man’ returns - Gulf Times

DOHA 33°C—42°C TODAY PUZZLES 12 & 13D LIFESTYLE/HOROSCOPE 11L P

Shawwal 29, 1437 AHWednesday, August 3, 2016

CommunityKSQ took part in Navikotsava 2016, the world

Kannada convention held recently in the Indian city of Bengaluru.

CommunityDFI film workshop for teens

will cover artistic, technical and practical considerations of making documentaries.

P6 P16

COVERSTORY

‘Dead man’

returnsChinese man’s death was

certain, until he showed up at

home six years later. 4-5

MISSING LINKS: Ma Jixiang stands outside his room at the Baishi Town Central Elderly Home in Hunan Province, China.

Wednesday, August 3, 20162 GULF TIMES

COMMUNITY ROUND & ABOUT

DishoomGENRE: Action, Adventure

CAST: Nargis Fakhri, Akshay Kumar, Jacqueline Fernandez

DIRECTION: Rohit DhawanSYNOPSIS: Dishoom is a 2016 action-adventure

fi lm directed by Rohit Dhawan and produced by Sajid Nadiadwala under Nadiadwala Grandson Entertainment. It stars John Abraham, Varun Dhawan, Jacqueline Fernandez and Saqib Saleem in lead roles. The music is composed by Pritam Chakraborty.

The fi lm is a remake of the 2013 Malayalam fi lm, Mumbai Police. When India’s top batsman goes missing in the Middle East, two cops from either side of the Arabian Sea team up for a 36 hour manhunt.

The movie promises to be a full action entertainer with lot of actions and stunts. There will be never-seen-before bike stunts in the movie, the fi rst of their kind in Indian cinema.

THEATRES: The Mall, Royal Plaza

Alice Through The Looking GlassGENRE: Adventure, FamilyCAST: Mia Wasikowska, Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham

CarterDIRECTION: James BobinSYNOPSIS: In Disney’s Alice Through the Looking Glass,

an all-new spectacular adventure featuring the unforgettable characters from Lewis Carroll’s beloved stories, Alice returns to the whimsical world of Underland and travels back in time to save the Mad Hatter. Directed by James Bobin, who brings his own unique vision to the spectacular world Tim Burton created on screen in 2010 with Alice in Wonderland, the fi lm is written by Linda Woolverton based on characters created

by Lewis Carroll and produced by Joe Roth, Suzanne Todd and Jennifer Todd and Tim Burton with John G. Scotti serves as executive producer. After slipping through a mirror, Alice (Mia Wasikowska) fi nds herself back in Underland with the White Queen (Anne Hathaway), the Cheshire Cat, the White Rabbit, Tweedledee and Tweedledum. Her friends tell her that the Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp) is in a funk over the loss of his family. Hoping to save his loved ones, Alice steals the Chronosphere from Time (Sacha Baron Cohen) to travel into the past. While there, she encounters the younger Hatter and the evil Red Queen (Helena Bonham Carter).

THEATRES: The Mall, Royal Plaza

Community EditorKamran Rehmat

e-mail: [email protected]: 44466405

Fax: 44350474

Emergency 999Worldwide Emergency Number 112Kahramaa – Electricity and Water 991Local Directory 180International Calls Enquires 150Hamad International Airport 40106666Labor Department 44508111, 44406537Mowasalat Taxi 44588888Qatar Airways 44496000Hamad Medical Corporation 44392222, 44393333Qatar General Electricity and Water Corporation 44845555, 44845464Primary Health Care Corporation 44593333 44593363 Qatar Assistive Technology Centre 44594050Qatar News Agency 44450205 44450333Q-Post – General Postal Corporation 44464444

Humanitarian Services Offi ce (Single window facility for the repatriation of bodies)Ministry of Interior 40253371, 40253372, 40253369Ministry of Health 40253370, 40253364Hamad Medical Corporation 40253368, 40253365Qatar Airways 40253374

USEFUL NUMBERS

Quote Unquote

PRAYER TIMEFajr 3.38amShorooq (sunrise) 5.02amZuhr (noon) 11.40amAsr (afternoon) 3.08pmMaghreb (sunset) 6.20pmIsha (night) 7.50pm

Look up at the stars and not down at

your feet. Try to make sense of what you see, and wonder about what makes the universe exist.

Be curious. — Stephen Hawking

Mall Cinema (1): Jason Bourne (2D) 11am; The Legend Of Tarzan (2D) 1pm; Fass Malh We Daak (Arabic) 3pm; The Legend Of Tarzan (2D) 5pm; The Legend Of Tarzan (2D) 7pm; The Legend Of Tarzan (2D) 9pm; Kabali (Tamil) 11pm.Mall Cinema (2): Alice Through The Looking Glass (2D) 11am; Dishoom (Hindi) 1pm; Finding Dory (2D) 3.15pm; Alice Through The Looking Glass (2D) 5pm; Jason Bourne (2D) 7pm; Jason Bourne (2D) 9.15 PM; Jason Bourne (2D) 11.30pm.Mall Cinema (3): Dishoom (Hindi) 11am; Anuraga (Malayalam) 1pm; Nerve (2D) 3.15pm; Nerve (2D)

5.15pm; The Conjuring 2 (2D) 7pm; Dishoom (Hindi) 9.15pm; Anuraga (Malayalam) 11.30pm.Royal Plaza Cinema Palace (1): Dishoom (Hindi) 11am; Dishoom (Hindi) 1.15pm; The Legend Of Tarzan (2D) 3.30pm; The Legend Of Tarzan (2D) 5.30pm; The Legend Of Tarzan (2D) 7.30pm; The Legend Of Tarzan (2D) 9.30pm; Dishoom (Hindi) 11.30pm.Royal Plaza Cinema Palace (2): The Legend Of Tarzan (2D) 11.15am; Finding Dory (2D) 1.15pm; Alice Through The Looking Glass (2D)

3pm; Jason Bourne (2D) 5pm; Jason Bourne (2D) 7.15pm; Jason Bourne (2D) 9.30pm; Jason Bourne (2D) 11.30pm.Royal Plaza Cinema Palace (3): Jason Bourne (2D) 11.15am; Fass Malh We Daak (Arabic) 1.30pm; Finding Dory (2D) 3.30pm; Fass Malh We Daak (Arabic) 5.15pm; Abo Shanab (Arabic) 7.15pm; Nerve (2D) 9.30pm; The Conjuring 2 (2D) 11.15pm.Asian Town Cinema: Kabali (Tamil) 5, 8 & 11pm; Anuraga Karikkin Vellam (Malayalam) 12.30, 2.45, 5.15, 7, 7.45, 9.30, 10.15pm & 12am; Dishoom (Hindi) 5.30 & 10.30pm.

3Wednesday, August 3, 2016 GULF TIMES

COMMUNITYROUND & ABOUT

Compiled by Nausheen Shaikh. E-mail: [email protected], Events and timings subject to change

EVENTS

Aspire Splash and DashDATE: Every Sunday and WednesdayTIME: 7pm-9pm

VENUE: Aspire DomeThe athletics track and swimming pool

will be open for 50 participants aged 7 years and above per session and facility. Swimming skills are mandatory for registering at the swimming sessions with a limited number of 50 participants per session. The event is open to public registration on-site from 6 to 7:45pm.

