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Tengiz Abuladze

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Tengiz Abuladze (Georgian: თენგიზ აბულაძე; 31 January 1924 – 6 March 1994) was a Georgian film director, screenwriter, theatre teacher and People's Artist of the USSR. He is regarded as one of the best Soviet directors. Abuladze studied theatre direction (1943–1946) at the Shota Rustaveli Theatre Institute, Tbilisi, Georgia, and filmmaking at the VGIK (All-Union State Institute of Cinematography) in Moscow. He graduated from VGIK in 1952 and in 1953 he joined Gruziya-film (Georgia Film Studios) as a director. He was awarded the title of People's Artist of the USSR in 1980. His first film, Magdana's Donkey (1956), which he directed with Rezo Chkheidze, won the "Best Fiction Short" award at the 1956 Cannes Film Festival. He is most famous for his film trilogy: The Plea (The Supplication) (1968), The Wishing Tree (1977), and Repentance (1984, released 1987), which won him the Lenin Prize (1988) and the first Nika Award for Best Picture. Repentance won the Special Jury Prize at the 1987 Cannes Film Festival. In 1987 he was a member of the jury at the 15th Moscow International Film Festival. Abuladze came to prominence in the Soviet Union under perestroika when his banned film Repentance, a blistering expose of the Stalinist terror, was released in 1986. Repentance revolves around the death of an old tyrant, Varlam Aravidze, and the refusal of a woman, Ketevan Barateli, to leave his corpse in peace. She repeatedly disinters the corpse and at the trial disinters also the forbidden secrets of the past. Aravidze is universalized as Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, and Joseph Stalin, but most obviously as Stalin's fellow Georgian Lavrentiy Beria.
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Charles Korvin

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Charles Korvin (born Géza Korvin Kárpáthy) was an American film, television and stage actor. He was also a professional still and motion picture photographer and master chef. The Hungarian actor moved to Paris around 1930. He studied at the Sorbonne and during his ten years living in France, he was hired by Yvon, the famous French postcard company, shooting on location all over the country. In 1937, he was hired for a CBC documentary film project about the renowned Canadian medical doctor, Norman Bethune. Entitled “Heart of Spain”, Korvin photographed and co-directed the anti-Franco film which was shot on the front lines during the Spanish Civil War. Moving to the United States in 1940, Korvin studied acting and stagecraft at the Barter Theater in Abingdon, Virginia. As Géza Korvin, he made his Broadway stage debut in 1943, playing a Russian nobleman in the play, Dark Eyes. After signing a movie contract with Universal Pictures, he changed his stage name to Charles Korvin. He worked steadily through the 1940s, including appearing in three films with actress Merle Oberon. He was blacklisted around 1952, refused to testify before the HUAC, and his film career was halted. Turning to the newly burgeoning, and much less political, field of broadcast television, Korvin starred in early productions for Playhouse 90, Studio One, and US Steel Hour. He played The Eagle for six contiguous episodes on Disney's Zorro and played Latin dance instructor Carlos on The Honeymooners episode "Mama Loves Mambo." In 1960, he starred as Inspector Duval in the UK/US television series Interpol Calling produced by J. Arthur Rank. During these years, Korvin returned to off-Broadway theater starring as the king in Rodgers and Hammerstein's The King and I with runs at the Westbury Music Fair and the St. Louis Municipal Opera. He was back on Broadway in the mid-1960s starring as the upstairs neighbor in Neil Simon’s Tony Award winning play, “Barefoot in the Park”. In 1964, he returned to Hollywood to play the ship’s captain in Stanley Kramer’s Academy Award winning film, Ship of Fools. Remaining active in later years, he was the voice of the Red Baron for eight years on television and radio ads for Lufthansa Airlines. For more than 25 years, Korvin, with his wife Anne, were part-of-the-year residents in Klosters, Switzerland, where he enjoyed skiing, cooking and entertaining with friends and fellow part time residents Irwin and Marion Shaw, Greta Garbo, Salka Viertel, Deborah Kerr, Robert Ricci, John Fairchild and Gaetan de Rosnay among others. Korvin claimed to have been Greta Garbo's last dance partner. Julia Child, another long time friend, was interviewed in 1978 by Dick Cavett on his PBS television show. When he asked her to name her favorite “amateur” chef, Child replied, “Charles Korvin”.
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Bassel Khayyat

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A Syrian native with a degree in theatrical arts, Bassel Khayyat was always attached to acting since he was 8 years old, even participating in children's theater as a hobby. He was able to exercise that hobby into a career in acting where he would often portray daring and charismatic characters. His intensive roles and work in the television industry made him an immensely popular actor in the Arab world, especially in Syria. He executed most of his work in Syria but gained popularity in Egypt when acting in several Egyptian drama series between 2008-2015. In Ramadan 2017, Khayyat was recognized for his exceptional role when starred in 30 days series. As for his work in the film industry, some of his most credible work was Bab el Shams, El Aawda which was shown at the Cannes Film Festival in 2004
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Megan Duffy

