This account of Lilian and her four young children undertaking a dangerous journey from Guatemala to the US brings a human face to the migration crisis
Heading for the US-Mexico border from Guatemala, single mum Lilian and her four children endure an arduous 3,000-mile journey, the perils of which are intimately captured in Danilo do Carmo and Jakob Krese’s piercing documentary. The film opens with the startling sight of dozens of migrants huddled on the side of the road under makeshift tents. Lilian is only one of the many faces here, and the story behind her hardship is far from unique. Fleeing an abusive partner, Lilian looks to the US as a place of emancipation for herself as well as her young children.
In the face of the numerous dangers that lie on her path, Lilian perseveres. When not crammed in the back of a caravan, the family roam the highways under the scorching sun until their feet bleed. There is little support from government agencies, but the solidarity between the migrants is incredibly moving to witness. Like Lilian, many of her fellow travellers are women who are victims of male and cartel brutality. Countering the scaremongering rhetoric that surrounds migration, do Carmo and Krese’s film shows how a large number of those seeking asylum are women and children – those most vulnerable to gender violence and poverty.
I always read the acknowledgments first – is there anyone who doesn’t? – and thanks to this, I came to So Long Sad Love by the French-born, Canada-based cartoonist Mirion Malle half expecting to see women in corsets and long skirts falling madly in love with one another at the back end of the 18th century. But, alas, this was not to be, for all that Malle credits Céline Sciamma’s 2019 film Portrait of a Lady on Fire as her inspiration for this, her third graphic novel to be published in English. While it’s certainly full of women, some of whom may (or may not) be about to fall in love, it’s also set resolutely in the now: an era when, courtesy of WhatsApp and Facebook, word of a bad man’s misdeeds may spread faster than wildfire at midnight.
Malle favours a soapy, forward momentum in her storytelling, and she can’t resist a neat, even a happy, ending. But I found her book irresistible for a different reason. This one celebrates female solidarity, something I feel more and more strongly about at the moment (would that it had arrived at my desk early enough to be included in an anthology I’ve edited on this subject). With its cast of smart, voluptuous female characters – Malle’s women are all eyes, mouths and hair – it reminds me, in the best way, of a classic of 1970s feminism: The Women’s Room by Marilyn French, perhaps, or Robin Morgan’s Sisterhood Is Powerful. Like those writers, she understands the importance of our subterranean networks: grapevines that men, deeming women’s talk to be only gossip, underestimate at their peril.
Alternative music event series Death of Classical invites small groups to witness one-of-a-kind performances at crypts, catacombs and other unlikely spaces
The Church of Intercession rises on West Harlem’s vibrant 155th Street with an ornate gothic heft. A less conspicuous feature of the 110-year-old gargantuan Episcopal sanctuary is its small underground crypt. There, curved arches and a haunting serenity accompany the names of those whose ashes are stored inside. It was this enigmatic aura that mesmerized Andrew Ousley – the founder of the alternative classical music series Death of Classical – when he first stepped into the chamber after a friend’s recommendation a decade ago. “Hearing immediately the bloom of the sound when I walked down the steps was powerful,” he says. “I had found a place with a naturally unique acoustics to experience music.”
The vaulted crypt, which can accommodate 45 guests at a time, is among the organization’s main venues, in addition to Brooklyn’s Green-Wood Cemetery and its long tunnel catacombs. Each event – generally an instant sellout – draws an audience in search for an intimate concert through a stimulating experience. A drinks hour generally precedes the show and guests are ushered together into the venue, where an innately dramatic setting is elevated by candlelight and absorbing acoustics.
Jeff Bezos’s $10bn climate and biodiversity fund has garnered glittering prizes, but concerns have been voiced over the influence it can buy – and its interest in carbon offsets
Late last month, the coronation of Jeff Bezos and his partner Lauren Sánchez as environmental royalty was complete. At Conservation International’s glitzy annual gala in New York, with Harrison Ford, Jacinda Ardern and Shailene Woodley looking on, the couple were given the global visionary award for the financial contribution of the Bezos Earth Fund to the natural world.
“Jeff and Lauren are making history, not just with the sum of their investment in nature but also the speed of it,” said the Conservation International CEO, Dr M Sanjayan, whose organisation received a $20m grant from Bezos in 2021 for its work in the tropical Andes.
