Wim Wenders says German director İlker Çatak’s Turkey-set warning against creeping authoritarianism gave jury ‘chills’

Yellow Letters, a drama set in Turkey about creeping authoritarianism, has won the Golden Bear top prize at the Berlin film festival, after a 10-day event overshadowed by a row over politics in cinema.

The film by the German director İlker Çatak, born in Berlin to Turkish immigrants, tells the story of two luminaries of the Ankara theatre scene whose marriage comes under severe strain when they lose their jobs after falling out of political favour. Its title comes from the colour of the official dismissal notices.

Continue reading...

Tottenham have rolled the dice and an injury-ravaged side’s anxiety may only get worse as West Ham close the gap

When did the reality dawn? Perhaps it was towards the end of the first half of West Ham’s game at Chelsea at the end of January with the away side leading 2-0. Or perhaps it was when West Ham took the lead against Manchester United 10 days later. As it turned out, West Ham won neither fixture; had they done so they would have had five points more and so been level with Tottenham going into this weekend. And then Tottenham’s proximity to relegation could not have been denied.

West Ham’s revival means this isn’t like last season, when a win at Ipswich at the end of February took Tottenham to 33 points and as good as confirmed their continued presence in the Premier League, allowing Ange Postecoglou to focus on Europe. Were Spurs to pull off something extremely unlikely and beat Arsenal on Sunday, they would move to 32 and, for all the glee their fans would feel, nobody would feel secure.

Continue reading...

When it comes to the back end of May and West Ham United are reflecting on the season that was, there is every chance that this soggy Saturday will go down as a missed opportunity that proved crucial in their survival plight.

Victory here would have raised the possibility of Nuno Espírito Santo’s side ending the weekend out of the relegation zone for the first time since early December. In keeping with those of recent weeks, much of the performance was befitting of another three points. But, thanks to a couple of smart Djordje Petrovic saves and some profligacy in front of goal, they had to make do with a draw – an expected goals (xG) total of 2.87 from 20 shots yielding a blank in the only column that matters.

Continue reading...

Mr Mikage (ミスター御影） posted a photo:

Thomas Hawk posted a photo:

Thomas Hawk posted a photo:

Thomas Hawk posted a photo:

Thomas Hawk posted a photo:

Thomas Hawk posted a photo:

SergioQ79 - Osanpo Photographer - posted a photo:

Sotto il sole fermo di aprile, in un angolo silenzioso di Fukuoka, una vending machine rossa resta accesa accanto a una porta che sembra non aprirsi da tempo. La casa alle sue spalle è immobile, segnata, quasi dimenticata, mentre il distributore continua a offrire bevande fredde a un passaggio che forse non arriva mai. Non c’è folla, non c’è rumore, solo cemento, ombre nette e fili elettrici che attraversano il cielo. È un frammento di quotidianità sospesa: il commercio che resiste, la vita che scorre altrove, e questo piccolo presidio automatico che rimane lì, testimone silenzioso di un quartiere che cambia senza annunciarsi.

四月の止まったような陽ざしの下、福岡の静かな一角で、赤い自動販売機が、長い間開かれていないような扉の横に灯りをともして立っている。背後の家は動きを止め、少し忘れられたように見えるが、自販機は冷たい飲み物を差し出し続ける。そこに人の気配はない。コンクリートと鋭い影、空を横切る電線だけがある。これは、宙に浮いた日常の断片。どこかで進み続ける生活と、何も語らずに変わりゆく町を静かに見守る、小さな存在の記録である。

Under the still April sun, in a quiet corner of Fukuoka, a red vending machine stands lit beside a door that seems long unopened. The house behind it feels motionless, worn, almost forgotten, while the machine keeps offering cold drinks to a passerby who may never come. There is no crowd, no noise—only concrete, sharp shadows, and power lines cutting across the sky. It is a suspended fragment of everyday life: commerce that persists, life unfolding somewhere else, and this small automatic presence remaining there, a silent witness to a neighborhood that changes without ever announcing it.

conspectus_bs posted a photo:

Kodak Ektar 100 with Mamiya 645 Pro and Sekor 50 mm Shift

Berlin-based T2 Linux developer René Rebe (long-time Slashdot reader ReneR) is announcing that their Xorg display server has now restored its XAA acceleration architecture, "bringing fixed-function hardware 2D acceleration back to many older graphics cards that upstream left in software-rendered mode."


Older fixed-function GPUs now regain smooth window movement, low CPU usage, and proper 24-bit bpp framebuffer support (also restored in T2). Tested hardware includes ATi Mach-64 and Rage-128, SiS, Trident, Cirrus, Matrox (Millennium/G450), Permedia2, Tseng ET6000 and even the Sun Creator/Elite 3D.

The result: vintage and retro systems and classic high-end Unix workstations that are fast and responsive again.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Slashdot reader BrianFagioli writes: The Salvation Army has launched what it calls the world's first digital thrift store inside Roblox, an experience named Thrift Score that lets players browse virtual racks and buy digital fashion for their avatars.

While I understand the strategy of meeting Gen Z and Gen Alpha where they already spend time and money, I feel uneasy about turning something that, in the real world, often serves low income families in genuine need into a gamified aesthetic inside a video game, even if proceeds support rehabilitation and community programs, because a thrift store is not just a quirky brand concept but a lifeline for many people, and packaging that reality as entertainment creates a strange disconnect that is hard to ignore.