Biography

Megan Duffy is a Los Angeles based actress and filmmaker who has appeared in over 50 national commercials, with scene partners including David Beckham, Jay Leno, J.K. Simmons and Selma Hayek, a leading role opposite Elijah Wood in the feature film Maniac, which premiered as an Official Selection of the Cannes Film Festival, a recurring guest star role on the final season of Showtime’s The Affair, and other TV guest appearances including Torchwood, Criminal Minds, and Mad Men. Trained in comedy & improv, Megan was a lead cast member of Blumhouse-created improvised horror-comedy Dungeons and Dragons podcast Fear Initiative, and a series regular in the comedy pilot “Staffed.” Megan next stars in the family indie drama “Gracias Padre” alongside cast members Rhys Coiro and Matthew Jacobs, from director Jen Kuhn. As a director Megan made her directorial debut with a music video for the LA based electronic dance duo Smoke Season, and since then has had her directing work exhibited at film festivals around the world including the Chattanooga Film Festival, Filmquest, Chicago Horror and exhibited online via W Magazine, Elizabeth Bank’s WhoHaHa, and Fangoria. Megan currently resides in Los Angeles with her cat Iris, and makes a terrific homemade beef jerky
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Sean Connery

Biography

Sir Thomas Sean Connery (August 25, 1930 - October 31, 2020) was a Scottish actor and producer who won an Academy Award, two BAFTA Awards (one being a BAFTA Academy Fellowship Award), and three Golden Globes, including the Cecil B. DeMille Award and a Henrietta Award. Connery was the first actor to portray the character James Bond in film, starring in seven Bond films (every film from Dr. No to You Only Live Twice, plus Diamonds Are Forever and Never Say Never Again), between 1962 and 1983. In 1988, Connery won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in The Untouchables. His films also include Marnie (1964), Murder on the Orient Express (1974), The Man Who Would Be King (1975), A Bridge Too Far (1977), Highlander (1986), Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989), The Hunt for Red October (1990), Dragonheart (1996), The Rock (1996), and Finding Forrester (2000). Connery was polled in a 2004 The Sunday Herald as "The Greatest Living Scot" and in a 2011 EuroMillions survey as "Scotland's Greatest Living National Treasure". He was voted by People magazine as both the “Sexiest Man Alive" in 1989 and the "Sexiest Man of the Century” in 1999. He received a lifetime achievement award in the United States with a Kennedy Center Honor in 1999. Connery was knighted in the 2000 New Year Honours for services to film drama. On October 31, 2020, it was announced that Connery had died at the age of 90.
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Kim Driver

Biography

Kim Driver is a versatile character actress and strong singer, known for her extensive work in Musical Theatre, TV, film, and commercials. With roles ranging from comedic to serious, she has showcased her talents in productions such as "Katie" (2022) and "Debra’s Mum" (2021), and appeared in commercials for brands like Paddy Power and Deliveroo. Kim's theatre credits include standout performances in "Dick Whittington" and "Cinderella." A member of the NHS choir, she excels in both choral and solo singing with a vocal range from bottom G to top F. Kim is DBS certified and renowned for her excellent improvisation skills, making her a dynamic and engaging performer.
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Yu Aoi

Biography

Yu Aoi (蒼井優) is a Japanese actress and model born on August 17, 1985. She made her film debut as Shiori Tsuda in Shunji Iwai's 2001 film All About Lily Chou-Chou. She subsequently portrayed Tetsuko Arisugawa in Hana and Alice (2004), also directed by Iwai, Kimiko Tanigawa in the hula dancing film Hula Girls and Hagumi Hanamoto in the 2006 live-action adaptation of the popular Honey and Clover manga series. She has won numerous awards for her performances on screen, including the prestigious Japan Academy Prize and Kinema Junpo Awards for best supporting actress in 2007 for Hula Girls and Rookie of the Year for continued performances in the field of Films in Media and Fine Arts by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan in 2009.
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John Prendergast

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John Prendergast (born March 21, 1963) is an American human rights activist, author, and former Director for African Affairs at theNational Security Council. He is the Founding Director of the Enough Project, a nonprofit human rights organization affiliated with theCenter for American Progress. Prendergast is a board member and serves as Strategic Advisor to Not On Our Watch Project. He is a member of the faculty and Advisory Board of the International Peace and Security Institute (IPSI).
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María Valverde

Biography

María Valverde Rodríguez (born March 24, 1987) is a Spanish actress. She was born María Valverde Rodriguez in Carabanchel, Madrid. She was 16 when she got a leading role with Luis Tosar in a Manuel Martín Cuenca movie, La flaqueza del bolchevique, she won the 2003 Goya Award for this role. She has also taken part in several films, such as Melissa P., a film based on the polemic book One Hundred Strokes of the Brush Before Bed by Melissa Panarello. Description above from the Wikipedia article María Valverde, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
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Marlene Favela

Biography

Marlene Favela (born Silvia Marlene Favela Meraz on August 5, 1977) is a Mexican actress and model. Marlene Favela (born August 5, 1976 in Santiago Papasquiaro, Durango, Mexico) is a Mexican actress. She studied at "Centro de Educación Artística de Televisa" in Mexico City and is also a famous model. Her siblings are Laura del Carmen (born 1970), Mabel (born 1971), Alain (deceased), and Deborah (b. 1991),she also has a half-brother named Alejandro (b.1969). Her recent TV hit telenovela to date is Zorro playing the love interest of hunk actor Christian Meier. Marlene likes to go to Chicago to visit her family. Kevin's parents are also from Santiago Papasquiaro,Dgo
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