Free Medical CampDATE: Aug 5TIME: 6:30am-12:30pmVENUE: Al-Abeer Medical Center, Abu-

HamourThis medical camp shall provide free medical

consultation including orthopaedics, oral hygiene, hypertension, diabetics checking

and free medicines for around 400-500 low-paid industrial and domestic workers.

Qatar Summer Festival at The PearlDATE: August 5- 27TIME: 6:30pm

VENUE: The Pearl-QatarThe Pearl-Qatar will host several

entertainment activities and roaming musical acts and parades at dedicated locations in Porto Arabia as well as Medina Centrale from 6.30pm to 9.30pm on August 5, 6, 12, 13, 19, 20, 26 and 27.

Barzan Girls Center’s Summer Programme

DATE: Until August 25 TIME: 6pm VENUE: Barzan Girls CenterBarzan Girls Center is organising its summer programme, which continues for a month and targets girls aged 15 years and above. For registration, you can visit the centre’s headquarters at 6pm. The programme aims to exchange experiences and information between the girls, establish the spirit of cooperation between them, and to advance their characters through learning. It will feature several educational programs, workshops, courses, camps, festivals, skills, and trips. For enquiries, please call 44789392.

Playwriting Techniques Workshop

DATE: Until Aug 12 VENUE: National Day Celebrations Committee headquartersTheater Aff airs Center, in collaboration with National Day Celebrations Committee, will organise a workshop entitled “playwriting techniques” for the artist Abdul Rahman al-Mannai. The workshop aims to produce Qatari theatrical texts that can participate in the National Day school theatre competition.

Blood Donation CampDATE: August 5

TIME: 8am-4pm VENUE: Aster Medical Centre, Industrial AreaCare & Aware, a joint charitable venture of Aster Medical Centre, Malabar Gold & Diamonds, Wellcare Group and KMCC Kozhikode District Committee, is organising a blood donation drive to raise awareness on the importance of blood donation among the public with the support of Hamad Medical Corporation and felicitating blood donors on August 5 from 8am to 4pm. The drive will be held at Aster Medical Centre, Industrial Area.

Combination of Sun, Sand and Surfi ngDATE: OngoingVENUE: Aqua Park

For the fi rst time ever in Qatar, it will be possible to ride up curved sidewalls at 90 degrees to the direction of the water fl ow. Giving visitors and especially surfi ng fanatics an amazing experience available at Aqua Park. Come join us and also take advantage of the extra free ticket you get anytime you buy two Stingray Tickets.

Qatar Summer Camp 2016DATE: Ongoing until August 11

VENUE: TBAQatar Summer Camp includes a wide range of sporting, artistic, cultural and educational activities and events provided by some of the most prominent institutions and organisations in Qatar. The camp is open for boys and girls from independent and Arabic-speaking private school students aged between 11 and 14 years. The girls will be fully separated from boys in all the events and activities.

Qatar Summer Festival DATE: Until August 31

VENUE: Doha Exhibition and Convention CenterEnjoy Qatar Summer Festival throughout the month of August under the theme ‘Color Your Summer’. It will include a wide range of summer entertaining events and activities, art zones, shopping promotions, in addition to a unique

entertainment city.

Garage GalleryDATE: Until November 1TIME: 8pm

VENUE: Spaces at the Fire StationThe Artists in Residence exhibition is a

culmination of an intensive nine-month programme featuring works by 18 local contemporary artists who have been working in the studios and spaces at the Fire Station since September 2015. The exhibition showcases new work and projects created by the artists during their residency period, shedding light on the development of their innovative ideas and diverse studio practices. Photographic, sculptural, and installation-based artworks fi ll the Garage Gallery and showcase these talented artists.

Vacation CompetitionDATE: Until September 21VENUE: FCC Offi ceThe Women’s forum of Friends Cultural

Centre has announced competitions for Qatar-based Malayalee students of grades IV–XII. There are two competitions including Avadhikkalath — an article on vacation experiences and vadhikkalakazhchakal, on photography. Article on vacation experiences should be prepared in Malayalam or in English with a minimum of 500 words. Photographs for the competition should be printed on A4 size art paper or photo paper. Pictures should not have been published before and should not be downloaded from internet. Entries for competitions need to be submitted to FCC Offi ce on or before September 21. More details can be obtained by contacting telephone number 4466-1213.

TCA Science Summer CampDATE: Until August 4

TIME: 8:30am-3:15pm VENUE: TCA, C-Ring Road

Qatar’s most exciting summer camp is an unique science workshop to introduce young children to the mysteries of science, through hands on make and take projects with interactive experiments. For inquiries, call 6652-3871.

QSports Summer CampDATE: Until September 1

TIME: 8am-1pm VENUE: Al Jazeera AcademyQSports summer camps are committed to providing a safe, fun and skill-based experience for kids between the ages of 4 and 14. We have a dedicated team of specialist kid’s coaches and classes and activities are safe, planned, progressive, active, creative, inclusive and

designed to maximise participation of all children by off ering a variety of activities.

Yamativo Salsa ClassesDATE: Every MondayTIME: 7pm

VENUE: Radisson BluIt’s always fun and always challenging. Let’s

meet and learn some moves every Monday night. You don’t need to do anything, just join us. Level 1 (intermediate level) 7pm and for beginner level 8pm. Be there are Radisson Blu Hotel Cabana Club.

Cake Decoration ClassesDATE: Morning and eveningVENUE: Tavola Royal Plaza, Al Saad StreetTavola off ers a range of cake decorating

and kitchen skills classes. Tavola is the only authorised Wilton method provider in the Middle East.

New Bootcamp Abu HamourDATE: Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday

TIME: 6pm VENUE: Doha British School

Located just minutes from Villaggio and a walk away from Ain Khalid Gate, the Doha British School campus is our newest Bootcamp location.

The training takes place on the main grass playing fi eld surrounded by an athletics track. There are showers available and changing rooms.

Summer Programme DATE: Until Aug 21

VENUE: Virginia Commonwealth University

Virginia Commonwealth University in Qatar will organise its summer programme for all school students aged six years and above. They can choose from a variety of programmes designed for various age groups, with the aim of learning new skills and making new friends during the summer holidays.

Pottery workshop for kidsDATE: Every Monday

TIME: 5pm-6pmKids will learn a new hand building technique for creating and fi nishing artworks in clay. For more, call 44865201.

Fitness TrainingDATE: Sunday, Tuesday, ThursdayTIME: 6pm-7pmVENUE: MIA ParkThere are fi tness classes in the park on

Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday nights between 6 and 7pm. Open to all levels of fi tness. Bootcamp is an intensive and fun way to train and also meet new people in the open and friendly group atmosphere. More information, from Bootcamp, Qatar or info@ bootcampqatar.com

FOODIE CHOICE

RESTAURANT: Al Sultan BrahimLOCATION: St RegisAl Sultan Brahim at The St. Regis Doha

is one of the fi nest Lebanese restaurants in Doha. Founded in 1968 in Beirut the restaurant became famous for its wondrously fresh fi sh as well as other delicacies.

