WATCH AUT’S AUSTRIAN FESTIVAL’S FIRST FILM –“ PEACOCK”  PROVES AN ENGROSSING, ENTERTAINING SUCCESS. FESTIVAL RUNS FROM 13 – 16TH MARCH SO BE QUICK TO SEE SOME FILMS AS TIME IS AT A PREMIUM. At Cine Lumiere and the ICA, book to see one of a series of films including carefully selected London Premieres at www.institut-francais.org.uk and www.ica.art. The selection includes “Mehrunisa” an Asian human interest movie which is a premiere in London and all the others are Austrianinfluenced dramas, some dark and foreboding but genuinely gripping and vital. Now to “Peacock” – written by Bernard Wenger who worked interactively during the filming process. This film has already been shown in Venice and Glasgow and … Continue reading AUSTRIAN FILM FESTIVAL

Set in May, 1940, Berlin, as Hitler prepares to invade Western Europe, there is bloodshed closer to home, when detective Horst Schenke, from the Kripo unit, who is honest investigates the death of a mobster, sacrificing his personal safety, trying to do the right thing in a state run by evil. As a result, he plunges into the criminal underworld of the Third Reich, ruled by gangsters as ruthless as the Nazis. Now Schenke must operate in the many shades of grey.  Powerless against the consequences of the war, he fights to keep criminals off his patch. But with doubts growing … Continue reading Banality of evil

In May 1879, King Leopold II of Belgium launched an ambitious plan to plunder Africa’s resources, by cracking open the continent, its elephants – if only he could train them.  So he commissioned the charismatic Irish adventurer Frederick Carter to ship four tamed Asian elephants from India to the East African coast, where they were marched inland towards Congo. The ultimate aim was to establish a training school for African elephants.  The steamship Chinsura sailed from Bombay to Zanzibar, carrying four tamed Asian elephants bound for Tanzania. Travelling overland more than 600 miles from Dar-es-Salaam to Lake Tanganyika, the expedition Carter … Continue reading Tapestry of greed and disregard for life

ICC Men’s Champions Trophy Final New Zealand 251-7 off 50ov, Ravindra 37 off 39, 4 fours, 1 six, Mitchell 63 off 101, 3 fours, Bracewell 53 off 40, 3 fours, 2 sixes, Yadav 2-40, Chakravarthy 2-45, Shami 1-74, Jadeja 1-30. India 254-6 off 49 ov, Rohit Sharma 76 off 83, 7 fours, 3 sixes, Iyer 48 off 62, 2 fours, 2 sixes, Rahul 34 not out off 33, 1 four, 1 six, Bracewell 2-28, Santner 2-46, Jamieson 1-24, Ravindra 1-47. India won by 4 wickets  India, dominant throughout the tournament, made an aggressive start in pursuit of 252, but they … Continue reading India beat New Zealand to win the Champions Trophy

The real threat to liberal democracy isn’t just autocrats – but a lack of effective action by so-called progressives. After decades of zooming on consumption and too many fights focused solely on distribution, the US needs to get back to building and inventing with innovative ideas. “This is the story of chosen scarcities, of  America, in the twenty-first century, and for that matter, of the UK and much of Europe” Ezra Klein, journalist with the New York Times, and Derek Thompson, who works for The Atlantic, claims. The chief ingredient of America’s economic engine – government support for innovation – is … Continue reading Politics driven by scarcity, lives defined by unaffordability, public institutions lacking big ideas