"To be clear, proceeds from Thrift Score are intended to support The Salvation Armyâ(TM)s programs nationwide..." this article points out. "If it drives awareness and funds programs that help people in need, that is a win. But if it turns thrifting into just another cosmetic skin in a digital marketplace, then we should at least be willing to say that it feels off."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Hollywood is in paniek door een hyperrealistisch AI‑filmpje waarin Tom Cruise en Brad Pitt elkaar te lijf gaan – en dat zegt veel over de toekomst van film én beroemdheid.

In een video van vijftien seconden vechten Tom Cruise en Brad Pitt op een vervallen dak, compleet met filmische camerabewegingen, stunts en sounddesign. De clip is gemaakt met Seedance 2.0, een nieuw AI‑videomodel van ByteDance (het moederbedrijf van TikTok), op basis van niet meer dan een korte prompt. Het resultaat oogt zo echt dat scenarist Rhett Reese (“Deadpool”) publiek verzuchtte: “Het is waarschijnlijk voorbij voor ons.”

Seedance 2.0: speelgoed of sloopkogel?

Seedance 2.0 is ontworpen om met een paar regels tekst “bioscoopwaardige” scènes te genereren, compleet met fysiek realistische bewegingen en controle over stijl en camerastandpunten. Fans gebruiken het om alternatieve eindes te maken voor series als “Game of Thrones” en “Stranger Things”, of om superhelden als Batman en Wolverine tegen elkaar te laten vechten. Voor studio’s is dat geen onschuldig fandom meer, maar een AI‑sloopkogel die hun verdienmodel en auteursrecht ondermijnt.

Studio’s trekken de juridische noodrem

Disney, Netflix, Warner Bros. Discovery en Paramount hebben ByteDance inmiddels formeel gesommeerd om te stoppen. In de brieven staat dat Seedance op grote schaal zonder toestemming is getraind op hun films en series, en dat er massaal wordt gestrooid met Marvel‑helden, Star Wars‑figuren en andere iconische personages alsof het gratis clip‑art is. De Motion Picture Association spreekt van “grootschalige, ongeautoriseerde benutting van Amerikaanse auteursrechtelijk beschermde werken” en dreigt met rechtszaken.

Wie is de baas over je gezicht?

Naast auteursrecht speelt er nog iets fundamentelers: wie is eigenaar van een gezicht dat iedereen herkent. Seedance‑clips laten zien hoe makkelijk het is om beroemdheden in nieuwe contexten te plaatsen zonder dat ze ooit op de set zijn geweest, met alle risico’s op reputatieschade, nepnieuws en deepfake‑porno. Acteursvakbond SAG‑AFTRA noemt dit “blatante inbreuk” en ziet het als een aanval op de bestaanszekerheid van makers.artisanosalpha.

Het begin van het einde – of een nieuw hoofdstuk?

2026 dreigt zo een kanteljaar te worden waarin rechters moeten bepalen of het “fair use” is om AI te trainen op bestaande films en gezichten, of dat dit simpelweg digitale heling is. Tegelijk bereiden sommige sterren zich voor op een toekomst waarin ze hun stem en gezicht actief als merk beheren en licenties uitonderhandelen met AI‑producenten. Voor Hollywood is het AI‑schandaal rond Seedance 2.0 in elk geval een waarschuwing: niet de volgende blockbuster, maar het auteursrecht zelf staat nu in de hoofdrol.l

SergioQ79 - Osanpo Photographer - has added a photo to the pool:

Sotto il sole fermo di aprile, in un angolo silenzioso di Fukuoka, una vending machine rossa resta accesa accanto a una porta che sembra non aprirsi da tempo. La casa alle sue spalle è immobile, segnata, quasi dimenticata, mentre il distributore continua a offrire bevande fredde a un passaggio che forse non arriva mai. Non c’è folla, non c’è rumore, solo cemento, ombre nette e fili elettrici che attraversano il cielo. È un frammento di quotidianità sospesa: il commercio che resiste, la vita che scorre altrove, e questo piccolo presidio automatico che rimane lì, testimone silenzioso di un quartiere che cambia senza annunciarsi.

四月の止まったような陽ざしの下、福岡の静かな一角で、赤い自動販売機が、長い間開かれていないような扉の横に灯りをともして立っている。背後の家は動きを止め、少し忘れられたように見えるが、自販機は冷たい飲み物を差し出し続ける。そこに人の気配はない。コンクリートと鋭い影、空を横切る電線だけがある。これは、宙に浮いた日常の断片。どこかで進み続ける生活と、何も語らずに変わりゆく町を静かに見守る、小さな存在の記録である。

Under the still April sun, in a quiet corner of Fukuoka, a red vending machine stands lit beside a door that seems long unopened. The house behind it feels motionless, worn, almost forgotten, while the machine keeps offering cold drinks to a passerby who may never come. There is no crowd, no noise—only concrete, sharp shadows, and power lines cutting across the sky. It is a suspended fragment of everyday life: commerce that persists, life unfolding somewhere else, and this small automatic presence remaining there, a silent witness to a neighborhood that changes without ever announcing it.

Toerskiën (‘skimo’) maakte deze week een debuut op de Winterspelen. Het publiek genoot en de meeste deelnemers ook. Maar in de skimo-wereld klinkt ook kritiek: het gekozen format zou een „misvorming” zijn van de sport.

Vier voertuigen zijn zaterdagavond op elkaar gebotst op de Heemraadlaan in Spijkenisse. Zeker één van de inzittenden is hierbij lichtgewond geraakt.