4 GULF TIMES

COMMUNITY COVER STORY

Wednesday, August 3, 2016

The unsolved mystery of Jixiang’s disappearance

Although Ma Jixiang’s story still contains unanswered questions, the mix-up

shines a light on the invisibility of China's mentally disabled and the reality

that despite the controls put in place by the establishment, citizens

regularly manage to slip through the cracks. By Jonathan Kaiman

Nobody doubted the dead man’s identity. He had been disfi gured in the crash, but the white hair, the short stature

— it all pointed to Ma Jixiang, who had gone missing in 2009. Still, offi cials required a DNA test, and its results quelled any doubts.

His brother wept at the news. He had the body cremated and built a lavish tomb in the mountains. He put the tragedy behind him. No more waiting anxiously, no more haunting dreams.

And then, late last year, Ma Jixiang came home.

Now 58, he is still unable — or unwilling — to account for his six-year absence, but his family believes he was kidnapped by human traffi ckers, sold to an illegal brick factory and released when he was too old and frail to work.

And although his story still contains unanswered questions — who died in that collision? — the mix-up shines a light on the invisibility of China’s mentally disabled and the reality that despite being ruled by one of the world’s most control-obsessed governments, citizens regularly manage to slip through the cracks.

The Ma brothers, Jixiang and Jianjun, had lived separately in Xinlong village, a remote sprawl of rice paddies and tile farmhouses in the mountainous southeastern province of Hunan. In summer, the heat was crushing.

Jixiang had no friends. A mental disability, never diagnosed or treated, made him erratic. Before he vanished, he spent his days wandering the village’s paths, shouting nonsense at other villagers. But Jixiang wasn’t always disabled, said Chen Xiaofen, his 70-year-old sister-in-law.

As a young man, he was extraordinarily diligent, she said. He often woke at sunrise to plant rice and never complained about the village’s many hardships — the backbreaking labour, the occasional shortages of food.

Chen said he began showing signs of mental illness in the spring of 1982, after failing repeatedly to fi nd a wife. He would go on blind dates, set up by village

matchmakers, but the women’s families would refuse him. He was too short, his family too poor.

The rejections made him taciturn and withdrawn, and gradually, he vanished into himself. He began yelling at other villagers in long, incoherent tirades. He stopped working and began wandering the village for hours at a stretch. Most heartbreaking to Chen, he ignored her dinner invitations, preferring to cook and eat alone. He stopped calling her “sister”.

As the decades passed, Jianjun and Chen had two sons, both of whom found work in Jinan, the capital of eastern China’s Shandong province, a long train ride to the east. Jixiang had no children; he remained in the village.

In late 2009, he went for a walk and didn’t come home. Jianjun went looking for him, but discovered no leads. The following day, he went to the police.

“The police never showed any willingness to fi nd him,” Chen said. Desperate, Jianjun and Chen posted missing-person fl iers around the area, but nobody came forward.

Jixiang began appearing in Chen’s dreams. In one, he suddenly came home carrying bundles of fi rewood. “I also dreamed that he was taking a bus to go away,” she said. “My husband called for him to come back. But he never looked back. He just got on the bus and left.”

Then in February 2012, the village mayor called. There had been a car crash late at night on a windy provincial highway in a nearby city, Hengyang, according to a police report obtained by the news website NetEase. Authorities said a man from Xiangtan named Yang Zhiguang was responsible. He drove a minibus. No other details have been made public.

Chen and Jianjun were in Jinan visiting their children, so they sent Jianjun’s older brother and a neighbour to identify the body. The subsequent DNA test was performed by a lab in Hunan. It found striking similarities between the DNA of the dead man and Jianjun, and concluded that it could not “exclude the possibility” that they were brothers.

MENTALLY UNSTABLE: Ma Jixiang had no friends. A mental disability, never diagnosed or treated, made him erratic. Before he vanished, he spent his days wandering the village’s paths, shouting nonsense at other villagers.


COMMUNITYCOVER STORY

Upon hearing the news, Jianjun broke into tears, Chen said. She had never seen him cry. He hired a local artisan to build a lavish concrete tomb in the mountains, with thick concrete monoliths and high golden eaves. He had the body cremated and buried the ashes within the tomb. His sadness slowly faded into relief.

Then, late last year, the Hengyang County Rescue Station, a temporary shelter for the county’s lost and homeless, gained custody of another man who fi t Jixiang’s description. He had white hair and was short. He could recall little about his past, but he knew he came from Xinlong.

Two days later, Chen walked outside her home and found a car idling on the patio. Out stepped the Xinlong village party secretary and

Jixiang. He had acquired a terrible limp — perhaps he’d been beaten, she thought — but it was clearly her brother-in-law. “It’s not possible,” she thought. She felt as though he had come back from the dead. Jixiang looked at her. “Sister,” he said. Chen and Jianjun believe that Jixiang must have been kidnapped. His sudden disappearance, his long absence and his injury comported with news reports they’d seen about illegal brick factories — secretive institutions that prey on the mentally disabled.

“The cases are extremely common,” said the director of a Beijing-based disability rights advocacy group, who requested anonymity as his organisation has been under intense government pressure amid a crackdown on civil

society groups.Human traffi ckers often target

mentally disabled people in China, he said, especially in the countryside. They’re easy prey, he said. They can do “heavy but simple” work as well as anyone, and yet “they’re lacking in capabilities to rebel, and to escape.”

“These cases are only the tip of the iceberg,” he said. “Because in the end, there’s no well-established support system (in China) for mentally disabled people. That’s the real issue — because a lot of the disabled people, they’re physically capable of doing work, and they have the willingness to work. Yet there’s no way to match them with proper jobs.”

The lab that conducted the DNA test and the Hengyang police

declined interview requests. Wang Chunguang, director of the Hengyang County Rescue Station, confi rmed that the organisation rescued Jixiang and “processed his case according to the law,” but said that it would be “inconvenient” to provide further details. While Chen still lives in Xinlong, Jianjun now resides in Jinan with his children, a common practice in China. He could not be reached for comment about his brother.

Jixiang now lives in the Baishi Town Central Elderly Home, a low-lying white building surrounding a grassy courtyard a few miles from Xinlong. He has a small room, furnished with only a bed, a dresser and a television.

On a scorching day in late June, he off ered cigarettes to two guests,

nodding politely in greeting. Yet he was unable to respond to questions; he glanced around the room uncomfortably and spoke in short, indecipherable bursts. “Aside from having lunch and sleeping, he just wanders around,” said Ma Guangquan, the home’s director.

He said Jixiang generally keeps to himself and that his leg has healed. He added that the government provides $50 monthly subsidies to keep residents fed and sheltered. They spend their days eating, watching TV and playing cards. Their lives are calm and simple. “The government takes good care of these people,” he said. — Los Angeles Times/TNS

(Yingzhi Yang in The Times’ Beijing bureau contributed to this report.)

Chen Xiaofen, Ma’s 70 year-old sister-in-law, at her spartan home in Xinlong Village.


