Cultural Digest: Don’t miss these events in Europe this week
While we're still sad that 'Duolingo on Ice' isn't really a thing and still commemorating the 30 years of Kurt Cobain's death, we are excited to have entered a brand new month that's jam-packed with cool exhibitions and movie, music, book and TV releases.
From the Venice Biennale to Alex Garland's upcoming epic Civil War, April always showers us with things to look forward to - here's what we suggest for the coming week.
Exhibitions
Nick Waplington’s ‘Living
Room’, London, UK
Floral carpets, cigarette ash and cups of tea. In 1991, BritishAmerican photographer Nick Waplington released his sensational book, 'Living Room'. Featuring 59 photographs documenting the lives of various people living on the Broxtowe housing estate in Nottingham, England, it captured the realities of poverty during and post-Thatcher's Britain. Intimate and sometimes playful in their depictions of everyday mundanities, an archive of Waplington's unseen images from this period are now on display at London's Hamiltons Gallery.
'The Art of James Cameron', Paris, France
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40 years ago, James Cameron released his very first feature film: Terminator. In the decades since, he's continued to push the boundaries of special effects to enhance the cinematic experience, utilising innovative technologies to create spectacular blockbusters (with a penchant for water) like Titanic, The Abyss and Avatar. The largeness of Cameron's stories has allowed them to not only dominate box offices, but also audiences' imaginations and hearts. A newly opened exhibition at Cinémathèque Française pays tribute to the Canadian director's filmography and creative processes - on until January 5, 2025. We'll be back.
'Face to Face: The People Behind Mummy Portraits,' Amsterdam, Netherlands
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Recently extended until 20 May, this is the first exhibition to cover ancient Egyptian mummy portraiture. A combination of works from the Allard Pierson
Museum of Antiquities' own collection and masterworks from the likes of the Louvre, there are 38 portraits from all over the world on display. Commonly painted on wooden panels, most mummy portraits were made between the 1st and 4th century AD and used as coverings for the faces of mummified people. It's a rare opportunity to connect with 2000year-old strangers - and remember that mummies aren't scary - they were once just like us.
Festivals & events
'Quais du Polar', Lyon, France
A city rich with cultural heritage, Lyon is the perfect host for this huge celebration of crime fiction in literature and film, which takes place at Palais de la Bourse. Held annually since 2005, there are stalls stacked with various physical media in the genre, along with talks, exhibitions, games and even "suspense quests in the streets", according to the festival.
On until the 7 April, you'll be able to meet your favourite authors, discover promising new tal
ent, and reflect on the nostalgia and emerging trends of noir. See you there? *Tips fedora*.
'Art Paris', France
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Returning for its 26th edition, Art Paris is putting a spotlight on the diversity of the contemporary French art scene, giving a platform to rising talents. Despite there being 136 galleries representing 25 countries, it still has a very "local" feel, with 60% of exhibitors remaining French. Find out more here.
Movies
Late Night with the Devil On the 50th anniversary of Stephen King's tale of teenage telekinesis, 'Carrie', being published, it seems only fitting we pick a new film that the author loved. It's also one of 2024's most exciting horror movie releases (alongside Stopmotion). Late Night with the Devil takes place during a 1977 live TV broadcast with Jack Delroy ( David Dastmalchian) as your recently bereaved schmoozy but icky host focuses all his attention on beating Johnny Carson's ratings. And how might he do that, you ask? Through interviewing a girl that's possessed with a demon - it is Halloween night, after-all. What could possibly go wrong?
Our resident film critic ( and horror nut) David Mouriquand had a great time with it. Read his full review here.
Scoop
It was the interview that forever changed the UK's associations with suburban restaurant chain Pizza Express. It also, most memorably, brought to light Anhidrosis, a condition in which people cannot sweat - one of the numerous excuses Prince Andrew used to deny allegations that he had sex with then 17-year-old Virginia Giuffre.
A new Netflix film, based on former Newsnight editor Sam McAlister's book ' Scoops: Behind The Scenes of the BBC's Most Shocking Interview' and starring Gillian Anderson as BBC journalist Emily Maitlis, covers the now infamous 2019 interview with Prince Andrew, during which the fallen royal was interrogated about his ties to Jeffrey Epstein and embarrassingly buried his reputation in the process.
TV Series
Ripley
It's a story many of us will know very well, but this latest adaptation of Patricia Highsmith’s acclaimed 1955 novel 'The Talented Mr. Ripley' takes on an arthouse-feel; shot in black and white, drenched in slick suspense and unease. Starring Andrew Scott as the deceptively charming Tom Ripley, a down on his luck New Yorker hired by a wealthy shipping magnate to convince his wayward son, Dickie Greenlead (Johnny Flynn) to return home from Rome. While there, Ripley contrives to become a part of Greenlead and his fiancé, Marge's (Dakota Fanning) luxurious lives. It's an obsession that leads to a psychological unravelling and murderous betrayal. Stream it on
Netflix now - and check out our piece on everything you need to know about Tom Ripley through the years.
Music
Khruangbin: 'A La Sala'
It's all vibes, vibes, vibes with US trio Khruangbin's fourth studio album 'A La Sala' (which means “To the room” and reportedly refers to a phrase the band's bassist Laura Lee Ochoa screamed as a child when trying to rally her family together.) Known for blending genres, the tracks are a swirly soup of soul and 70s psychedelia; simple, sweet and soothing sounds for meditative thoughts to flow through.