To try to counter prosecutor’s claims of fraud, lawyers had ex-fixer affirm last week that the money was part of settlement agreement
Donald Trump’s lawyers are expected to launch their final blows at the credibility of Michael Cohen, the ex-lawyer and fixer who facilitated the $130,000 hush-money payment to the adult film star Stormy Daniels, as the criminal case against the former president resumes on Monday.
The defense team has already taken several steps to undercut the testimony from Cohen, which is at the heart of the case.
Five years after her last companion died and the aquarium’s owner pledged to free her, Bella still languishes in a tiny tank amid shops
In the heart of Seoul, amid the luxury shops at the foot of the world’s sixth-tallest skyscraper, a lone beluga whale named Bella swims aimlessly in a tiny, lifeless tank, where she has been trapped for a decade.
Her plight is urgent, with campaigners racing to rescue her from the bare tank in a glitzy shopping centre in South Korea’s capital before it is too late.
He was hailed as a signing of the season this time last year, and such was the brightness of the future predicted for Isak that Newcastle fans will have been of a mind to wear shades. A key player in the team that secured fourth place last term, the Swedish striker has flourished as one of several standout players for Eddie Howe in an often difficult campaign this time around, when injuries to key personnel and the lengthy ban handed down to Sandro Tonali meant many Newcastle players were running on fumes. In his second season on Tyneside, Isak has 21 league goals, more than double the tally of 10 in the last campaign, while also chipping in with important contributions in the FA Cup and Champions League. As at home feinting to sit defenders on their backsides or sending them skidding into the car park as he is cutting in from the left or sprinting in behind, it’s no surprise the 24-year-old, who has been likened to Thierry Henry, is being linked with a move to Arsenal. His current employers may have to reluctantly sell him to stay on top of those pesky profit and sustainability rules.
Before entering business, O’Reilly played rugby for Ireland and the Lions and could have been ‘one of the world’s greats’
Tony O’Reilly has died aged 88 and this week’s business pages will pay tribute to a titan of the corporate world who struck commercial gold with Kerrygold and built a hill of beans with Heinz. It is a sign of a life remarkably well lived, then, that his name will also always have a place in the pantheon of Irish sporting heroes and prompt a wry smile whenever rugby union’s classic old-school anecdotes are retold.
As a player good enough to have been selected as the youngest Lion in history when chosen to tour South Africa as a teenager in 1955, O’Reilly might have reached even loftier heights in the game had his burgeoning business career not intervened at the age of 26. There was to be one last impromptu hurrah, however, when he was famously recalled seven years later to face England at Twickenham.
With 100 days to go until the Paris Games, the IPC’s Andrew Parsons says it is vital for disability rights they are the best ever
With 100 days to go until the Paralympic Games begin in Paris, Andrew Parsons has a job to do. The 47-year-old Brazilian is the president of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC). But these Games matter, as a moment for disability sport and the movement that lies behind it, and the pressure is on.
“This is the first edition of the summer Games where we will be able to explore our full potential,” he says. “We had London, which is still regarded as the benchmark, and then we had Rio, which was a tough games for us to put together. Then it was Tokyo and the pandemic.
Got a beauty dilemma? Our expert is here to help. This week, Sarah is looking beyond cancer surgery
First of all, sending lots of love during what can’t be an easy time. Your surgical team will tell you what to do straight after the operation.
“It’s important to follow their instructions,” says breast surgeon Chloe Constantinou. “After surgery, the dressings will be taken off if everything has healed, and you’ll be given advice on caring for the skin.” If you’re worried, speak to your team, but generally speaking it’s best to use a gentle cleanser that’s fragrance-free.
Iran’s president along with his foreign minister have died in a helicopter crash, according to state media. Here is a summary of what we know so far:
Iranian state-run media have confirmed the death of President Ebrahim Raisi and foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian in a helicopter crash in the province of East Azerbaijan on Sunday as they headed towards the city of Tabriz. “The servant of Iranian nation, Ayatollah Ebrahim Raisi has achieved the highest level of martyrdom whilst serving the people,” state television said.
The group were returning from Azerbaijan, where they had attended the inauguration of a dam alongside President Ilham Aliyev, when the helicopter crashed in a mountainous region amid poor weather conditions.