COMMUNITY

MOTORING

Karnataka Sangha Qatar participates in Navikotsava 2016

No. 31 Toyota Prius apr GT wins round 4 of 2016 AUTOBACS SUPER GT300 series

The No. 31 Toyota Prius apr GT made it a memorable outing with a fi rst place fi nish in Round 4 of the 2016 AUTOBACS SUPER

GT (GT300 class). Driven by Koki Saga and Yuichi Nakayama, the No. 31 car had its fi rst win of the season in a competitive race.

The No. 25 VivaC 86 MC driven by Takeshi Tsuchiya and Takamitsu Matsui took second place to make it two podium fi nishes for Toyota. The race took place recently at the Sportsland SUGO in Miyagi prefecture, Japan.

At the start of the race, the No. 25 VivaC 86 MC (Takeshi Tsuchiya) was in pole position with the No. 31 Toyota Prius apr GT (Koki Saga) in third place. The No. 25 VivaC 86 MC maintained its lead till the 25th lap where it lost its lead. The Toyota cars bided their time during the rest of the race till the 61st lap, when Nakayama in car No. 31 took advantage of an opportunity and managed to get into the lead. After that, the leading car No. 31 continued to maintain a gap of three seconds over car No. 25 now in second place.

In lap 71 however, there was a car crash and the red fl ag came out to

stop the race for safety reasons. The race was offi cially ended with six laps remaining. According to the regulation, the fi nal fi nishing order was decided by the running order on the lap prior to the red fl ag. With this, the No. 31 Toyota Prius apr GT got its fi rst win of the season. Round 5 of the 2016 championship now takes place in Fuji on August 6-7, 2016.

According to Takayuki Yoshitsugu, Chief Representative, Middle East and North Africa Representative Offi ce, Toyota Motor Corporation, “In the competitive environment of motorsports, the No. 31 Toyota Prius apr GT Toyota Prius showed its versatility and racing credentials with a superb win followed by the No. 25 VivaC 86 MC Toyota 86. I would like to congratulate the teams for their excellent performance.”

He added: “Toyota places a lot of emphasis on participation in motorsports for the insights it generates while testing the cars in such demanding conditions. This in turn helps to develop ever better cars for our customers. We sincerely appreciate the support of our customers for our motorsports activities.” The No. 31 Toyota Prius apr GT during the race.

Karnataka Sangha Qatar (KSQ) took part in Navikotsava 2016, the world Kannada convention held recently in the Indian city of Bengaluru. The two-day convention attracted 38 Kannada Associations from across the globe and highlighted the rich cultural heritage of Karnataka. KSQ President HK Madhu led the cultural team for the event. The team presented two power-packed skits, Tughlaq and Bhaktha Prahlada,

impressing the large audience.


COMMUNITYOFFBEAT

Tasso: The German sprayer who helped turn graff iti into an art formBy Claudia Drescher

His hair is thinning and fl ecked with grey. His belly is beginning to show a little beneath a brown T-shirt sporting

the slogan “Life begins.”But when Jens Mueller, a German

graffi ti artist known as Tasso, picks up a spray can and sets to work on a canvas none of it matters.

“I can live from my pictures,” says Tasso, who recently celebrated his 50th birthday. “I never dreamed of that 25 years ago.”

In the early 1980s, Tasso, from the state of Saxony in Germany’s former communist east, used to steal paint to spray the names of his favourite bands on the walls of his hometown, Meerane.

When the Iron Curtain came down in 1989, a world of opportunity was opened up to him.

With the so-called welcome money that the West German government gave to East Germans who came across the border he bought a black Edding marker pen and later borrowed money from his grandmother to buy a box of spray paints.

“My goal [was to create] Meerane’s

fi rst graffi ti,” he says. Graffi ti soon became his mission

in life, though he also trained as a butcher and worked on building sites.

As he reached his mid 20s and his friends began settling down, Tasso preferred to head into the night with 15-year-olds and some spray paint.

Far away from the big city and the urban scene, he began to develop his own style.

While other graffi ti artists tended

towards portraying gangsters with guns, Mueller painted “kitsch” landscapes and scenes that looked almost like photos.

He experimented to fi nd the perfect skin tones for his subjects.

His breakthrough came at the Meeting of Styles, an international graffi ti art festival which began in the German city of Wiesbaden and now holds events all over the world.

”Tasso undoubtedly still belongs to the absolute elite — nationally

and internationally,” says Maxi Kretzschmar.

The Leipzig gallery owner, who specializes in graffi ti — also known as street art and urban art — says it is the art of the digital age.

The exchange between artists and the distribution of pictures has been strengthened by social media, he says.

Marco Schwalbe, of the Munich-based Stroke art fair, the fi rst and only German fair focusing on urban art, also believes graffi ti has great potential as a future market.

He estimates that around 500,000 euros (550,000 dollars) worth of graffi ti is sold as art in Germany each year.

“But this market is growing, and contemporary art will also open up,” he says.

Urban art is still largely ignored by Germany’s more classical art scene.

But in a few years people won’t be able to tell the diff erence between urban art and other contemporary artworks, says Schwalbe, pointing to the United States, where “new contemporary art” has long been part of the scene.

Tasso and his crew, the artists group Ma’Claim, are some of Germany’s top graffi ti artists and are internationally recognised, he adds.

But Tasso has only recently begun

calling himself an artist.He began making his living from

graffi ti in the mid-1990s, when he started taking on commissions.

He now takes on around 30 commissions a year. “If I’m honest, the fi nancial security was and is really important to me,” admits Tasso. His glass is “more than half full,” he adds.

And he doesn’t feel old, even among his graffi ti artist colleagues where even those ten years younger than him are generally regarded as ancient.

He is however beginning to have problems with his shoulder “after 25 years with a spray can” in his hand.

“I do ask myself every now and then what will happen when I can’t paint any more,” he says thoughtfully.

His Plan B would be writing books, he says. He doesn’t have any other ideas as yet.

For his birthday he gave himself the best present, by printing a limited edition book taking stock of his work and telling of his travels around the world.

Only 500 copies of the book Am Ende fehlt doch immer was (Something’s always missing in the end) are available, with the fi rst 100 also including a piece of canvas from an artwork that Tasso painted especially to go with the book and then cut up. —DPA

After a lengthy life spreading graff iti across Germany, artist Tasso says there’s no way he will retire his spray cans — even at the age of 50.

Tasso’s spray cans.


COMMUNITY OFFB

Sound, camera, action: Uweave verve and violen

In the Ugandan capital Kampala, a pot-holed dirt road weaves through a cluster of shacks along a stinking stream until a

helicopter made from scrap metal emerges into view.

“Welcome to Wakaliwood,” movie director Isaac Nabwana says, stepping out of a group of actors

dressed as soldiers or gangsters.Nabwana’s company, Ramon

Productions — known as Wakaliwood — in the low-income neighbourhood of Wakaliga, is the east African country’s answer to Hollywood.

Functioning on minimal budgets, it churns out movies so packed with action, humour and verve that

they have attracted a global cult following and earned Nabwana the nickname of Uganda’s Tarantino.

