by Miranda Schiller @mirandadadada “The Right to Happiness”, this year’s Berlinale motto, is clearly linked to the one most talked about topic in the German media this year: Refugees. Donation boxes for the Berlin Centre for Torture Victims in every cinema, various programmes to help refugees in Berlin, from free tickets to school projects to traineeships, are the concrete ways the Berlinale participates in the effort to welcome refugees. Even George Clooney, star of the opening film “Hail, Caesar!”, has...

By Joe Mellor, Deputy Editor Virginia McLaurin, a 106-year-old black woman, did what would have seemed impossible when she was born; she visited the White House and met the first ever black president. It was an incredible moment, McLaurin and the Obamas talked, laughed and they even danced. Unbelievable for anyone of that age. But most telling was one comment from McLaurin: "I thought I would never live to get in the White House." If this video doesn't make you...

Reviewed by Miranda Schiller @mirandadadada Kate and Justin are expecting their first child when new neighbours move into the downstairs flat of their converted terraced house. The new couple, Theresa  (Laura Birn) and Jon, are also expecting a child. While Theresa is full of joy at the prospect of being a mother, Kate (Clémence Poésy) is insecure and fearful about her ability to cope with the responsibility for a child. She quickly warms to the outgoing Theresa and a friendship...

Review and round table interview with director Morgan Neville by Miranda Schiller @mirandadadada After meeting world-renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma and succumbing to his charm, documentary filmmaker Morgan Neville set out to document his ensemble of musicians from around the world, playing traditional instruments of their home countries, and morphing all these different traditions together to make something entirely new. Yo-Yo Ma's charm is hard not to succumb to, and Neville's storytelling is as light-footed, smooth and masterful as in his...

Reviewed by Miranda Schiller @mirandadadada Spike Lee's latest, the hip-hop musical Chi-Raq, re-interprets the ancient Greek play Lysistrata by Aristophanes: Lystistrata is a beautiful woman who helps end a war by convincing every woman in town to go on a sex-strike until the men stop battling and sign a peace contract. Spike Lee transfers the story from Ancient Greece to modern-day Chicago, called Chi-Raq because more Americans have been murdered there than have died in the Iraq war in the...

Interview by Miranda Schiller @mirandadadada Nakom is a tiny village in northern Ghana. Iddrisu, a talented medical student, has to return there after the sudden death of his father. He has to face the expectations of responsibility for his family, and his new life in the city slips further and further away from him. Through his story, Nakom tells the story of daily life in a remote village, the challenges of preserving traditional life in modern times, the conflict of...

London Beer Week kicks off today for the second year, culminating in Craft Beer Rising this weekend. The festival celebrates the best beers, ales, lagers and ciders on the market, as well as the London pubs and bars who pump them out. A London Beer Week wristband costs £10 and allows you to stroll in to 100 of the capital's very best beer bars and order a £3 speciality beer. You can also grab £5 boilermakers across the bars for the entire...

By Ben Ramanauskas On September 15th 2008, the global investment bank Lehman Brothers, filed for bankruptcy. It was- and still remains- the largest bankruptcy filing in the history of the United States and precipitated a global financial crisis that has had a devastating impact on the world economy. The conduct of many of the bankers at Lehman Brothers, and it’s subsequent fall, became emblematic of the culture of greed and excessive risk taking of the financial services industry. As the...

Boris Johnson was shocked when he was accused of making up he wants to leave Europe until he was reminded he has made stuff up before. The Mayor of London, and even more terrifyingly probably future PM, was sacked from the Times for making up quotes, when he was a junior reporter. He said: “I was only let go because I falsified a quote from my godfather, Colin Lucas, its not that bad is it? I can definitely be trusted...