The government has yet to make an official statement but the state-run news agency Irna reported that an urgent cabinet meeting had been called and a statement was expected soon.
After an hours-long search hampered by fog and rain, rescuers found the burnt-out wreckage of the helicopter on a mountainside. The head of the Iranian Red Crescent, Pir Hossein Kolivand, said as rescuers approached the wreckage, that there were “no signs of life”.
A total of nine people were on board the aircraft, according to Tasnim news agency, including the governor of East Azerbaijan, Malek Rahmati, and Ayatollah Mohammad Ali Ale-Hashem, the representative of the Leader of the Islamic Revolution to East Azarbaijan province.
On Sunday, before the wreckage had been found, supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei urged Iranians to “not worry” about the leadershipof the Islamic republic, saying “there will be no disruption in the country’s work”.
The president is believed to have been travelling in Bell 212 helicopter. Iran flies a variety of helicopters in the country, but international sanctions make it difficult to obtain parts for them. Its military air fleet also largely dates back to before the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
If a president dies in office, article 131 of the Islamic Republic’s constitution says that the first vice-president – in this case Mohammad Mokhber – takes over, with the confirmation of the supreme leader, who has the final say in all matters of state in Iran. A council consisting of the first vice-president, the speaker of parliament and the head of the judiciary must arrange an election for a new president within a maximum period of 50 days.
Countries including Russia, Turkey and India had expressed concern and offered assistance after reports that the helicopter carrying Raisi had gone missing. After his death was confirmed expressions of condolence also began to come in.
Indian prime minister Narendra Modi said on X that he is “shocked by his tragic demise” and that his “contribution to strengthening India-Iran bilateral relationship will always be remembered.
Before news of Raisi’s death a US state department spokesperson said only that, “We are closely following reports of a possible hard landing of a helicopter in Iran carrying the Iranian president and foreign minister”. US President Joe Biden had been briefed on the situation, his spokesperson said.
Gen Z are flaunting their knockoffs and imitations – so experts say companies should play along
High-end brands should “lean in” and embrace the #dupe subculture that feeds off recommending duplicates or cheaper alternatives to luxury products, social media experts have advised.
Dupes, knockoffs and brand imitators are not new: the first wave of beauty YouTubers were highlighting cheaper products as far back as 2010. But in the past, buying imitation goods was mostly done with the aim of passing the item off as the real thing.
The arena rock frontman on his friendship with Ed Sheeran, an embarrassing early Christmas song, and the 80s hit he wishes he’d written
The song that changed my life Born to Run by Bruce Springsteen. I grew up in New Jersey, so the E Street Band was how you were indoctrinated to rock’n’roll – they were the local heroes.
The best song to play at a party Livin’ on a Prayer because everyone else knows the words. How do I feel when I hear it on the radio or a party? Amazed and amused!
Ivan Sautkin’s work as a volunteer helping people to safety gave him rare access to the trauma faced by people forced from their homes. The director relives the challenges of making the film as it screens in Cannes
There’s a moment in Ivan Sautkin’s new documentary, A Poem for Little People, in which a humanitarian volunteer tries to reason with a group of women filling cans with the grimy water that has collected in a shell hole in their suburban street. They should come with him now, says the volunteer, Anton Yaremchuk. It is August 2022, Bakhmut, Ukraine. Explosions boom, horribly close. Despite the obvious peril, they refuse to go. They ask him: how will they get the money to live if they leave? Yaremchuk, exasperated, states the obvious: if they stay, they could be killed at any moment.
In another scene, an elderly woman who has made the wrenching decision to abandon her apartment, locks her front door with a tremulous hand – then remembers she’s left her crutch inside and has to unlock it again. As she climbs into the volunteers’ minibus, she covers her head with her hands for a moment. As she raises her face again, a whole lifetime of emotions seems to pass across it.
Apple’s mid-range tablet gets larger screen option and more power, being ‘pro’ enough for most
Apple has more options than ever for those after a tablet with different sizes, prices, screens and power, but the iPad Air is fairly simple to understand – it is the premium big-screen iPad for those who don’t want to fork out thousands for an iPad Pro.
The Air starts at £599 (€699/$599/A$999) and is now available in two screen sizes: the original 11in and a larger 13in model for big-screen viewing. That puts it right in the middle of Apple’s lineup, with the 10th-gen iPad starting at £349 at the bottom and topped by the new iPad Pro M4 starting at £999.