Wakaliwood makes movies at a cost ranging from almost nothing to 200 dollars. Machine guns are made using old motorcycle engines and bullets are carved from wood.

The amateur actors do not get paid, but peddle the movies door-to-door and to shops, keeping half of the earnings of about 1 dollar per DVD.

“We do not make budgets. We

just improvise most of the time. It is impossible to make a budget, because we have no money,” Nabwana says.

The 43-year-old director, who has more than 40 films to his credit, also wears the hats of actor, cameraman and editor.

Despite the difficult production conditions, a 2010 film, Who Killed Captain Alex, attracted more than half a million viewers on YouTube, most of them outside Uganda.

The story of a captain sent to track down the Tiger Mafia — showing lots of machine-gun fire, kung fu fights and helicopters bombing Kampala — is “more entertaining than what we have in America,” one viewer commented.

The movies are shot with video

cameras. Special effects techniques are used to combining images of the scrap-metal helicopter, for example, with visual elements generated by animation software.

More than 300 fans from countries including France, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Canada, Russia and India have visited Nabwana at his makeshift studio.

Dozens of the visitors ended up acting in his films, in which white men nearly always get killed.

“The visitors said they wanted to die,” says Nabwana, who thanks such actors by giving them “death certificates.” A semi-dark rehearsal room has a wall filled with signatures in white, red and blue of more than 50 visitors who “died.”

Visitors to Wakaliwood have

By Henry Wasswa and Sinikka Tarvainen

Dauda Bisaso, the man responsible for creating the filming equipment, sets up his homemade camera rig at Wakaliwood studios in Kampala.

Alan Hofmanis, an American volunteer with the Wakaliwood film studios, in Wakaliga, Kampala.

BRIEFING: Wakaliwood actors listen as Isaac Nabwana, the head of Wakaliwood stu


COMMUNITYBEAT

Ugandan action movies nce out of tiny budgets

included Alan Hofmanis, a programme director for the Lake Placid Film Festival in the United States, who saw Who Killed Captain Alex in December 2011.

“I loved the movie. Two weeks later, I came here,” he says.

Hofmanis made several visits until he ended up staying to join forces with Nabwana, in whose movies he acts and whom he helps to raise funds on the Internet.

A fund-raising campaign last year netted 13,000 dollars, allowing the film crew to acquire equipment such as muzzle flashes for guns and detonation materials for fake bomb blasts.

“Wakaliwood is not in a very good shape, but I want to assist it to get to some other, higher level,” Hofmanis says.

Coming from a modest background, Nabwana worked as a brickmaker after finishing school.

He later saved enough money to study computer maintenance, learned to edit films online and borrowed a camera in the hope of realising his lifelong dream.

“Since childhood, I have admired film stars. My older brother told me about kung fu, Bud Spencer and Rambo. I was inspired and determined to be in movies.”

Nabwana’s team now comprises about 30 actors, craftsmen and technicians.

“Whoever comes here to act is trained here, because we do not have film-training schools in Uganda,” the director says.

His earnings — often amounting to a few hundred dollars per film

— are reduced by piracy, which Nabwana says is a “big problem.”

In the case of one of Wakaliwood’s most successful productions — The Evil Spirit of Ntwetwe, about a village awash with spirits — the company earned almost nothing because of piracy, the director explains.

“Piracy ... kills the value of films. Police can arrest a man who stole an egg and leave a pirate of a film worth millions,” Nabwana says.

The director is now hoping that his growing fame will help him raise funds for a modern studio with training facilities for actors and editors.

While most Ugandan films are love or family dramas, Nabwana markets his as the first action movies made in the country.

“The government has not supported the movie industry” which had long been neglected, noted Philip Luswata, a cinema expert at Makerere University. Luswata sees Nabwana as “aping Hollywood. He knows what his fans want.”

Nabwana, meanwhile, is busy enlisting visitors to act in his next movie, Wakaliwood Against the Rest of the World: No One Escapes Wakaliwood.

It will feature foreign mercenaries coming to rescue a foreigner who has disappeared in Wakaliwood. But they soon find they have tempted fate when they perish in fierce gun battles against Ugandans. —DPA

HIGH ON ACTION: Dauda Bisaso demonstrates the use of a fake lethal weapon he has crafted out of scrap metal and other everyday objects at Wakaliwood studios in Kampala as a mother and son walk calmly by.

Isaac Nabwana, head of Wakaliwood film productions, in an improvised helicopter used as a prop for action movies at his film studios in Wakaliga, Kampala.

udios, briefs them ahead of shooting a scene in his latest movie.

Wakaliwood actors Bulyahika Ronald left, with yellow jacket, and Apollo Asiimwe act out a fight scene as the film crew (centre) shoot at the Wakaliwood movie studios in Kampala.


COMMUNITY INFOGRAPHIC


COMMUNITYLIFESTYLE/HOROSCOPE

ARIESMarch 21 — April 19

CANCERJune 21 — July 22

LIBRASeptember 23 — October 22

CAPRICORNDecember 22 — January 19

TAURUSApril 20 — May 20

LEOJuly 23 — August 22

SCORPIOOctober 23 — November 21

AQUARIUSJanuary 20 — February 18

GEMINIMay 21 — June 20

VIRGOAugust 23 — September 22

SAGITTARIUSNovember 22 — December 21

PISCESFebruary 19 — March 20

Today’s Moon in Leo is an ongoing New Moon from yesterday and

in your fifth house of romance, self–fulfillment and creativity makes

this a very special day indeed for you.

Let bygones be bygones today as much as possible. Forgive, forget

and move on. Life is way too short to hold grudges and be pissed off

after all.

Sometimes there is nothing much you can do but simply listen to

other people and what they have to say, nod, agree or disagree and

go on your merry way...

Avoid crowds today and too much noise and kafuff le goats. Mars the

planet of passion and energy moves into your twelfth house of past

karma and self–renewal today through mid–September. Time to slow

your roll.

If you’re not sure about something, ask questions today and be

inquisitive bulls. There is nothing worse than feeling as if you are

falling behind your peers.

Your New Moon is still very active Leos and will be for the next

2 weeks. In your second house of physical appearance and

personality, it’s the perfect time for you to do something for yourself

— especially with Venus in your sign through Saturday.

With Mars the motivator moving out of your sign today and setting

up his action shop in your second house of money and self–worth,

it’s a great time for you to stop spending your hard earned cash and

start saving instead.

If you aren’t 100% positive about something you know is kind of

a big deal, now is the time for you to really rethink things through

before pushing the button on GO.

With motivator Mars in your one on one relationship zone, now is

the perfect time for you to face up to all of those issues with others

that you may have swept under the table recently and really do need

a second look.

Don’t let a simple discussion today become a heated debate Virgos.

It’s really the last thing you need and with a New Moon and Venus

alongside the Sun lingering in your past karma zone, you might bite

off more than you can chew.

Unless you really feel the need to do so, try to avoid getting caught

up in someone else’s drama today Sags. As much as you love to help

(and hear all the drama), there’s nothing much you can really do.

Everything is a matter of perspective and how you see things Pisces.

