believable, and it all makes sense,” said Beyond Sports co-founder Nicolaas Westerhof. The other major challenge is making “The Simpsons” two-dimensional cartoon characters into 3-D simulations. Szykowny and his team worked to make that a reality over the past couple of months. “That’s a big leap of faith for them to say, hey, we trust you to make our characters 3-D and work with it. Our ESPN creative studio team has done a wonderful job,” Szykowny said. Lisa, Krusty, Nelson, Milhouse and Ralph will be with Bart and the Bengals; while Carl, Barney, Lenny and Moe join up with with Homer and the Cowboys. The broadcast will also feature ESPN personalities Stephen A. Smith, Peyton Manning and Eli Manning. ESPN’s Drew Carter, Mina Kimes and Dan Orlovsky will call the game from Bristol, Connecticut, and also be animated. They will wear Meta Quest Pro headsets to experience the game from Springfield using VR technology. For Kimes, being part of the broadcast and being an animated Simpsons character is a dream come true. She is a massive fan of the show and has a framed photo of Lisa Simpson — who she said is a personal hero and icon — as part of her backdrop when she makes appearances on ESPN NFL shows from her home in Los Angeles. “I didn’t have any input, and I didn’t see anything beforehand, so I wasn’t sure if it would look like me, but it kind of does, which is very funny,” said Kimes, who drew Simpsons characters when she was a kid. “To see the actual staff turn me into one was a dream.” Even though the Bengals (4-8) and Cowboys (5-7) have struggled this season, Selman thinks both teams have personalities that appeal to “The Simpsons” universe. “We were just so lucky also that the Cowboys are sort of like a Homer Simpson-type team, American team, and Mike McCarthy might be a Homer-type guy, one might imagine,” he said. ”And then you have Joe Burrow on the other side who is a cool young, spiky-haired, blonde bad boy -- he’s like Bart. And that fits our character archetypes so perfectly. “If Homer is mad at Bart and has a hot dog dream while watching ’Monday Night Football’, and then it’s basically McCarthy versus Burrow, Homer versus Bart, and that’s the simple father versus son strangling — Homer strangling Bart dynamic that has been part of the show for 35 years. I don’t know if that would have worked as well if it was like Titans versus Jacksonville. We would have found something. We would have made it work.” ___ AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl Joe Reedy, The Associated PressAn Iranian singer is facing prison after performing in public without a headscarf, days after the Islamic Republic tightened its dress code to promote a “culture of chastity”. Parastoo Ahmadi, a singer and composer, held the event in one of Tehran’s traditional venues, a historic arched caravanserai , and live streamed it on her YouTube channel. She was not wearing the mandatory conservative outfit and head covering. The event quickly became one of the most discussed topics on Iranian social media. The judiciary announced on Thursday that the concert “did not comply with the country’s legal and cultural standards”. Ahmadi, 27, posted online: “I am Parastoo, a girl who cannot stay silent and refuses to stop singing for the people she loves. This is my
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There are a lot of vehicle names and designations flying around these days. Whether it's electric cars, plug-in hybrids like the 2023 Volvo XC90 , or pure internal-combustion cars, there are lots of variants of vehicles to select from. So naturally, automakers have to distinguish each of their trims and powertrain variants by using distinct language for each choice. Volvo has done this in a relatively simple way to help separate their electric vehicles from their gasoline-powered vehicles and to distinguish which engine powers each vehicle. Despite the simplicity of Volvo's naming convention, it may be hard to distinguish certain models, so here's a quick breakdown of the differences between its T5 and T6 models. Simply put, a Volvo with the T5 designation is powered by a turbocharged four-cylinder engine, while T6-designated models were turbocharged and supercharged . The T5 and T6 have been discontinued, replaced by plug-in hybrid powertrains throughout Volvo's lineup, but you might find them on the used marketplace, and knowing the differences could help you pick the best car for your needs. The T5 and T6 were available on various Volvo models over the years, including excellent sedans like the S60 and wagons like the V60 , with a few key differences. The addition of a supercharger gave T6 models more horsepower. A good example of this is the 2022 Volvo XC90. The base motor on that year's XC90 was the T5, a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine. It put out 250 horsepower and 258 lb-ft of torque. Both numbers were healthy amounts at the time, but the T6 spiced things up a bit. The addition of a supercharger to the same 2.0-liter engine (now turbocharged and supercharged) meant a power jump to 316 horsepower and 295 lb-ft of torque. This increase in power meant a decrease in fuel economy, with the XC90 T5 checking in at 23 mpg combined on all-wheel drive models and the T6 dropping to 22 mpg combined. By 2023, both powertrains were replaced by the B5 and the B6 mild-hybrid powertrains which used 48-volt hybrid technology.HE the Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim al-Thani met Friday with the visiting US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan. The two sides discussed the strategic relationship between the two countries, ways to strengthen and support it, as well as the latest developments in Gaza and occupied Palestinian territories, and the situation in Syria. They also addressed other topics of joint interest. Both parties stressed the importance of ensuring Syria’s unity and pursuing a peaceful transition of power through an inclusive political process based on UN Security Council Resolution 2254, while enhancing efforts to protect civilians and combat terrorism. Related Story New Syria PM says all religious groups' rights 'guaranteed' Blinken on Syria crisis tour with eye on Biden legacy