John-Thor Dahlburg
When the Belgian film producer Dirk Impens lost out in the Oscars 21 years ago, he remembers swearing to himself never to put on a tuxedo again unless he had another shot at the golden statuette.
This Sunday, he’ll be wearing that tux.
The small European country of Belgium, birthplace of Audrey Hepburn and Jean-Claude Van Damme, has never won a foreign film Oscar. This year, it has a nominee in The Broken Circle Breakdown, a heartstring-tugging drama with a bluegrass soundtrack about a man and woman who fall in love and must confront tragedy when their daughter develops cancer.
For Impens, just being in the running again is proof that this nation’s Dutch-language cinema industry has become an international player. Two years ago, another Belgian movie shot in Dutch, “Bullhead” was an Oscar finalist as well, but lost out to an Iranian film.
“We have the strong conviction that Flemish (Dutch-language) Belgian filmmakers over the past 10 years have been making so much progress, such great films,” said Impens. If talent, effort and a solid connection with the home audience are sufficient to guarantee winning the most prestigious prize in filmdom, “we feel like we deserve it”.
The director, Felix Van Groeningen, is proud of the movie he made and the fact it’s become an Oscar contender. But he’s also proud of what other contemporary Flemish filmmakers have achieved.
"Bullhead was a big success and was nominated, building our confidence," Van Groeningen said. "It also launched careers. It's so fantastic to see that we can make these kinds of movies. Maybe we didn't believe in ourselves five years ago."
Critics have said a fine musical score and powerful performances, including Nell Cattrysee in the role of 6-year-old Maybelle, hold The Broken Circle Breakdown together and keep audiences engaged.
Beyond the intimate portrait it paints of the male banjo player and female tattoo artist who meet and fall in love, and of their relationship with the child they have together, the film asks bigger questions, including whether the human spirit triumphs over death.
In the run-up to the Oscars, the 111-minute drama has won numerous critical and audience awards, including best actress and screenplay at the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival, best foreign language film from the Washington, D C Area Critics Association and “most beautiful screen kiss” in a Belgian movie website’s online poll.
But the Belgians who made the film realise it is up against stiff competition, including the 2014 Golden Globe winner The Great Beauty from Italy and Denmark's The Hunt, whose male lead, former Bond villain Mads Mikkelsen, was honored with the best actor award at the Cannes Film Festival.
“We know the other films have been winning lots of competitions,” Impens said. “We’re the underdogs, plain and simple.”
This year, a rule change has enabled all of the almost 5,800 members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to vote on foreign-film entries, the producer said, so the old ways of trying to improve a movie’s chances may no longer work.
That’s why Impens, Van Groeningen and a small entourage have been in Los Angeles since February 4, trying to get as many of the people whose opinions count to view it as they can, the producer said.
To generate buzz, “first, you have to be out here”, Impens said. “The second thing is, organized screenings. We organize lots.”
*Associated Press
Singham Again
Director: Rohit Shetty
Stars: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Deepika Padukone
Rating: 3/5
Jigra
Starring: Alia Bhatt, Vedang Raina, Manoj Pahwa, Harsh Singh
Cricket World Cup League 2
UAE squad
Rahul Chopra (captain), Aayan Afzal Khan, Ali Naseer, Aryansh Sharma, Basil Hameed, Dhruv Parashar, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Waseem, Omid Rahman, Rahul Bhatia, Tanish Suri, Vishnu Sukumaran, Vriitya Aravind
Fixtures
Friday, November 1 – Oman v UAE
Sunday, November 3 – UAE v Netherlands
Thursday, November 7 – UAE v Oman
Saturday, November 9 – Netherlands v UAE
Ordinary Virtues: Moral Order in a Divided World by Michael Ignatieff
Harvard University Press
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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APPLE IPAD MINI (A17 PRO)
Display: 21cm Liquid Retina Display, 2266 x 1488, 326ppi, 500 nits
Chip: Apple A17 Pro, 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
Storage: 128/256/512GB
Main camera: 12MP wide, f/1.8, digital zoom up to 5x, Smart HDR 4
Front camera: 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.4, Smart HDR 4, full-HD @ 25/30/60fps
Biometrics: Touch ID, Face ID
Colours: Blue, purple, space grey, starlight
In the box: iPad mini, USB-C cable, 20W USB-C power adapter
Price: From Dh2,099
BANGLADESH SQUAD
Mashrafe Mortaza (captain), Tamim Iqbal, Liton Das, Soumya Sarkar, Mushfiqur Rahim (wicketkeeper), Mahmudullah, Shakib Al Hasan (vice captain), Mohammad Mithun, Sabbir Rahaman, Mosaddek Hossain, Mohammad Saifuddin, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Rubel Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman, Abu Jayed (Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru Editing by Amlan Chakraborty)
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
Joker: Folie a Deux
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson
Director: Todd Phillips
Rating: 2/5
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Dubai Women's Tour teams
Agolico BMC
Andy Schleck Cycles-Immo Losch
Aromitalia Basso Bikes Vaiano
Cogeas Mettler Look
Doltcini-Van Eyck Sport
Hitec Products – Birk Sport
Kazakhstan National Team
Kuwait Cycling Team
Macogep Tornatech Girondins de Bordeaux
Minsk Cycling Club
Pannonia Regional Team (Fehérvár)
Team Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Team Ciclotel
UAE Women’s Team
Under 23 Kazakhstan Team
Wheel Divas Cycling Team
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
Teachers' pay - what you need to know
Pay varies significantly depending on the school, its rating and the curriculum. Here's a rough guide as of January 2021:
- top end schools tend to pay Dh16,000-17,000 a month - plus a monthly housing allowance of up to Dh6,000. These tend to be British curriculum schools rated 'outstanding' or 'very good', followed by American schools
- average salary across curriculums and skill levels is about Dh10,000, recruiters say
- it is becoming more common for schools to provide accommodation, sometimes in an apartment block with other teachers, rather than hand teachers a cash housing allowance
- some strong performing schools have cut back on salaries since the pandemic began, sometimes offering Dh16,000 including the housing allowance, which reflects the slump in rental costs, and sheer demand for jobs
- maths and science teachers are most in demand and some schools will pay up to Dh3,000 more than other teachers in recognition of their technical skills
- at the other end of the market, teachers in some Indian schools, where fees are lower and competition among applicants is intense, can be paid as low as Dh3,000 per month
- in Indian schools, it has also become common for teachers to share residential accommodation, living in a block with colleagues
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New schools in Dubai
Results
Stage seven
1. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates, in 3:20:24
2. Adam Yates (GBR) Ineos Grenadiers, at 1s
3. Pello Bilbao (ESP) Bahrain-Victorious, at 5s
General Classification
1. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates, in 25:38:16
2. Adam Yates (GBR) Ineos Grenadiers, at 22s
3. Pello Bilbao (ESP) Bahrain-Victorious, at 48s