You often see things through rose coloured glasses — glass half

full — while others see things through dirty, grey lenses — glass half

empty.

Brain foods: Eating for academic successW

hat do the foods your children eat have to do with the grades they bring home? Surprisingly, more than many people think.

Research shows that certain vitamins and nutrients support brain health and development. That means the snacks, meals and supplements your child consumes can give them an academic edge, in the classroom and in life.

Lauren Zimet, director of the Early Insights Healthy Foundations Program and a mother herself, understands how food can empower the body and brain. Here are Zimet's top picks for brain foods that can help support your child's learning and development.

Powerful proteins Protein for breakfast and lunch will not

only curb hunger pangs throughout the school day, but will also help sustain mental energy and level moods. Kid-friendly protein ideas include eggs, organic chicken/turkey/beef, non-GMO nitrate-free turkey bacon, and beans. Have leftovers from last night? Dinners

in the US traditionally have more protein than other meals, so eating last night's leftovers in the morning is a fun brain-boosting breakfast option.

Incredible carbohydrates Some examples of healthy complex

carbohydrates to incorporate into your child's diet are brown rice, quinoa and oats. These types of carbs elevate levels of serotonin in the brain, which has a calming eff ect. Need bread? Look for organic options so you can feel confi dent your child is consuming the nutrients they need and not the additional chemicals that are commonly found in conventional breads and grains.

Fantastic fats Did you know the brain is about 60 percent

fat? That means when your kids eat healthy fats, it can support brain function. Pack snacks with nuts, seeds and avocado. When cooking, replace unhealthy hydrogenated oils with healthier options such as extra-virgin olive oil or coconut oil. Eat more meals with cold-water fi sh like

salmon to get more omega-3 essential fats, which play an integral role in promoting cellular health and brain development.

Mighty nuts and seedsThese nutritional powerhouses provide

generous amounts of calories, fats, complex carbohydrates, protein, vitamins, minerals and fi bre. Kids can enjoy making their own healthy seed-nut snack mixes, then package in baggies or small containers. Also, try swapping traditional peanut butter for other nut butters like almond or cashew for a healthier take on PB&J.

Vivacious veggies and fruit Real, whole foods like fresh fruits and

vegetables support brain health while calming the nervous system during times of stress. Blueberries, raspberries and strawberries are full of antioxidants and vitamin C, which research shows helps regulate cortisol, a hormone responsible for stress. And don't forget bananas! Not only are they full of potassium, but they also help the body produce

hormones that help reduce stress and promote better sleep.

© Brandpoint

Adam

Pooch Cafe

Garfield

Bound And Gagged

Codeword

Wordsearch

Every letter of the alphabet is used at least once. Squares with the same number in have the same letter in. Work out which number represents which letter.

Puzz

les

cour

tesy

: Puz

zlec

hoic

e.co

m

CARACALCATAMOUNTCHEETAHCIVETCOUGARJAGUARLEOPARDLION

LYNXOCELOTOUNCEPANTHERPUMASERVALWILDCAT

Wildcat

Sudoku

Sudoku is a puzzle based

on a 9x9 grid. The grid is

also divided into nine (3x3)

boxes. You are given a

selection of values and to

complete the puzzle, you

must fill the grid so that

every column, every anone

is repeated.


COMMUNITY PUZZLES/CARTOONS

Colouring

Answers

Wordsearch Codeword

DOWN1. Flourish (8)2. Prestige (5)4. Neglect (6)5. Indemnity (12)6. Ill-mannered (7)7. Urban area (4)8. Made poor (12)12. Singing style (8)14. Perplex (7)16. Headdress (6)18. Musical instrument (5)19. Weapons (4)

ACROSS1. Cook (4)3. Reduction in price (8)9. Belly (7)10. Tropical bird (5)11. Rude (12)13. Sealed envelope (6)15. Respiratory disorder (6)17. Devious hints (12)20. Coarse (5)21. Fetched (7)22. Going too fast (8)23. Open (4)

ACROSS1. Fool to take part in physical education? (4)3. I perform afterwards for the hero-worshipper (8)9. To correspond completely (7)10. Not fit to paint, perhaps (5)11. They stop the sheets slipping off (12)13. From which one learns to stake a smaller amount (6)15. Draw in with art pen, perhaps (6)17. Extensible base on which the artist works? (7-5)20. Change of note by right singer (5)21. Stayed and paid (7)22. Urgent work in the laundry (8)23. Big cat with connections, say (4)

DOWN1. Appointment on hand for fruit producer (4,4)2. Produce a palindrome or shut up? (3,2)4. Uninteresting study of a poet (6)5. Opportunity to show respect for government mendacity? (5-2-5)6. Characteristic alternative of disloyal person (7)7. Tire out with ceremonial act (4)8. He supervises building or wrecks, folk decide (5,2,5)12. Literary addition sometimes removed in theatre (8)14. Unusual variety of garnets (7)16. Harmony of workers' association about start of strike (6)18. Hector starts the hockey match (5)19. Halt the return of vessels (4)

Quick Clues

Cryptic Clues

Yesterday’s Solutions

QUICKAcross: 6 Anguish; 7 Waken; 9 Barge; 10 Propose; 12 Preliminary; 14 Possibility; 18 Feather; 19 Pearl; 21 Storm; 22 Deprive.Down: 1 Sneak; 2 Vulgar; 3 Use; 4 Happen; 5 Censure; 8 Grumble; 11 Blubber; 13 Poverty; 15 Satire; 16 Theory; 17 Grave; 20 Bet.

CRYPTICAcross: 6 Abridge; 7 Cache; 9 Dukes; 10 Pundits; 12 Sagittarius; 14 Considerate; 18 Patriot; 19 Proof; 21 Screw; 22 Wedding.Down: 1 About; 2 Cinema; 3 Egg; 4 Gander; 5 Shotgun; 8 Austere; 11 Windsor; 13 Romance; 15 Surrey; 16 Tirade; 17 Point; 20 Gem.


COMMUNITYPUZZLES


COMMUNITY CINEMA

By Gautaman Bhaskaran

Star spats are not exactly new in India, which has even seen celebrated auteurs getting into slanging matches.

The mid-1960s saw the famous “rivalry” between two of India’s leading lights in cinema, Satyajit Ray and Mrinal Sen. Ray — credited with brilliant fi lms like Pather Panchali and Charulata — and Sen — also renowned for cinematic excellence in movies like Bhuvan Shome (which was one of the pictures that heralded the New Indian Cinema in 1969), Mrigaya and Kharij — clashed in the columns of Calcutta’s leading dailies like The Statesman. Newspapers were the only platform available those days — when Twitter and Facebook were not even in the remotest corner of anybody’s mind.

One of the clashes pertained to Sen’s Aakash Kusum, but later, Ray’s son, Sandip, called these a “healthy competition” not rivalry. In 2013, Sandip quipped: “You cannot perform in a vacuum. Only when you have stiff competition do you have the urge to excel. Mrinal Sen’s and Ritwik Ghatak’s presence naturally urged my father to outshine himself. I am sure that my father’s presence had a similar eff ect on them as well.”