A group that began as 23 Black fathers from London on WhatsApp is now a worldwide digital space where 40,000 men discuss being Black and a parent
Dope Black Dads was formed by Marvyn Harrison on Father’s Day 2018, initially as a WhatsApp group of 23 Black fathers he knew in London. It has since developed as a digital safe space for some 40,000 fathers from the international community to discuss their experiences of being Black, being a parent and masculinity in the modern world.
The group brings together men who are navigating fatherhood, societal pressures and the age-old stereotype of the absent Black father. Far too often societal biases perpetuate the myth of absent or disengaged Black fathers. The photographer sees this portrait series as an opportunity to uplift the ideology of Black men, especially in their role as fathers. The work is a celebration of joy, pride and love, and a tribute to the strength, resilience and beauty of Black families, amplifying their voices and contributing to a more nuanced and compassionate understanding of Black fatherhood.
Unesco listing for the city’s Roman temple put this city on the map last year, but there are uncharted delights in the surrounding towns as well
The director of a newly refurbished boutique hotel in the old town of Nîmes tells me he has gained and lost a star recently. The hotel’s restaurant, Rouge, run by Benin-born chef Georgiana Viou, recently won its first Michelin star. But the hotel itself, the Margaret Chouleur, has been downgraded from a five-star to just four.
Here’s the interesting thing: it was the hotel that did the downgrading. The top-level rating was putting people off, so it has been reclassified as a four-star.
It’s a very Nîmes move. With the Côte d’Azur to its east and arty, chic Arles its nearest neighbour, Nîmes flies just below many tourists’ radar and sits firmly in the good-value category.
Nîmes was first valued by Gaul tribes for its natural springs, but made its fortune in the heyday of ancient Rome. Julius Caesar rewarded his Gaul campaigners with land in the area, and so began a long tradition of welcoming wealthy retirees. The campaigners and their successors spent lavishly on the city, which was a handy waypoint between Rome and its Hispanic provinces.
Being left out of family events, sending gifts that went unacknowledged – I took it all so personally, until I realised it wasn’t my problem
I was older when I married – 38. Well, it seemed like “older” then. I had never particularly wanted kids. I didn’t not want them, either. I was just agnostic about it. Which was a good thing because my husband had been married and divorced twice, and already had three adult children. For the record, I had nothing to do with either divorce so the tension between me and his children that was evident even before our wedding had nothing to do with that.
I’ll be honest. I found them intimidating. For a start, there were three of them and one of me. So I did what I usually do when I feel overwhelmed: I tried too hard. Looking back on it now, I’m sure it was annoying – my assumption, insistence even, that we should be friends and, more than that, family. Perhaps I should have got the message that all was not rosy when one of my husband’s children, dressed in black from head to toe, arrived at our wedding so late that the ceremony had already started, while another didn’t come at all. Or my first Christmas with my husband, when “the family party” included all three of my husband’s children, their children, and both of my husband’s previous wives. But not us.
Lucretia Grindle Lutyens is a historian and writer. Her most recent book is The Devil’s Glove
This impressive first feature from director Yoo Heong-jun is a visually and formally inventive exploration of malleable aspects of ourselves
A cinematic puzzle cast in minimalist black and white, Yoo Heong-jun’s slippery feature debut delves into the malleability of identity, performance and life itself. It unfurls over long takes, and the tension between movement and stasis lingers in every frame.
Put on bed rest after a vicious stroke that damages her short-term memory, Hwa-ryeong (Cho Hyunjin) – an actor – struggles to recall the plot of her last film. Chatty visits from colleagues only serve to complicate matters. Mentions of a retired performer, a daughter and an ex-husband recur, but it remains unclear how these storylines cohere. It is as if, like Hwa-ryeong, her peers have been struck by amnesia.
The Muslim Vote aims to list candidates that align with it on foreign policy, NHS and education
A campaign group hoping to mobilise Muslim communities in the lead-up to the general election has said it wants to ensure their votes are “taken seriously” and it aims to produce a list of candidates they endorse later this year.
The Muslim Vote, a campaign group, is hoping to encourage as many of the 3.9 million Muslims in the UK to vote in the upcoming general election, focusing on constituencies where they can have the most impact.
Connexion
