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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.”

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The Law Offices of Frank R. Cruz reminds investors of the upcoming November 25, 2024 deadline to file a lead plaintiff motion in the class action filed on behalf of investors who acquired Bumble Inc. ("Bumble" or the "Company") BMBL securities between November 7, 2023 and August 7, 2024 , inclusive (the "Class Period"). If you are a shareholder who suffered a loss, click here to participate. On February 27, 2024, Bumble released its fourth quarter 2023 financial results, falling short of expectations. The Company stated that the recently-launched Premium Plus subscription tier would be revamped as part of a planned Bumble app relaunch, as it "did not have a clear enough market fit" at launch. Additionally, the Company lowered its guidance for 2024. On this news, Bumble's stock price fell $1.95, or 14.8%, to close at $11.23 per share on February 28, 2024, thereby injuring investors. Then, on August 7, 2024, Bumble released its second quarter 2024 financial results, disclosing that the app relaunch was not going to plan and that the Company would need to "reset" its outlook to refocus on the "consumer ecosystem" and "rebalance Bumble subscription tiers," including a pause in the revamp of the Premium Plus tier. The Company also cut its full year 2024 guidance for a second time. On this news, Bumble's stock price fell $2.35, or 29.2%, to close at $5.71 per share on August 8, 2024, thereby injuring investors further. The complaint filed in this class action alleges that throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and/or misleading statements, as well as failed to disclose material adverse facts about the Company's business, operations, and prospects. Specifically, Defendants failed to disclose to investors that: (1) Bumble's Premium Plus subscription plan did not have a clear market fit and would very quickly need to be revamped; (2) Bumble's tiered-subscription options were ill equipped to provide the claimed revenue per user benefit to the Company's faltering market share, particularly regarding user growth and monetization; and (3) as a result, Defendants' positive statements about the Company's business, operations, and prospects were materially misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis at all relevant times. Follow us for updates on Twitter: twitter.com/FRC_LAW . If you purchased or otherwise acquired Bumble securities during the Class Period, you may move the Court no later than November 25, 2024 to request appointment as lead plaintiff in this putative class action lawsuit. To be a member of the class action you need not take any action at this time; you may retain counsel of your choice or take no action and remain an absent member of the class action. If you wish to learn more about this class action, or if you have any questions concerning this announcement or your rights or interests with respect to the pending class action lawsuit, please contact Frank R. Cruz, of The Law Offices of Frank R. Cruz, 2121 Avenue of the Stars, Suite 800, Century City, California 90067 at 310-914-5007, by email to info@frankcruzlaw.com , or visit our website at www.frankcruzlaw.com . If you inquire by email please include your mailing address, telephone number, and number of shares purchased. This press release may be considered Attorney Advertising in some jurisdictions under the applicable law and ethical rules. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20241122474854/en/ © 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

Aptiv PLC (NYSE:APTV) Shares Acquired by Caprock Group LLCNEW YORK (AP) — A Brooklyn real estate magnate accused of working with a Turkish government official to funnel illegal campaign contributions to New York City Mayor Eric Adams plans to plead guilty to a conspiracy charge tied to the scheme, federal prosecutors said Monday. Erden Arkan, the owner of a real estate construction firm, was one of several individuals implicated in the sprawling corruption indictment brought against Adams in October. He would be the first to plead guilty in a public proceeding. In court papers, prosecutors said Arkan planned to plead guilty to a charge of conspiracy to commit wire fraud by collecting campaign contributions for Adams that were made under the name of someone other than the true contributor. Adams then used those funds to fraudulently obtain public funding under the city’s matching funds program, which provides a generous match for small-dollar donations, prosecutors allege. A lawyer for Arkan did not immediately respond to a request for comment. An attorney for Adams, Alex Spiro, said in an emailed statement that the decision would have "no bearing on the Mayor’s case whatsoever.” “We know from the government’s own interviews that Mr. Arkan repeatedly said that Mayor Adams had no knowledge of his actions," Spiro said. A well-known member of New York’s Turkish community, Arkan is a co-owner of KSK, a Brooklyn-based construction firm specializing in luxury condominiums. His firm’s ties to Adams emerged in November 2023, as investigators searched his residence, along with the home of Adams’ chief fundraiser and his liaison to the Turkish community. Adams was subsequently charged with accepting bribes in the form of luxury travel benefits and illegal campaign contributions from a Turkish official and other foreign nationals hoping to buy his influence for their benefit. He has pleaded not guilty and vowed to remain in office as he fights the charges. The indictment details an April 2021 dinner organized by the Turkish official in which Adams personally solicited illegal campaign contributions from Arkan — identified in court papers only as “Businessman-5.” The following month, Arkan hosted a fundraiser at KSK’s headquarters for Adams in which 11 of his employees donated between $1,200 and $1,500 to the campaign. Each was reimbursed by the construction firm, prosecutors allege, making the contributions illegal straw donations. Arkan later confirmed to the FBI that he had spoken to the Turkish official about the fundraiser. He initially denied reimbursing his employees, prosecutors said. As he sought to recruit others to raise money for Adams, Arkan appeared to acknowledge misgivings about the fundraising scheme, telling prospective donors in New York's Turkish community that it “may feel like swimming against the current but unfortunately this is how things work in this country,” according to the indictment. As Adams gears up for an April trial, he has pledged to fight the case “with every ounce of my strength and my spirit." But his administration has faced overlapping scandals and investigations, leading to the resignations of his police commissioner , schools chancellor , multiple deputy mayors and his director of Asian affairs . His former buildings commissioner was also charged in a separate bribery conspiracy case involving real estate officials last year. Last week, Adams' former top advisor and close confidante, Ingrid Lewis-Martin, was charged by state prosecutors for allegedly accepting bribes from two real estate developers seeking to speed the process of construction approvals. She has pleaded not guilty. Jake Offenhartz And Larry Neumeister, The Associated Press

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