Away from such professional tiff s, if I may say so, Ray and Sen were good friends keeping tabs on each other’s ideas, thinking processes, techniques and styles. “My father and I would run into Mrinalbabu all the time during our post-production work. We would mostly be in diff erent editing rooms at NT 1. Often I would fi nd my father and Mrinalbabu engaged in stimulating conversations. I would soak in every bit of it,” Sandip reminisced, adding that he himself had remained one of Sen’s biggest fans to this day.

Today, stars and directors lash at each other through the social media. Recently, we saw a huge confl ict between two Bollywood actors, Hrithik Roshan and Kangana Ranaut, that degenerated into an awfully unpleasant war of words. There have been similar squabbles among other fi lm personalities. Sometimes, they are out in the open, in public domain.

The latest “tiff ” seems to be between one

of India’s most talented actors, Naseeruddin Shah (whose presence made so many movies so extraordinarily meaningful) and Rajesh Khanna (perhaps the country’s fi rst superstar, who died in 2012).

In an interview to Hindustan Times, Shah lamented the mediocrity which had seeped into Hindi cinema. He said the decline began in the 1970s, courtesy the late Rajesh Khanna — a superstar by industry standards, but a poor actor at best.

Khanna’s daughter, Twinkle (now married to Bollywood star, Akshay Kumar), lambasted Shah saying that it was unfair to criticise a man who was dead, and who cannot respond.

Unfortunately, Twinkle was wrong. India is a healthy democracy where men and women have the right to be critical of one another’s views and work. Come on, we pick on even Nehru and Gandhiji, and both have been long gone.

And, I think Shah was bang right when he said that Khanna was a poor performer. Not just this, he brought into Indian cinema the craze called super stardom that belittled writers and directors, while placing actors on a high pedestal. Khanna often got the kind of kudos which he certainly did not deserve. He was not actor, for I saw the same guy with the same hair style in fi lm after fi lm. Sometimes, even in the same costume, the Guru Kurta, for instance. He seldom got into the skin of a character. He was the same Rajesh Khanna in every production.

It is unfortunate that Khanna was largely responsible in heralding an era that gave undue prominence to actors — rather than to directors or writers. Bollywood — especially — became star, not auteur, driven. So many of us watched such engaging works like Anand, Aradhana, Amar Prem, Safar and so on because Mr Khanna was starring in them — and, sadly, not because they were exemplary pieces of work — well written, well directed and with good production values.

This star phenomenon still prevails. We are waiting to see Rustom because Akshay Kumar (Twinkle’s husband) plays the lead in it. We scrambled to watch Kabali, for the hero of all heroes, Rajinikanth, was essaying the title role. We are now told that Kumar has replaced a good actor like Arshad Warsi in Jolly LLB 2. Warsi carried the first part

with wonderful finesse. Why was Warsi taken off the sequel? The producer, Fox, if I am right, was looking for an actor with star value, and these days, Akshay Kumar fits the bill to the T.

India’s Chaitanya Tamhane on Venice jury

It is not very often that a film director gets fame and accolade with his very first movie. India’s Chaitanya Tamhane is one, whose debut feature, Court, premiered at the Venice Film Festival in 2014, and was later sent up as the country’s official entry for the Oscars. That it did not even make it to the finals — the short list of five — is another question. But Tamhane is now shining bright, all over again, after being picked for the Orizzonti jury of the upcoming Venice Film Festival, which will roll on August 31. The event runs till

September 10 on the island of Lido, off mainland Venice.

Court, a Marathi feature, won the Lion of the Future Award and the Orizzonti Prize for Best Movie at Venice in 2014. Since then, the fi lm has gone on to clinch as many as 32 international awards. Tamhane was recently selected for the Rolex Mentor-Protégé Arts Initiative under the mentorship of Mexican helmer, Alfonso Cuarón.

Cuaron’s slate has a bewitching variety that spreads from Yu Tu Mama Tambien (And Your Mother Too, about two teenage boys’ sexual romp with an older woman on a road trip), Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations (with Gwyneth Paltrow, Ethan Hawke and Robert De Niro), Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and Gravity (with George Clooney and Sandra Bullock that opened the Festival in 2013).

Tamhane’s Court examines India’s legal system through the trial of an ageing folk singer in a Mumbai sessions court. In an important way, the movie is a searing critique of all that is wrong with the country’s judicial process — but narrated with exemplary subtlety.

The Orizzonti jury will be headed by the celebrated French auteur, Robert Guediguian (The Snows of Kilimanjaro, My Sweet Pepper Land with Iranian beauty Golshifteh Farahani). The other members of the panel will be American fi lm critic and historian Jim Hoberman, Egyptian actress Nelly Karim (who won the Best Actress Award at the Cairo International Film Festival in 2004 for My Soulmate by Khaled Youssef), Italian actress Valentina Lodovini, Korean star and director Moon So-ri, Spanish movie critic and scholar José Maria Prado.

Orizzonti is the most important sidebar at Venice that screens the works of new directors in an attempt to explore emerging trends in cinema. There are 18 full-length features here that will be part of the Orizzonti competition. One fi lm will play out of competition, and there are several shorts — both in competition and outside.

(Gautaman Bhaskaran has covered the Venice Film Festival for over 15 years and will be back on the Lido this year.)

Indian cinema is still a slave to stars

VALID: Naseeruddin Shah’s criticism of Rajesh Khanna and his work was both valid and in spirit of India’s healthy democratic norms.

ACCOLADE: Chaitanya Tamhane has been picked for the Orizzonti jury of the upcoming Venice Film Festival.


COMMUNITYHOLLYWOOD

At the Teen Choice Awards, actress Jessica Alba gave a passionate tribute to those aff ected by gun

violence. The 35-year-old star invited a group of teenagers who had lost their family members to gun violence onto the stage — along with the son of Alton Sterling, a 37-year-old black man, who was shot several times in Baton Rouge by the police — and asked each one

of them to introduce themselves, reports mirror.co.uk.

“(They) share an unlikely bond that is hard to comprehend,” Alba told the crowd. “They are the brothers, sisters, daughters, and family members of recent victims of gun violence. I’m talking about Aurora, Baton Rouge, Dallas, Minneapolis, Orlando, San Bernardino, Newtown. It keeps happening and it has to stop. Many of those impacted by these acts of

violence are teens,” she added.After each of the teens spoke

out with their name and their story, Alba said: “Tonight we stand together with these teens.”

“United in a call for peace and an end to this violence. Now more than ever we need to stop, feel, and ask, ‘What’s going on?’” she added.

R&B singer Ne-Yo later joined the tribute, as he took to the stage and sang Marvin Gaye’s What’s going on. — IANS

Jessica Alba calls for end to gun violence

CLARION CALL: Jessica Alba

Rapper Kanye West says his headline performance at the Glastonbury Festival in 2015 put him in a “depressed state”. West said it was an humbling experience when he forgot his lyrics and got the music wrong, reports mirror.co.uk.

“It was incredible. I started off the show and I completely messed up the music. And me, as you can imagine by this phone call, I am a bit of a perfectionist,” West told BBC Radio One. “So it really put me into a slightly depressed state, and it put me back in the position of when I was in high school and I got fi red from my job, or when I played my music for R Kelly and he told me he was going to sign me, and then three months later I didn’t have any money, I couldn’t aff ord a haircut, I couldn’t take my girlfriend to the movies and I’m still in my momma’s bedroom, working on beats, and I was that close to being

signed by R Kelly,” he added.West said that he usually doesn’t

get “nervous”. “I don’t usually get nervous. I prepare, I get fully prepared. When that music messed up in the beginning, it tapped into my nerves and when you are nervous or vulnerable, something special and something diff erent can happen,” he added.

The Gold digger rapper also outlined why he wants to run for US president, an ambition he announced on stage at the MTV Video Music Awards last year. “We are numb, we are numb to 500 kids getting killed in Chicago a year,” he said.

“We are numb to the fact that it was seven police shootings in the beginning of July ... We are numb to places on the earth that we don’t live, like our life is okay but it’s okay for other people’s lives to not be okay,” West added. — IANS

Damon to take break from acting next year

Actor Matt Damon, who is promoting his latest fi lm Jason Bourne, is planning to take a break from the industry following a hectic year.

He wants to take a year off from acting, reports aceshowbiz.com.

“I took a bunch of roles in a row. I have done four straight movies in a row and I have one more to go,” Damon said on the Today show.

The father of four mentioned how he “dragged” his family “all over the world” for his movie shoots.

“They are really good sports. They are great travellers. But I’m excited to fi nish out this year of work and take a year off and be at their behest for once,” he said. Jason Bourne is expected to debut high on box offi ce this weekend. He will next release The Great Wall, which was recently criticised for “Hollywood white-washing”. His other fi lm, Downsizing, is still in production. — IANSBREATHER: Matt Damon

Kanye West was ‘depressed’ over Glastonbury performance

CONFESSION: Kanye West

Actor Dwayne Johnson’s comedy HBO series Ballers has been renewed for a third season. Johnson broke the news via his Instagram, reports variety.com.

He posted: “BREAKING: Baller alert. After just two episodes into our Season 2 of Ballers, @HBO has ordered season 3! Congratulations to our hard working cast, crew, producers and our show’s creator Stephen Levinson. “Thank you to our home network HBO (Plepler, Bloys & brilliant team) for the commitment and long term vision of our show. To all our Ballers Fans out there - Thank You!”

He added: “Millions of you tune in every week to join us on this crazy journey of chasin’ greatness and dealin’ with life’s pain ... and the greatest compliment we always hear from you is that we’re real and authentic.

“Means the world considering how close this character is to my

bones. Now that you know there’s gonna be a Season 3... You’ll be watching this season with a diff erent eye. Enjoy and have fun with it and above all else.”

The series explores the relationship between football star turned fi nancial manager Spencer Strasmore (played by Johnson) and his clients. Ballers fi nished out its fi rst season as the network’s most-watched comedy in six years, once viewership from all airings and streaming were tallied.

According to HBO, 8.8mn people watched each episode within seven days. The season one fi nale garnered 1.43mn viewers in Nielsen’s live-plus-same-day count. The second season of the comedy series delves into the murky world of NFL and the myriad of emotions, drama and subterfuge that goes on in the underbelly of the most innocuous of sports. — IANS

Dwayne Johnson’s comedy series renewed for new season

ON A HIGH: Dwayne Johnson

In an intensive two-week lab, teenagers of Qatar can now absorb a well-rounded introduction to the diff erent elements of photography, fi lm

and fi lmmaking so as to help them make their fi rst one-minute short fi lms.

From August 7 to 21, the Doha Film Institute (DFI) has organised a workshop Camera Kids: Make Your Own Short Film. “During the classroom period, sessions take place six days a week; on Saturdays from 9am to 1pm, and Sunday through Thursday from 9am to 1pm. During pre-production and fi lming, participants may be asked to make time outside these hours, including on weekdays during the daytime,”

says DFI about the lab that is in both English and Arabic.

The number of participants will be 20, the applicants should be between 13 and 17 years of age, and the price of admission is QR1,500. Those interested can send an e-mail to youth@dohafi lminstitute.com before August 7.

“This course off ers a non-thematic approach to helping participants through their fi lm projects. It covers the artistic, technical and practical considerations of making a short sound fi lm (documentary). In the fi rst weeks, students will develop ideas for a three- to fi ve-minute project. Students will gain the skills needed in the production of HD

fi lm, from concept to shooting, and will act as crew on each other’s fi lms,” says DFI.

Instruction includes discussions on how to shoot a short fi lm; pre-production preparations; sync shooting, HD-video procedures and sound recording; operation of HD camera technology; lighting and grip equipment; planning your fi lm; casting; visualisation strategies; analysing dailies; and post-production.

By the end of the course, students will have shot, evaluated and edited all footage and will also screen it for the class.

“As an integral part of the course, several workshops are held addressing optics, lighting, sound,

writing and editing. Each student will participate actively in exercises essential to achieving in-depth knowledge of fi lm production, as well as a commitment to cinematic language,” explains DFI, “Students have a working schedule balancing the close study of selected fi lms as well as production of their own work. Course materials include fi lms and texts, which will inform frequent and extensive class discussions.

While investigating the social and political context of cinematic works, these discussions will ultimately result in intimate dialogue about each student’s work.”

The mentors for this lab are Allegra Hamilton-Brooksbank and Guy Brooksbank.

A graduate of Harvard University, Allegra Hamilton-Brooksbank spent several years in Los Angeles as a script doctor and writer, working with many industry luminaries including Samuel L Jackson and John Travolta, while working alongside Christopher Keane, the author of numerous best-selling how-to books on screenwriting.

Most recently, Hamilton-Brooksbank wrote and directed Longing for Image Nation Abu Dhabi’s Arab Film Studio Short Film Competition, for which she garnered a coveted award. Hamilton-Brooksbank’s knowledge, drive and passion are some of the greatest assets of Handheld Stories, an educational and media-arts collaborative that provides media-creation tools and training for communities worldwide.

An award-winning educator in media production, Guy Brooksbank’s career began decades ago in public television in the USA. More recently, he taught media production and fi lmmaking at Dubai Men’s College, where he was awarded the Nikai Award, which is presented to one faculty member each semester (from more than 17 campuses across the UAE) who consistently demonstrates great aptitude, creativity, innovation and dedication to their students. Brooksbank’s students went on to win numerous national and international awards and now form the heart of the media industry in Dubai.

The importance of participation in this class cannot be overstated, says DFI. “Students should be prepared for every class and should always have their materials with them for presentation, discussion and in-class workshops, and should be prepared to contribute ideas or ask questions in every class. They should have both the self-discipline and the determination necessary for successful creative explorations and fi lm production.”


COMMUNITY

DFI film workshop calls on youngstersCamera Kids: Make Your Own Short Film will cover

artistic, technical and practical considerations of

making documentaries. By Anand Holla

HANDS ON: Students will gain the skills needed in the production of HD film, from concept to shooting, and will act as crew on each other’s films.

Documents

man’ returns - Gulf Times